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University of Kent / ARTS STUDIO
DISCOVER YOUR
PLACE IN ART
HISTORY
If you think an art history degree means
three years with your nose in a book and
the odd gallery visit, read on. Kent’s History
& Philosophy of Art team offers better ways
to teach this subject.
The Kent History & Philosophy of Art BA (Hons) programme includes
buying works of art, writing arts’ reviews, overseas study trips and handson
work experience. Among other careers, graduates go on to be
journalists, auctioneers, teachers, curators and PR agents. This is one of
the reasons we are ranked second in the UK for art and design graduating
students' employment prospects in The Guardian University Guide 2011.
It also makes our degrees more interesting, of course. Here are some
of the things that Kent’s art history students typically get involved with as
part of their degree programme.
SHOP
We give second and third-year students a budget and a mission – to go
out and buy works for the School of Arts’ world-class print collection. They
can ask for advice but they are also free to make mistakes and everyone
gets marked on how well they do.
The prints they buy form the basis for an annual exhibition. We then
add all the student purchases to our collection of several hundred works
back in Canterbury. This includes prints by leading artists and printmakers
including Sir Peter Blake, Tracey Emin, Jake and Dinos Chapman and Ana
Maria Pacheco.
MAKE
The best way to learn about Old Master drawing and painting techniques
is by having a go yourself. If you try drawing like Rembrandt, you get firsthand
experience of his materials and processes.
We don’t assess students on the quality of their drawings. However,
we do expect them to use their practical experience as the basis of formal
written assessments on topics such as the role of drawing in the theory
of ‘disegno’. And, if you know how hard it is to make marks with chalk
on paper in the style of Michelangelo, you will get a deeper appreciation
of the original works. You may also find it easier to spot a fake.
The same goes for photography. If you develop your own work in a
darkroom using traditional techniques you will get a better understanding
of the form.
WRITE
On our Visual Arts Writing module, students are introduced to the basics
of writing for publication by those who have done it – rather than by those
who just talk about it.
All students write essays but we teach our students how to write
professionally and how to adapt to different ‘house styles’. So many jobs
in the art world (think of critics, curators, dealers and publicists) rely on
strong writing skills. As a result, no one in the business can afford to
divorce style from content.
Our students write pieces for newspapers, magazines, catalogues
and publicity material. Their brief is to produce readable, engaging copy
on contemporary art world issues and some of this work has even been
accessioned to the British Library.
MANAGE
The School of Arts’ Studio 3 Gallery hosts exhibitions of work by
renowned artists throughout the year. (To find out more, see our blog at
http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/studio3gallery) Each summer, our second and thirdyear
students put on an exhibition in the Studio 3 Gallery. We expect them
to reach professional standards. Using the works they bought, they
catalogue, curate and publicise their additions to the Kent print collection.
This event is now a fixture on the local art scene and gets great reviews.
International journal, Print Quarterly (XXVII, 2010, 4), described Krikey!
Kentemporary Prints as ‘refreshing and optimistic...an example of how
ingenuity and enthusiasm can overcome lack of financial resources’. The
review went on to commend the ‘liveliness of the writing’ and ‘impressive
list’ of featured artists.
Our teaching methods mean that students leave our course with
tremendous confidence and practical skills as well as a thorough
grounding in the subject. If you can project manage an exhibition, spend
a budget wisely, write a press release and challenge the authenticity of an
Old Master drawing, you will also have a head start in any chosen career.
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