Sculpture class, week 7

"Contextual studies" day - formerly known as Art History. This consisted of a quick run through the history of modern art in the morning - interactive, in the sense that we discussed various topics in small groups. Here are the causes and effects of the Industrial Revolution:

(the advent of the camera, and new paints, caused a revolution in the materiality of painting and one style building on another). Another exercise was for each group to pin the label on the painting - cubism was easy, but what exactly was/is post-impressionism?

In the afternoon, a visit to Tate Britain - Our mission: find at least three paintings and look closely, think, write.... I chose Zoffany's 1770 "Mrs Woodhull" for the pre-1820 era of Renaissance ideals in painting; David Bomberg's 1947 "Tregor & Tregoff" for pre-1970; and couldn't resist John Latham's plan for a monument at a derelict site in Scotland, "Five Sisters Bing" (1976) - a bing is a slag heap.

Afterwards there was time to visit the "Drawn from the Collection" exhibition, which has been extended till 1 March. Marvellous works spanning 400 years. Among the contemporary artists, I was bowled over by the "Roaring Forties" chalk drawings on blackboards by Tacita Dean.

There's no better way of looking at drawings than by copying them - here are some details of works that struck me -