Blast from the past - June 2014

In search of the high-res version of a photo used in a blog post some years ago, I have been trawling through various hard drives and backups. The photo has still not been found (my sporadic filing system is perhaps to blame), but it's been fun to revisit June 2014 and the various "art jaunts" and exhibition preparations. 

The missing photo originated at the Royal Academy Schools degree show, where for some reason the life drawing room was open to the public, and we went in, sat down, and took a photo of this venerable place. But is it in my files? Obviously not. 

The low-res version of the elusive photo

While the search continues, today's blog post is rather flustered; normal service will resume asap! Below is a mere repetition ... what I chose from the photos of students' work at that degree show - alas the link to the Ragged Cloth Cafe post (whence came the elusive photo) doesn't work! - so if you want to read about the RA's part in art education of women, it's here -

https://raggedclothcafe.com/2014/06/29/art-education-for-british-women-ra-style/

And now, a quick trip back to the past, while the photo search continues.....

RA Schools exhibition (29 June 2014)

A few things that caught the camera's eye...

Hold by Ariane Schick ("Hole, plexiglas pole") - and a bit of the corridor

Hold from the other side

Monotypes by Aimee Parrott (and note the many-times-painted floor)

Untitled by Daniel Lipp

Two interspersed works by Natalie Dray - Zone Heater and 6 Sheets

This sound sculpture by Hannah Perry is a shivering mirror

Paintings by Alex Clarke

It's done with mirrors, and louvres ... captivating ... Ariane Schick again

From the outside, the studios look like garden sheds; they're tucked away behind the main RA building

Students in the postgraduate course at the Royal Academy are there for three years - fewer than 20 are selected each year from about 1000 applications. 

In my concurrent post on Ragged Cloth Cafe you can read about the education of women artists in Britain, in relation to the history of the Royal Academy. The first woman slipped in (almost) unnoticed - L. Herford turned out to be Laura, not Lawrence. The year was 1860 ... and fairly soon, women outnumbered men at the RA Schools. So, what happened to the men....