Jerwood Drawing Prize

Right now I'm writing an essay for art called "What is Drawing?"

The easy and most popular answer of course, is that drawing means copying down what you see, an object, person or place, onto a piece of paper, probably A4, using a pencil, possibly a 2B one if your doing it "properly"

However, there are many artists out there questioning the meaning of drawing, often overlooked due to bigger and bolder showstopping painting, these artists are bringing drawing to a new level. I went to the Jerwood Drawing Prize Exhibiton in Cheltenham to find out more...



The Jerwood Drawing prize is described by its organisers as an exhibition to "promote and reward talent and excellence in contemporary drawing"

The traditional idea of using paper and pencil has been abandoned. Instead artists go to extraordinary lengths to challenge the concept of drawing.

First Prizewinner, Melanie Jackson, created a digital animation, describing the journey of the manufacture of a GPS system, from the mines of Congo and the rubber trees of Sri Lanka to the final location of a single individual. Her insightful work won her the £6,000 prize.
Brighid Lowe won second prize for her "Rain drawing" allowing raindrops to interrupt her lines of ink on paper, creating a hazy dreamlike pattern whilst using the unpredictability of nature as a medium.



Whilst the artist Tim Knowles, tied a biro to a tree and left the wind to move it around a canvas, somehow the result looks like the spiky sharp branch that it came from.




It is this encouragement of innovative and unconventional drawings that the Jerwood drawing prize, now in its 11th year, prides itself on. Allowing artists to question the notion of drawing, its methods and its outcomes, it provides us with an imaginative and thoughtful showcase.

The exhibition runs at Pitville Galleries, Cheltenham until November 18th, and then moves to The Glasgow School of Art until January 12th, it continues to Bristol, Cardiff and finally Newcastle, until 21st May 2008. So go see it now!

Cairo, Egypt

Anorexic girl Advertising Fashion label

Fashion Label Nolita new advertising campaign uses this image of an openly anorexic model, with the words No Anorexia across the front...

Financial Pressure puts Students studies in danger

A report by Professor Graham Gibbs, a reknowed reasercher from Oxford University, has highlighted the problems facing students who take on part time work, suggesting its "negative effects" include expressing dissastisfaction with their course, and a serious lack of time to study.

Rob Veale, a former student at the University of Worcester, now working there, comments " I worked for two years throughout my degree, and got a 2.2 which is pretty pants! I had no choice but to work though, I didnt have enough money otherwise." Nicky Warren, a third year student at the University of Worcester echoes this view, saying " I have to work, its so expensive to get through a degree, I'm in my final year now and working has cut down on the time I can spend on my dissertation."

So these students claim they had no choice but to work, and when the average government loan barely covers the cost of accomodation, and with tuition fees at £3070, no wonder the mounting debt is causing UK students to seriously prioritise money over studying.

Oxford Daytripping

It’s easy to feel you’ve stepped back in time whilst walking through this picturesque city, the magnificent architecture dominates the well kept streets and gargoyle faces peer down from castle turrets and church spires. The richness of detail on these imaginative buildings creates a romantic buzz. And the emblem of the world’s most famous University is spread across the city, decorating the old stone walls.
The nostalgic theme continues with the impressive number of bikes lining the streets, schoolchildren, businessmen and shop assistants all cycle through the cobbled streets.

First stop was the Pitt Rivers museum, hidden behind the Natural History museum, I made my way past hundreds of shimmering butterflies, sparkling gemstones and a life size T Rex.

After my encounter with the dinosaurs I found myself in the small dark museum, thousands of relics from across the world were crammed into glass cabinets. Egyptian mummies, Chinese foot bandages, Red Indian headdresses and jewellery were piled up high. This extensive collection would be fascinating for anyone with an interest in historical artefacts, or from an artistic view, the diversity of the items provides an inspiring and thought provoking experience.

Next on the list was a trip to the Ashmolean Gallery, where classical paintings and sculptures sit alongside intricate tapestries and carved musical instruments. After having a strange conversation with a bored gallery attendant about how the creepy paintings come alive at night, I needed a break, so stopped to take a few pictures, this one was my favourite:


The last stop was the Museum of Modern Art and a special exhibition of artist Stella Vine, whose kitsch and cartoonish style portraits have created a bit of a stir in the art world. The gallery was similar in style to a church, and the light open spaces provided an emotive canvas for her work. Her naïve and girly painting style is contrasted by a darker almost sinister undertone. Crude paintings of Kate Moss, Courtney Love and Princess Diana show the tragic side of their lives, and sit next to Wonder women and other Superheroes, cynically addressing our celebrity obsessed culture, the relationship between these characters and the troubled past of the artist. It was enlightening to hear what people thought of the collection and both positive and negative opinions were aired. The success of Stella Vine has a lot to do with the debates her art has encouraged. This stimulating artwork has different effects and meanings to everyone, and is something everyone can and should experience.