third year

IT has been a really long time.

Third year at the Courtauld Institute of Art is taking its toll: I'm revising for my final's at the moment. I've just emptied half a jar of Horlicks into an abnormally large mug, hoping that it might live up to its word and I may finally have a good nights sleep after the trauma of my dissertation.

Maybe I should start where I left off.

A recruiting consultant told me that, as a History of Art graduate, "you'll be an unpaid intern for two years after your degree, followed by an entry level salary of twelve thousand pounds" Safe to say a part of me died inside.

So I went in search of greener pastures. After Jamie's I went on to intern as a marketing analyst at Stylus.com, an innovation and trend forecasting website. It was awesome.

I moved into my beautiful new flat a few weeks after my last post. I am completely, head over heels, in love with it. Check out the view...

A room with a view: London from my window 

This was before third year started. I'm not sure where the time has gone since then.

I spent 10 weeks studying Medieval French art - a surprisingly interesting subject. I lied, but I have another 2 weeks of revision so I need to convince myself that it is. My resentment was tempered somewhat by the free trip to Paris, and, honestly, it was incredibly refreshing to see beyond the 18th century additions to the city.

Paris from the Pompidou

From France I went east to India (not literally) to the Mughal dynasty. Mughal art is complex: it is not aesthetically naive or conceptually redundant, like many people believe to be true. The subject has come to the foreground of historiographical enquiry with the various exhibitions on its art and culture in the past couple of years. The Mughal India exhibition at the British Library provided the most comprehensive collection of art and artefacts from the period. In amongst the odd wooden edifices that littered the exhibition was some of the most fascinating manuscript miniatures I have seen. So fascinating in fact, I wrote my dissertation on it.

Shah Jahan on a Terrace Holding His Portrait, 1627 

This is where I have been the last three months. Writing my dissertation.

When people ask what it's on, "turbans" is my reply. Don't laugh, I did not envisage myself writing 5000 words on the subject either. Technically it is on the portrait miniatures distributed by the Mughal emperor's as a sign of merit, that were worn on the turban, known as shast. Hopefully I have made some new discoveries on the subject with the help of the British diplomat Sir Thomas Roe - we will see when I get my mark!

14 June is the close of East Wing X, the end of an era really. East Wing XI is already taking form and the new team is looking absolutely incredible.

East Wing X poster 

For now, I have exams in 2 weeks, graduation in a month, and a mammoth job hunt after that. So much is going to change in the next few months, it's a bit overwhelming. So watch this SPACE...

The BIG Chair Project

By some wonderful twist of fate I have had the great opportunity to intern with Jamie Oliver’s marketing team this summer as they have embarked on the The BIG Chair Project. You may have heard whispers through Twitter and Facebook of an upcoming Jamie Oliver project and perhaps dismissed it as another food-related venture, however as it happens it is something far bigger than that. Finally my art historical skills have come to good use and the great team here have allowed me to write the blurbs for each of the chairs that will be revealed on the website… but in the meantime, here’s a piece I’ve been working on for my dear friend at http://www.160grams.com.

ENJOY!

Although the petals of the Olympic Flame have disbanded and the fiery cauldron cooled, the world has branded London with an indelible stamp of unity, empowerment and inspiration. Danny Boyle’s vision of a child rising through the depths of literary heroes and villain’s to an intellectual nirvana reflects the hope that Britain has entrusted in its future generation. Inspiring young Britain to harness their creativity and achieve great things was once again reiterated in the celebration of British designers during the closing ceremony when designs by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, Christopher Bailey for Burberry and Paul Smith dominated the stage. As 23 million souls witnessed their creative marvels, the British design ambassadors were endowed with the weighty responsibility of enduring the legacy left by the Olympics.     

Today it was revealed that another thread would intertwine the trio of designers as they embarked on Jamie Oliver’s BIG Chair Project. You may have heard whispers through Twitter and Facebook of an upcoming Jamie Oliver project and perhaps dismissed it as another food-related venture. However to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Jamie’s Fifteen, a program appealing to underprivileged youths, Jamie’s charity The Better Food Foundation has enlisted twenty prestigious designers and artists including designers Burton, Bailey and Smith, as well as Tracey Emin, Quentin Blake and Jamie Oliver himself, to adorn a collection of 28 Fritz Hansen ANT™ chairs. Fuelled by the objective to “educate, empower and inspire”, an apt ethos in the aftermath of the Olympics, the Foundation will close at an event in October after a mix of online and live bidding.

As an extension of her Autumn/Winter 2012 collection, Sarah Burton’s chair maintains the eccentric ethereality of the McQueen fashion house. Powdered pink silk is sucked into an undulating labyrinth of ruffled canyons that erupt into a delicious soufflé of your favourite naughty-but-nice treat. Like her collection Burton’s chair is one of contradiction, flirting on the cusp of artwork and object: artificiality and organic: femininity and brutality. The delicacy to which Burton has constructed her swirls of fabric testifies to the designer’s mastery of handicraft and shape. Her rebellion of practical design elevates her creation to the realm of haute couture in its detail, uniqueness and beauty. 

  

Ever faithful to the Burberry aesthetic Christopher Bailey for Burberry inspired by, and I quote, a “meat basher”, has conceived a chair that simultaneously engages with classic simplicity and bold design. Bailey’s embellishment of the chair with a series of studs testifies to the texture and power of the kitchen utensil. The high finish of the chair is credited to the lengthy process by which the chair was made:  the studs are forged onto the surface itself thus consuming the chair with its own design, urging sitter to explore the paradoxical relationship between functional necessity and the practicality of transient trends.

As a close friend of Jamie’s, Paul Smith’s contribution to The Big Chair Project records the tumultuous battle of the ‘id’ and the ‘super-ego’ of food. On one side, Smith collages his chair with the “disgusting kitsch cakes” of Fanny Craddock, presenting a garish but delicious feast for hungry eyes. The voice of food consciousness patterns the back of the chair, as a kaleidoscopic spread of fresh fruit and vegetables, as advocated by Jamie, notes the positive alternative to the sugary treats.

Matthew Williamson conjures up a phantasmagoria of pom-poms and pears as though having just stepped out of a surrealist masterpiece. The British designer, famed for his vivacious prints and embellishment, sets golden pears and branches of cranberries within bouquets of orchids and spectacular tropical flowers in a symphony of psychedelic colour and mouth-watering food.

Another outstanding contributor to the project is illustrator Quentin Blake. Embarking on his first venture with chairs, Blake explores the overarching motivation behind the BIG Chair Project: children. Blake’s first chair depicts levitating children juggling fruit salads and chomping on apples tiling the seat with playful tributes to the charity. His second chair is dedicated to a fantastical family of dragons passing down the knowledge of cooking know-how, ironically a myth to the children of the current generation.  

The centrepiece of the auction will be a Tracey Emin ANT™ chair, which will be unveiled at the event as an exclusive item. 

Jamie Oliver has also taken on the challenge, collaborating with world renowned photographer David Loftus on two chairs, and customizing a classic EGG™ chair and footstool himself.

Commenting on The BIG Chair Project, Jamie Oliver said, “It’s incredibly exciting to think that Fifteen restaurant and the Foundation have been helping to inspire, educate and empower young people for 10 years now. I'm truly humbled to have such a brilliantly talented group of people from the fashion and art worlds to help on this fantastic project to raise money and help us mark the occasion. If you'd like to help us celebrate too, check out the Foundation website for more info.”

A full list of artists and designers involved in The BIG Chair Project:

·      Barnaby Purdy

·      Cath Kidston

·      Christopher Bailey, Burberry Chief Creative Officer

·      David Loftus

·      Emma Tissier

·      INSA

·      Jamie Oliver

·      Jay Jay Burridge

·      Jonathan Yeo

·      Julian McDonald

·      The Liberty Art Fabrics Design Studio

·      Matthew Williamson

·      Nunzio Citro the Colour Kid (former Fifteen apprentice)

·      Paul Smith

·      Quentin Blake

·      Ricardo Cinalli

·      Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen

·      Superdry

·      Jo Sampson for Waterford

·      Tracey Emin

There are lots of ways for the public to support the initiative. Some of the chairs will be available to win as part of a lottery.  People simply need to buy a ticket at www.thebigchairproject.com to support the initiative and be in with a chance of winning a unique chair from one of the designers.

The remaining chairs will be auctioned online to give fans across the world the chance to get their hands on a truly unique piece of furniture.

For more information about The BIG Chair Project and to donate money to the Better Food Foundation, please visit www.thebigchairproject.com.

Excuse any spelling/grammar issues, it has been MANIC trying to write this... I would like to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone at Jamie Oliver and The Better Food Foundation for making my time with you an absolute pleasure and I hope to work with you again soon!

All photographs © David Loftus + David Parry