Show RCA 2014: School of Humanities
The School of Humanities performs a vital, central role at the Royal College of Art, supporting and contributing to the critical discourse that is a signature experience of the RCA for makers and theorists alike. The four exhibiting programmes engaged widely with Show RCA 2014 audiences in reviews, symposia, radio broadcasts and physical displays, collectively challenging the boundaries of traditional exhibition making.
Curating Contemporary Art’s graduate exhibition …all silent but for the buzzing… took place in April 2014. For the Show, CCA hosted a live online radio show from their Battersea ‘shed’, …all silent but for the broadcast…, exploring the spatial qualities of sound, live acts of communication and ideas of broadcast and radio. Contributors include the RCA programmes of Critical Writing in Art & Design, Design Interactions, Information Experience Design, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Service Design and Visual Communication, as well as the Royal College of Music.
Critical & Historical Studies PhD Duncan Cook’s thesis ‘Art, Agency and Eco-Politics: Rethinking Urban Subjects and Environment(s)’, engages at the boundaries of nature and culture, examining ways in which certain modes of cultural production initiate complex interactions between parallel ecologies, especially those ecologies that intersect with one another in the heterogeneous environment(s) of the socio-natural urban matrix.
The graduating Critical Writing in Art & Design students demonstrated admirably the range of texts they have produced, showcasing their ability to work individually and collectively as writers. Highlights include Ark: Words and Images from the Royal College of Art Magazine 1950-78, includes original material from the magazine selected and introduced by Critical Writing students, and is designed by Visual Communication graduate Jorg Schwertfeger. Ends Meet, designed by Jonas Bertod and Andrew Brash, presents a collection of responses to the theme of exchange, considering the mechanisms of giving and receiving and the meaning of value. In addition to some fascinating insights into the nature of currency and our relationships with physical places, it includes a rousing call to action on generosity by artist Neil Cummings, as well as pieces by Susanne Kuechler, Katrina Palmer, Ann Pettifor and Nina Power. These and other texts can be purchased here.
In History of Design, the challenges of presenting text-based research are exemplified and overcome, as each student selected an object to represent the essence of their dissertation subject. From nineteenth-century ice-cream spaddles, to falconry hoods, and almanacs to paper cups, the students managed an enticing visual display of the subjects of their design concerns.