Barbie and Hollywood Films Inspire Art Students
The iconic doll Barbie and the Hollywood films of Tim Burton provided inspiration for our Form 7 CCS art students in an action-packed day visiting art galleries in London.
Director of Art and Design, Elinor Brass, tells us more:
“The CCS students are each designing a fictional exhibition for their coursework project, so the trip offered a chance to consider curatorial decisions, as well as how contrasting artworks can be shown. The students were also considering the marketing, design and public programme that surrounded the exhibitions.
We started at the Design Museum where we saw the permanent collection on display as well as visiting two temporary exhibitions. The first exhibition focused on Barbie and the design evolution of the world’s most famous doll. It is an exhibition that uses playful display methods, presenting how the doll reflects changes in society. The second show explores the fantastical world of Tim Burton through his creations and collaborations with designers. It was theatrical in how the work was displayed and offered visitors the chance to see Burton’s characters come to life.
After the Design Museum, we jumped back into the minibus and drove to the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington. The V and A is the world’s largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design. The collection is made up of ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, silver, ironwork, jewellery, furniture, medieval objects, sculpture, prints and printmaking. Its collection of drawings and photographs are among the largest and most comprehensive in the world.
Our final destination was the Serpentine Gallery where we visited the Lauren Halsey exhibition. Halsey is a contemporary American artist who uses architecture, objects and installation art to demonstrate the realities of urban neighbourhoods. The white cube gallery space was transformed through Halsey’s merging of objects and imagery. It was an engaging and inspiring exhibition which was in complete contrast from the other exhibitions, pushing the boundaries of how gallery spaces can be used.”
