New art talent showcased at MMU

THIS year’s Manchester School of Art MA Show starts tomorrow and once again showcases some of the country’s most exciting up-and-coming artists. 

From huge installations hanging from the ceiling of the School of Art to the intricate detailing of work in textiles, the MA Show is sure to impress and delight.

Titled End of the Beginning, the show is the first step for many of the students on their way to international careers.

Dean of the Manchester School of Art, Prof David Crow, said: “We are proud to present this year’s postgraduate students as they become the most recent contribution to the creative and cultural activities that are an asset to the city, the UK and internationally.”

Social making

Two students in particular have been chosen as “ones to watch” by their tutors.

Kate Dunstone has just completed an MA Design and Art Direction, and Michael Wild an MA in Three Dimensional Design.

Kate’s project focuses around the collaborative making of books, and she worked with artists as far afield as France and Sweden as well as community groups in and around Manchester.

“I call what I do social making. It’s all focused on collaboration and how social relationships work in design,” she said.

Artists’ collaboration

Kate was inspired to start the project by her undergraduate research into knitting circles.

Impressed by the collaborative spirit of the crafting community, she wondered if something similar could be found among artists and designers.

She signed up not only individual artists but also organisations such as The People’s History Museum, the community group Arts for Nature and the Manchester Youth Council to be involved in making six books, each with a different purpose.

From “People’s Guides” to the museum to a pop up ‘zine creation session in Manchester’s Sand Bar, Kate’s work questions the idea that design is a solitary pursuit.

Starting a dialogue

Michael Wild, a ceramicist, spent his MA in Three Dimensional Design investigating the impact digital technology has on craft.

He opened a pop up gallery in his own home to help promote local makers, as part of an investigation into how we value handmade items.

He says he wanted to “open up a dialogue” about how these values could change with the advent of technology such as computer-aided design.

“There shouldn’t be a boundary between being handmade and digital,” he said. “I’m really interested in the value statuses of the traditional maker and what is handmade now, does it have to be handmade from concept to creation or are these new moulds of digital technology a new way of making?”

Next generation

For the show, Michael will be showing a “hypnotic” installation of clay pots being sent down a conveyor belt before plopping off the end, which he describes as “not a performance piece, kind of a visual narrative to create debate about handmade and the shift of the crafts person or maker. It’s particularly about how this is going to effect the next generation of makers.”

One pot will go down the conveyor belt every 20 seconds, before falling to its squishy fate.

“It’s about the over saturation of makers in financially restricted industry,” said Michael. “There’re a lot of metaphors, it’s a catalyst not a conclusion.”

Michael, who has just opened his own design practice, May Wild, said that studying towards an MA “got to the core of what my practice was and took me out of my comfort zone. It was crucial for my practice, it gave me time to engage with my practice and theory issues and concepts.”

• The show opens to the public on Friday will run until October 12. For more information, visit http://www.art.mmu.ac.uk/mashow/