Exhibitions Diary
The Magic Theatre
14 February - 25 February 2012
The Magic Theatre Drawing Collective is a varied group of artists and academics including Rachel Gannon, Illustration Lecturer and Glyn Brewerton, Course Leader, BA Illustration at Norwich University College of the Arts, curated by Mark Manning, Manchester Metropolitan University. Rooted in the Royal College of Art philosophy of intuitive drawing and image making, the group and its international guests all share a passion for drawing in its broadest sense and utilise many forms of expression from pictures to prose. Much of the work is visual storytelling and without a linear, literary or literal text - the images evoke an element of ambiguity.
The varied works in this touring show are a mix of personal and contextual responses to the myriad themes of myth, magic, habitat and landscape - both inner and outer. These include Quentin Blake's unpublished personal drawing Women with Creature, Audrey Niffeneggers haunting drawings and new personal works by graphic design author and critic Jessica Helfands.
As human beings we are receptive to the most abstract of visual images just as we relate to sound and music. Light, form and colour create atmospheric nuances and prompt our senses, emotions, memories and experiences. These are complex optical and neurological processes but are also much too free and elusive to be trapped by scientific theory or language alone.
As individuals we carry unique formative experiences and bring personal knowledge, feelings and bias to the images, paintings and photography we view. Yet it is often a subconscious recognition or sensation, a kind of déjà vu that triggers the bond.
'Every man or woman is not only him or herself; for he or she is also the unique, particular, always significant and remarkable point where the phenomena of the world intersect once and for all and never again.'
Hermann Hesse, 1958This frequency has a rogue antenna and an elusive reception - and if this magical reception is to transmit at all then the viewers empathy switch has to be switched on. In this digital and anxious age this subtle reception is often sadly switched to standby or sits 'out of tune’. Indeed time and 'being' has to be spent in order for the passage to occur - so please viewer, take your time.
In Four Quartets T.S. Elliot wrote: 'We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place as if for the first time.’ Self expression through drawing and indeed also photography allows the pictorial translation of often transient passing ideas and concepts and elusive feelings. Understanding and trusting our own perceptions intuitively is a key element to making work that is not too self conscious or 'fashioned'.
Printed in Norfolk
Coracle Press 1987-2012
20 March - 21 April 2012
A rare opportunity to see an exhibition and reading room showcasing work by leading small press and artists' book publisher Coracle. Printed in Norfolk focuses on publications produced during a twenty-year period when Coracle directors artist, poet and curator Simon Cutts and artist and writer Erica Van Horn regularly made work with Kings Lynn printer Crome and Akers and book binder Stuart Settle from Fakenham.
On show will be artists' books, poetry, ephemera, catalogues, critical documents and anthologies. Alongside works by Cutts and Van Horn, will be publications produced in collaboration with leading artists (Kurt Schwitters, Thomas Joshua Cooper, Gustav Metzger, Paul Etienne Lincoln and Yoko Terauchi) and poets (John Bevis, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Harry Gilonis, Susan Howe, Cralan Kelder, Thomas Meyer and William Minor).
This is a touring exhibition organised by RGAP (Research Group for Artists Publications) and Helen Mitchell and supported by The Arts Council England and the Henry Moore Foundation. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue designed by Colin Sackett and published by RGAP.
You Are Here
Works by the legendary American graphic designer Lance Wyman
1 May – 9 June 2012
Lance Wyman graduated from the Pratt Institute with a degree in industrial design in 1960 and went on to develop an iconic functional style which can be seen in some of his best-known works including the Washington DC Metro map, the 1968 Mexico Olympic logotype and the 1970 Mexico World Cup stamps, graphics and posters. Lance Wyman is one of the world's leading lights in 'Wayfinding', the concept of using signage, graphic communication and spatial logic to assist people in finding their way around unfamiliar and complex environments.
This show will feature work from some of Wyman's most notable graphic design and wayfinding projects along with other rare and celebrated works such as Mexico's first commemorative stamp, commissioned by the family of Martin Luther King following the assassination of the American civil rights leader in 1968. More recent works to be shown will include designs for the Barack Obama presidential campaign and elements from the renowned wayfinding system for the U.S. National Zoo in Washington DC.
Lance Wyman will also visit NUCA as part of the programme of events surrounding this exhibition.
BA Degree Show 2012
Norwich University College of the Arts undergraduate student show
27 June - 3 July 2012
Norwich University College of the Arts presents its final show of the academic year, with graduating students displaying their final works as the campus is thrown open to the public for a week of degree shows. Featuring work from all graduating courses from the faculties of art, design and media, the BA Degree Shows 2012 are an important opportunity for students to display their talents to nationally and locally based employers, buyers and curators.
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