We are thrilled that the Art Department provides as many opportunities as possible for students, across all key stages, to experience live art work.  

In September, Year 12 and Year 13 Art students visited the Royal Academy of Arts in London to see the paintings of two of the most significant and influential figures in the history of Western art, Vincent Van Gogh and Anslem Kiefer. This exhibition enabled students to understand how artists influence one another and evolve personal and layered themes in their work.  Kiefer has been inspired by Van Gogh’s work throughout his nearly 60-year career. Van Gogh, the pioneer of Post-Impressionism, has informed the subjects and techniques of Kiefer’s monumental paintings and sculptures which draw on history, mythology, literature, philosophy and science. 

We then visited The Photographers’ Gallery, the largest public gallery in London dedicated to photography, with exhibitions from emerging talent to established artists. The students were excellent company on this visit. 

Thank you to Mrs Padgham for accompanying the trip, we had a great day.

In October, we secured a rare opportunity for Year 9 students to participate in a sculpture workshop at the Henry Moore Studios and Sculpture Gardens in Much Hadham.  This is the work-place and family home of 20th century sculptor Henry Moore, with over 70 acres of sculpture gardens and rolling fields. Each year the sculpture gardens display over 20 of Moore's world-famous, monumental sculptures, showcasing his work as he intended, against the landscape he shaped. During the session students learnt about how Henry Moore experimented with plaster and other materials to create his sculptures. They looked inside his maquette studio to understand more about his inspiration and ways of working, and then tried out both casting and carving with plaster. 

Thank you Year 9 for your exemplary behaviour on this trip.

Thanks also to Mrs Davies and Mr Taylor (who thoroughly enjoyed making his sculpture) for driving the minibuses and to Mr Ali for accompanying the trip.  We cannot do these things without your support.

Have a great half-term break!

Miss Challis

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