Photography 02
Teacher: Ilse Leenders
#covid-19 #stayathome #lockdown
In the second part of the course Photography 02, students focus on a long-term project that culminates in an exhibition. Unfortunately, right at the start, The Netherlands went into lockdown and some students returned to their home countries (France, Italy, Taiwan). From then onwards, we met online every week and had very intense 2,5-hour meetings. Sometimes with bad internet connections and only voices, no images. Despite these difficulties, the group stayed strong and almost everybody returned to class each week to give feedback on each other’s work and to stay connected. It was wonderful to experience the dedication of the students and the progress that they made in this challenging time. My compliments to the students.
The students worked with the theme #covid-19 #stayathome #lockdown and created a personal concept within this theme. For inspiration and reference, we looked into the work of photographers like Roger Ballen & Asger Callon, Thomas Ruff and art-critic John Berger. The results are very varied. Some students reflected on what this period meant for themselves and created a project that is very close to their personal experience of the lockdown. Others observed how the society was dealing with the new ways of connecting and communicating, by going outside into the streets or by connecting online.
ACPA Practicum Artium
Welcome!
Practicum Artium is a joint programme by KABK and Leiden University that offers talented students from Leiden University the opportunity to develop their artistic skills in in drawing, graphic design, painting or photography during a semester at KABK. Practicum Artium traditionally culminates in a presentation of the students’ artistic works to celebrate the developments they’ve achieved. This year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we unfortunately cannot organize a physical exhibition. As we all wait for the current measures to be lifted, we are exploring new, digital ways to stay connected. This year’s Practicum Artium exhibition will therefore take place on Research Catalogue, an online, collaborative workspace where art and academia meet.
The exhibition
The arts can be a reflection on society and its times. It therefore does not come as a surprise that many students chose to comment and reflect on the Covid-19 pandemic in their final artistic works. The coronavirus has planted seeds of inspiration for some. For others, it’s mostly the dark energy and sadness of the pandemic that resonates in their work. Besides the pandemic, also other urgent topics were explored, such as climate change, the human-nature relationship, patriarchy and the end of our times. And more personal themes like fragility, dreams and student life.
Viewing art online changes the experience. Some nuances might be lost in digital form, such as the daylight hitting a material surface or the scent of paint on a canvas. Other experiences will be added, such as the possibility to re-visit the exhibition space again and again and again at any moment and from any place you’d prefer.
Please feel welcome to freely scroll, click, read, swipe and navigate your way through this online exhibition space, and enjoy the diverse works of these art students!
Drawing 02
Teacher: Eric Hirdes
Imagine, drawing, presentation.
The essence of drawing is the representation of reflections of a thought, feeling or idea. This years’ Drawing 02 participants proved to be very enthusiastic and flexible in transforming the new 'teaching and learning online' towards fabulous pieces of art.
At the start of Drawing 02, students were asked to choose a common content wise subject, an abstract idea or concept, based on personal fascination, experience or a social-cultural point of view. Regarding this topic of choice, research and drawing methods are developed. The main goal for this drawing process has been to gain insight into individual interests and artistic possibilities; how to realize this process into a deeper experimental research.
This online exhibition is the visual result of personal experiences of the times we are currently living in, reflecting the above-mentioned drawing process.
I would herewith like to invite you to enjoy the outstanding and fantastic results in this great online exhibition. I am certain that these works will trigger your imagination!
Painting 02
Teacher: Tanja Smit
A painting is constructed slowly, stroke by stroke. If you look closely at the paintings in this exhibition, they will put you into direct contact with the hands, eyes and minds of nine young students from Leiden University. Halfway the course their classes suddenly moved online and the students often travelled back to where they came from. But they all kept painting! In Leiden, but now also in the UK, Hungary, the USA and even Australia. Their paintings in this exhibition are partly studies, and partly their own individually developed painting projects. The projects combine the newly learnt skills both with their primary studies at Leiden University, as with their personal ideas, feelings and experiences. They offer us nine very different views on our rapidly changing world.