Art and Design
Case Studies of Contemporary
Practice from
Gray’s School of Art,
Higher and Advanced Higher
7056
Summer 2000
HIGHER STILL
Art and Design
Case Studies of Contemporary Practice
from Gray’s School of Art,
Robert Gordon’s University
Higher and Advanced Higher
Support Materials


Acknowledgements
The Higher Still Development Unit would like to thank staff (particularly David
Henderson) at Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University, for the cooperation,
assistance and support given in producing the materials.
In addition, thanks are also extended to the following students who were involved in
producing the studies:
 Judith Tait
 George Ziffo
 Doreen MacLennan
 Donna Stephen
 Christine Munch
 Claire Chambers
 Susan Cochrane
Contents
Preface
Background
Using the CD-ROM
Content of the Studies
Art and Design Support Materials: Case Studies of Contemporary Practice from Gray’s School
of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Art and Design Support Materials: Case Studies of Contemporary Practice from
Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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PREFACE
Focus of the materials
These support materials relate to:
 Art and Design Studies
 Design Activity
 Expressive Activity.
With suitable mediation, teachers/tutors may use the materials successfully with
students at any level, both for individual practical units and/or Art and Design Studies
units and for the same units as part of courses.
Audience
The support materials provide information for teachers/tutors and are also relevant to
students. Colour visuals documenting the work of students following courses at
Gray’s School of Art are supplied on the accompanying CD-ROM. These illustrate
different approaches and ideas in response to set projects in the fields of textile
design, figure composition, printmaking and visual communication. They can be used
directly by students, particularly those undertaking work in similar fields for Design
Activity, Expressive Activity or Art and Design Studies.
Purpose
The materials are designed to support Art and Design Studies, Design Activity and
Expressive Activity, in particular to:
 provide students with information and visual references
 provide support for student understanding of contemporary practice as part of
coursework requirements
 provide support for student understanding of different fields in the visual arts and
design
 help students develop their own practical ideas.
Other relevant materials
These support materials provided by the Higher Still Development Unit may also be
of interest:
 Similar studies from other Higher Education institutions specialising in Art and
Design
 Other support materials relevant to the studies of individual students
 Other Art and Design support materials relevant to the work of individual
students.
Art and Design Support Materials: Case Studies of Contemporary Practice from
Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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BACKGROUND
These support materials have been produced by the Higher Still Development
Programme with the help of staff and students at Gray’s School of Art, Robert
Gordon’s University. Their assistance is gratefully acknowledged.
The School was asked to identify the work of some contemporary students who would
provide their work and commentary on it for use by students undertaking Higher Still
Art and Design units and Art and Design courses. Explanatory text is provided here
and colour visuals are supplied on the accompanying CD-ROM. Both should be used
together.
In terms of support for assessment
The materials are designed to assist with:
 study of contemporary practice in different fields of the visual arts and design as
part of Art and Design Studies
 different practical approaches within Expressive Activity or Design Activity units.
In addition the materials assist with delivering coursework requirements, namely:
 study of a contemporary context or application
 3 dimensional working
 a relevant external assessment theme.
In terms of promoting effective learning and teaching
The materials are a dynamic and relevant way for students to study textile design and
visual communication within Art and Design Studies: Design and figure composition
and printmaking in Art and Design Studies: Visual Arts. The students’ thinking,
approaches and work are all innovative and personal in terms of interpretation of set
project themes. Students’ commentaries and practical work help Higher Still students
to identify key elements relevant to Expressive Activity and Design Activity. The
students combine individual responses to project briefs, with creative views and
approaches, using different materials to produce innovative conclusions. They are
near contemporaries of the students following Higher Still courses and are
undertaking courses that some Higher Still students will also aim to undertake. They
also give an insight into the processes and standards expected of students in advanced
Art and Design courses. Higher Still students are likely to relate to them, therefore.
Students may also find helpful ideas and advice within the materials that directly
support their own approaches and 3-dimensional working within Design Activity
and/or Expressive Activity.
Art and Design Support Materials: Case Studies of Contemporary Practice from
Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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USING THE CD-ROM
The colour visuals on the CD have been supplied in a file format that can easily be
imported into most word-processing packages or viewed in most drawing packages.
Although it may vary slightly between different programs, the following instructions
should apply to most.
From within your word-processing/drawing software go to insert/import/place or to
the command that you normally use to bring in text or an image into that program.
Navigate to the CD drive and open the main folder. Within it you will find a folder for
each of the students, and within these folders are the examples of their work. Each file
has the initials of the student and a number that corresponds to the illustration list
within the text. Double click on the image that you want and it will appear within
your program.
Alternatively, you could place your CD in your computer, access the CD drive,
double click on the image that you require and that should launch the necessary
program to view the file.
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CONTENT OF THE STUDIES
Project Student
Category
Project Brief
A
Judith Tait
Textiles
RSA Design Student Competition
B
George Ziffo
Figure Composition
Procedure and Composition
C
Doreen MacLennan
Figure Composition
Ambitious Composition
D
Donna Stephen
Textiles
Brief Encounters Brief (B)
E
Christine Munch
Visual Communication
Scotland on Sunday - Postcards
F
Claire Chambers
Natural Environment
Printmaking: Collograph - Mixed Media
G
Susan Cochrane
Visual Communication
Swing Tags
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Project (A)
Judith Tait
Textiles
RSA Design Student Composition: Modernist: Urban/City Living
(see brief on pages 8 and 9)
 Primarily development of repeat design for interior fabrics base on the URBAN theme
 Clear choice of colour palette in terms of tonal blacks/whites, darker plums and greys
 Strong emphasis on geometry, architectural structures resulted in a range of sequential design
solutions
 Smaller/mid scale repeats designs
 Visual research included own colour photography and sketchbook drawings
 Designs explore a range of grid formats including checks, dots and diagonals
 Texture and surface is built up using brush marks, splattered paint and areas of flat colour
 Later designs have a strong horizontal emphasis
 Some designs use a wide tonal range from white through to black, others use a closer tonal
grouping with designs developed through contrasting colour
 Some designs exploit the edges of shapes, others merge edges to produce a softer image
No. of slides: 30
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Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Project (B)
George Ziffo
Figure Composition
Procedure and Composition
(see brief on page 12)
 The slides illustrate a number of projects exploring the figure in space, mood, scale and atmosphere
 Strong development of personal drawing with emphasis on mark making, tone and depth of space
 Some slides show a more analytical development of the figure in studio, using pen and ink drawings
and tonal studies in oils
 Painted studies explore the introduction of colour using a monochrome palette with blue/greys
predominant
 Compositional development sheets explore internal spaces, perspective and the placement of an
isolated figure
 Other paintings combine portraits with flat colour and graphic images
 A range of media is used, including pencil, charcoal, oils and turps on paper, acrylic paint on board
and oil on canvas
 The slide sequence show the integration of traditional drawing methods towards more abstract
solutions and the use of drawing to build a personal visual language.
No. of slides: 36
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Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Art and Design Support Materials: Case Studies of Contemporary Practice from
Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Project (C)
Doreen MacLennan
Figure Composition
Ambitious Composition
(see brief on page 14)
 This body of work shows the development of figure composition across a number of related projects
 A range of work is documented in the slides including portrait drawings and early life paintings,
including figure compositions based on the local environment, e.g. harbour worker
 Reference was made to other artists and movements including traditional and contemporary 20th
century: Max Beckmann, James Cumming, Balthus, Andrew Wyeth; studio painting around the
figure draped and life to inform later more complex compositional works
 Consideration given to tonal qualities in the work, placement, relationship of figure in space and
positive negative space
 Development drawings explore technical methods and thinking employed by other artists - colour
palette is wide with little restriction
 Tonal qualities are considered fully and help to maintain a cohesive approach to colour
 A range of secondary sources are investigated, looking at drawing, tonal values, placement,
composition and use of media
 Development sheets show linear, tonal and colour variations prior to completing the finished work
 Colour studies on paper investigate the methods of other artists to help understand meaning,
context, use of media, colour and drawing
 These studies are small in scale (approx. A4) providing the opportunity to test methods quickly and
spontaneously; they use acrylic paint on paper/cardboard
 Final paintings are on a larger scale (approx. 5’ x 4’) painted in oils on canvas, and relate to
expressionist figurative movement
No. of slides: 45
Art and Design Support Materials: Case Studies of Contemporary Practice from
Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Art and Design Support Materials: Case Studies of Contemporary Practice from
Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Project (D)
Donna Stephen
Textiles
Brief Encounters: Interior Fabrics
(see brief on pages 16 and 17)
 Slides show initial visual research from Scottish interiors and historical/current travel
 ‘Colour’ design boards, establish the intention to use bright primary colours
 Colour sheets test the potential combination of colours, with reds and blues predominant
 Colour studies make use of oil pastel scraped through to contrasting colours beneath, photographic
images, and CAD designs printed out in colour
 Analysis is made of traditional tartans/repeat formats
 Earlier structural drawn elements are combined with checks and tartan repeats
 Diagonal and curved graphic images are used in combination with checks, some with inserts of
contrasting colours
 Throughout the project the use of CAD has been integrated in the design process along with more
traditional working methods
No. of slides: 19
Art and Design Support Materials: Case Studies of Contemporary Practice from
Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Art and Design Support Materials: Case Studies of Contemporary Practice from
Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Project (E)
Christine Munch
Visual Communication
Scotland on Sunday – Postcards
(see brief on page 20)
 Project aims to produce ideas for a group of mail-shot postcards to promote editorial areas covered
by the Scotsman newspaper
 Issues explored focused on Appointments, Sports, Youth, and Business
 The approach used concentrated on simple graphic images to intrigue and to get people to question
the meaning
 Visual research included looking at the language, photography, type placement of the newspaper
 Newspaper layouts are complex and sometimes confusing with different articles and styles next to
one another on the same page, competing for the attention of the reader
 Initially explored more complex images then reduced down to minimal content
 Final solutions referred to: the highlighter felt pen often used to circle jobs when looking for a new
career; the lines of the athletic track; the business card shows a board game layout with money to
invest or place in a chosen sector; and finally the youth postcard used a more complex image with
strong colour trying to capture the concept of neon light, clubbing, etc.
No. of slides: 19
Art and Design Support Materials: Case Studies of Contemporary Practice from
Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Art and Design Support Materials: Case Studies of Contemporary Practice from
Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Project (F)
Claire Chambers
Natural Environment
Print Collograph - Mixed Media
(see brief on pages 22 and 23)
 Images deal with dimensional organisation and flat compositional emphasis on the picture plane
 Sources included photographs (own) of natural forms, tree trunks and bark, etc., used in conjunction
with weathered surfaces and rusting metals
 A number of images are considered separately, initially dealing with colour, surface, composition
and colour
 Sketchbook pages show linear drawings exploring space, composition and sculptural structures
adapted from the original photographs and studies
 Colour is investigated with direct reference made to the original photographic visual research
 Less complex prints test the building up of layers through colour, placement and surface
 The final print combines elements from a number of sources and returns to the theme of rusting
structures in the landscape
No. of slides: 14
Art and Design Support Materials: Case Studies of Contemporary Practice from
Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Project (G)
Susan Cochrane
Visual Communication
Swing Tickets
(see brief and notes on pages 26 and 27)
 Project deals with the use of swing tickets on fashion items to establish brand identity
 Student chose to focus on an offshore theme, for associated products - water sports, wet suits,
boating, and surfing, etc.
 Visual research included collecting a range of existing swing tickets
 Tickets were evaluated with consideration given to the use of text, colour, scale, graphics symbols,
intended market, encapsulation, use of tiers and so on
 Development sheets explored the language of ‘offshore’, oil and water, materials used - rubbers and
metals, bright colour
 Student decided to make tags which people would want to keep, wear or use, for example as a key
fob or fashion accessory
 If the tags were kept the brand would become more visible, recognised and collectable
 A number of tags were created exploiting oil and water, bright colours, different fixings and physical
shapes
 Some used tubular rubber pipe, others made use of sealed plastic shapes
No. of slides: 15
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Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon’s University (Higher and Advanced Higher)
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