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C o n t e n t sThis time last year we found out there was the possition of Editorial Officer available in the Students’ Union. We were both interested in the role and decided to combine both of our skills and knowledge and apply together. At first it was a struggle to get it off the ground, but soon we had created a small (yet inspiring and always reliable) team of creatives. Before we knew it we were getting phenominal articles in our inbox and ridiculous ideas were turning into reality. A year on and none of us can believe our first issue is finally complete. As this is Leeds College of Art’s first ever issue of any LCA Students’ Union magazine publication, we are both nervous, yet excited to introduce you to our brand spanking new masterpeice that is ‘NEST’. We would love to get your feedback and your involvement in the next issue, but for now, enjoy your read!Sacha Frampton and Kai West (Co-editorial Officers)

This issue’s front cover was delicately created by the wonderful artist Sophie Wilson, who’s playful work brings nostalgia to many, getting her noticed across the UK as well as having a worldwide fanbase, mainly due to her phenominal skills at networking. We met her at Nation of Shopkeepers, where she let us into let us into the secrets of her success in ‘NEST’ magazine’s first interview.

Would you call yourself, an Illustrator or Graphic Designer?Whispers Graphic Designer into my ear when she takes a sneaky peak at the first

question. I think nowadays probably more graphic design, ‘cause of life constraints, I’m looking more into editorial design; but it changes daily, I don’t want to put too firm a stamp on it! Saying that my business cards say Graphic Designer, I think you get more taken seriously If you put that… not that I’m very serious!

How have you managed to get your work out into the public?I started selling online last year, just out of interest as many illustrators and designers I love sell online and do really well for themselves. I now mainly do it as a way of making

money. The first couple of weeks were tough, it’s just getting your work out there, but now I restock my shop every day. All you have to do is spam people a lot and piss everyone off, which I do! I count myself lucky that it took off, as I now have work sold in two shops, from people getting in contact with me. I also followed the Reetsweet blog after going to one of their events, and noticed that they had a flyering job, which led me to get chatting to the lovely Becky the founder of Reetsweet craft fairs, which I then showed a link to my work to, which then led to me having a stall at the next fair!

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Sophie WilsonThird year BA (Hons) Graphic Design student

Do you have a certain playlist to help you get in the mood to work?I tend to have a set playlist, it depends on my mood and what work I’m doing though. I definitely have a few artists that get me in the zone, which are mainly artists my parents listened to when I was younger, stuff like Simon and Garfuncal, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel and Fleetwood Mac. Beruit is definitely my modern favourite though.

How and when did you first get into art and design?I didn’t really do art at school; it was just a hobby then. When choosing gcse’s we were told we could choose two ‘preforming art’ subjects, which they suddenly changed to one, so I chose drama as I won an award for it. Instead I sneakily asked to sit in the art lessons when I could, which then led me to doing an art course at college and then applying and getting into Uni!!

What are your hobbies?I play quite a few instruments, clarinet, guitar and ukulele. I also think I can sing… but I can’t! I like to travel, but like most people, I don’t enough, which I would like to change. I like reading, so I don’t have to talk to people really… haha I like being alone! I

really like films too and going to the cinema.

What’s your favourite food?I’m a veggie so I eat lots of veggie food, people think it’s (STILL) really new and funny when people say they have a bacon sandwich; I’ve been veggie for 12 years… It’s really not funny anymore!

What’s your favourite pen?Roots around bag. This pen, Uni ball or Letraset pens for colouring in though.

What are your plans for the future of your work?Next year I am seriously looking into getting an agent. I’m quite open to working in a studio, but I would much rather get commissioned work or projects. If possible I would also love to get a bit more work experience, as I have an interview for my favourite design company in the worlddd in a few weeks, which would be amazing if I got the place! Really though I just want to network and meet new people in the industry, and keep on spamming (you really can’t underestimate the power of social networking and tweeting)!

Website: cargocollective/sophiewilsonTwitter: @sophiewdesign

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‘ In & O ut’ Ma g a z i n eA 2nd Year Photography FMP: Benjamin TurgelStyle of dress establishes who we are. We use dress unconsciously and consciously to form an identity. Fashion is used to define status and the photographer’s representation can affect the identity of a person.

Benjamin Turgel’s project started from having a fascination with the influence of celebrity culture, using the inspiration of celebrity lookalike photographers like James Mollinson and Alison Jackson. Turgel found the idea of someone making

a career purely out of looking like somebody else fascinating. Interviewing the models further revealed similarities and differences in lifestyle and personality, and it was interesting to hear the models comments about how their lives compared to the celebrities. Turgel was interested in the concept of how two sides to a personality can exist in one person. ‘In & Out’ magazine explores the concept of having two sides to a personality: your own and your alter ego.

You can view ‘In & Out’ and more of Benjamin Turgel’s work atwww.behance.com/benjaminturgelContact Benjamin at bturgel@gmail.com

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We sent Fine Art student Jonathan Videgrain down to the capital to visit the latest Damien Hirst exhibition.

Walking through Tate Modern’s retrospective of Damien Hirst’s career, one is greeted with all the stereotypes you expect in a London gallery – especially one filled with multi-million pound dead things. In one corner, the obligatory bundle of art snobs cause a colourful cacophony of bright colours, so long as it’s black. They mutter quietly about ‘shocking confrontations with early maternal instincts’, ‘unashamed worshipping of colour’ and ‘haunting exposure to one’s own mortality’. All of which I too would reel off if I were to write an essay on the subject. Wandering aimlessly around the central vacuum of the gallery is a cloud of tourists. Like a moth – or a butterfly - to the flame,

they are no doubt attracted to the infamous stuffed shark, the arbitrary and sparse ‘spot’ painting and that £50m skull. Their utterances are a little more primitive than those of the snobs. ‘Yuck’, ‘disgusting’, ‘crap’, ‘what!?’, ‘beautiful’ and ‘ooh, shiny!!’ are just some of the monosyllabic musings of the sightseers-turned-art-critics.

Interestingly, these rather shallow impressions of Hirst’s work are equally – if not more – enlightening than that of the snobs. Not least because Hirst has gained a level of infamy that makes it near impossible to view his art anymore. The art-lover no longer sees For The Love of God (Diamond Skull), but sees the most expensive piece ever made. One doesn’t view Away From The Flock (Sheep in formaldehyde), but views the piece that led to Hirst and Oxfordian

D e a t h a n d D i a m o n d s The Damien Hirst Retrospective

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Mark Bridger bizarrely suing one another in 1994 and 1997. Thus, to the artlover, all artistic judgement is obscured by trivial facts about the artist. Only the novice – the holiday maker – can view the art and truly pass comment. And I, for one, regard ‘yuck’, ‘shiny’ and ‘beautiful’ as perfectly accurate evaluations of the exhibition.

But, alas, it is not the visitors I am here to interview, nor the artist himself. As I tower over a motionless lamb in formaldehyde, wander uninterested past a wall of seemingly identical spot paintings and hastily shuffle past the gaping jaw of a 10ft Tiger Shark, I slip through plastic sheets that make me feel like I am entering an industrial meat freezer. Quite the contrary. As the plastic sheets slide past me, I am bombarded with thick, sticky heat and the smell of fruit. Around me, hundreds of large butterflies swarm in their various stages of life. Some cascade down the canvas-clad walls of the room out of their pupa; others somnolently slumber across the central table of fruit.

One butterfly in particular has caught my eye; a Blue Morpho Butterfly, with a wingspan of at least 15cm, lands effortlessly on my shoulder. The butterfly truly is beautiful, and its wings have a unique metallic shine that question whether this beast is animal, or some tiny machine manufactured by the artist. True to say that everything in the exhibition hangs in the balance between animal and object. It is hard to comprehend that the Tiger Shark in formaldehyde was ever swimming freely in the oceans, seeking to induce a painful death on its prey, nor that the immense black circle entitled Black Sun was once thousands of swarming live flies. This anaesthetic –an induced numbness towards the living – is what makes the live butterfly room so beautifully disturbing and awakening. The room says ‘we are alive, and

everything else is dead’. I ask the butterfly how he feels about being the only living thing in the gallery.

‘I don’t take my life for granted, Hirst could have killed any of us whenever he wanted. I am aware that the room previous to our live room is filled with dead butterflies on canvasses, treated like paint. I know that Hirst loves colour, so I suppose he wanted to use beautifully coloured things to paint with. Why imitate the colours of a butterfly in paint when one can just stick butterflies to the wall? We are the paint of the future.’ The butterfly seems philosophical about his mortality, a little like Hirst. I can’t help but wonder if Hirst would want his body pinned to a wall when he dies. Or maybe just incrusted with diamonds. And of course that comment: ‘the paint of the future’. This perhaps sums up everything that the group of ‘Young British Artists’ stood for. Rejection of tradition, tendency to use found or ‘real life’ objects, themes of mortality and sexuality. It is no secret that for thousands of years primitive art has been made using natural pigments to paint with, such as blood and crushed animal bones. Enlightened by the butterfly’s vain acknowledgment of his own beauty, it strikes me that Hirst is not a contemporary visionary as first thought, but more like a primitive cave-dweller, hunting, crushing animals, and using this to decorate the walls of the cavernous Tate Modern.

Passing the formaldehyde-animals is a strange experience when in the company of a butterfly. It is not every day that one sees a butterfly inches away for the jaws of a shark, nor sitting inches above a cow, or indeed face-to-face with a dove. The metallic critter informs me that butterflies’ eyes are very sensitive to movement over colour, and this is what signifies danger to them. As the predators are not moving, they pose

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no threat. Even the dove, that would be a potential predator of the butterfly, evokes no danger to him. Each animal is nothing more than a symbol to the human spectator of Hirst’s work and once again connotation and association has clouded our judgement of the art that we really see. The shark is fear – albeit frozen in time and stripped of its deathly ability. The dove is peace – prophesised by the Bible and popularised, bizarrely, by Picasso. But to the butterfly the animals are still and emotionless. On the contrary, the colossal ‘spin’ paintings that dominate one room in the exhibition put the fear of death into the butterfly. And why not? Like cartoon-colour cogs of an epic machine, the disks grind round; belittling all that stand before it. To the human spectator, the lights and sounds are nothing more than an impressive fine-art version of the Dr Who opening credits. To the butterfly, the movement creates a cacophonous wormhole to an unknown place.

Truly, the experience of viewing art from the perspective of the butterfly has changed my perspective of not only Hirst’s approach to art and death, but to the way in which we view art of any nature. Whilst the butterfly sees very clearly that noisy, moving things could pose a threat to them, us humans have chosen to bring our own interpretations of danger, beauty and disgust. We have rationalised danger and irrationalised beauty so that the shark evoked fear –despite its stationary existence – and the sparkling cubic zirconia of his Diamond Cabinets series conveys instant beauty to the viewer, no doubt due to its undying connotation of monetary value. And why do the living flies that feed of the severed cows head not fill us with the same feelings of beauty? They are alive, whilst so much in the neighbouring rooms are not. No secret then that humans are shallow and see beauty in sparkling wealth and disgust in surviving life. The medicine cabinets that

are repeated again and again throughout the exhibition once bored me, but considered now, the thousands of pills of display are nothing but our answer to the value of life. Animals live and die and their vicious life cycle is unashamedly thrust upon us by Hirst. And perhaps more subtely, our own life cycle is also exposed to us. Born like the calf of Mother and Child, let free like the lone sheep of Away From the Flock, engorged with diamonds, gold and wealth; fed pills and chemicals to make us live longer, and allowed to witness love and peace – as recalled by his elegant floating dove: The Incomplete Truth. Then, the inevitable death. Of everything. Finally the animals and humans involved in Hirst’s work are levelled by the undercurrent of death in every corner.

Before I can afford to get too philosophical, my friend and guide, the butterfly, is distracted. Not surprising giving the size of his brain. I later find him perched on the floor of all places, his iridescent wings slumped on the floor by his sides, his eyes wide open and mouth dropped to the ground in awe. He is starring unblinkingly (can butterflies blink?!) at Judgement Day, a gold plated cabinet of aligned cubic zirconia. I remember then that butterflies are particularly sensitive to light reflecting off the special surface of each other’s wings. It seems like there is not much difference after all between animals and humans when it comes to shiny things. I leave my new friend to enjoy the reflections, knowing all too well that the butterfly is merely a sick prop in Hirst’s million pound production line, and will have no further use beyond this exhibition.

Written by Jonathan Videgrain

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O l y m p i c G o l d

Photographed by Jessie Leong - Volunteer Cast Performer in the Truck Party section

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As a recent Visual Communications graduate, Matt Saunders has been steadily making a sucessful carear for himself in the art and media industries. From creating the Bestival poster advertising The Cure to doing design work for Cath Kidston, Matt really understands how to create versitile work whilst maintaining a recognisable drawing style. ‘NEST’ caught up with him on Skype chat to talk about his magical illustrations, animations, and what it is really like to leave education.

How did you first get into ‘art’, was there anything you feel triggered an interest your childhood?I was more interested in writing stories when I was younger and I guess this got me interested in narrative. I am also a huge film fan I was raised on monster movies from the 50’s/60’s. Seeing King Kong and Jason and the Argonauts for the first time blew my mind and I think this is where my interest in myths and monsters comes from. Originally I was going to go to University to study English but made a quick u-turn and decided to go in

the art and design direction. I started out studying photography, which is how I learnt about composition, like creating stills from films and then it progressed into illustration (which was always a side thing for me) and then progressed into film and animation.

Have you ever thought about combining your writing skills with illustration, like making your own comics/graphic novels/children’s books?I have an idea for a children’s book and I have scripted it all out, I just need to sit

V i s i t i n gMatt Saunders

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down and do it! It’s called “The Muddle Puddle”.

It always takes time to put ideas down onto paper; do you find it easier to produce personal work or commissions where you have a set deadline?It depends how I feel on the day, sometimes I don’t want to draw cute stuff that I have to for a client, I am more interested in exploring darker stuff. Personal work can be easier but it depends on what is going on in your life at that point and whether your bank account is healthy or not. I have found I do what I want more when I am not worrying about what work is coming in next.

I can imagine it is tough balancing doing what you love whilst making money. Have you needed to maintain a part-time job to keep yourself afloat?

Do you have any tips for students on how to get commissions and not fall into the deep pit of doom where you’re left penniless?I was lucky that I got a job doing motion graphics straight out of uni. At the moment, this is my full time job, but when I left the motion graphics job I had to work in bars to keep the money coming in. But now it’s just this full time, being versatile has helped me out a lot, as I can edit videos as well as do the motion graphics (these are things that can pay quite well). I think the deep pit of doom will always come, being a creative, it is a lifestyle choice. You will never be rolling in money, paying in £50 notes while sipping Champagne. It can be really hard sometimes, I have likened it to a drug addiction but instead of everyone saying, “you should quit”

everyone is like “go on, do more” and sometimes paying you to fund this habit! It can be an emotional and physical roller coaster and University can never truly prepare you for how hard it can be sometimes. I would say, to a graduate to get a job and do it on the side, don’t just jump out of university and think you can be freelance, build contacts up, don’t always work for free. After three/four years you should have landed and feel a little more comfortable. Don’t get sucked into the part time job, I know so many people who were on creative courses who just don’t do it anymore, I don’t judge them as it’s really hard during that part of your life.

Do you think that surrounding yourself with artistic people after leaving University helps you to stay creative?

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Oh yes certainly! I am looking to rent a studio in summer as I work in the big spare room in my flat at the moment.

Do you think it’s important to separate your private life with your work?Yeah I remember having to work in the same room as my bed and it drove me insane. That’s why university is great you are given so much room to work in and people to banter with but this can also be a distraction sometimes. My personal life and working life are all mixed into one. I’m trying to sort that out at the moment, as for a while all I could talk about was work.

Do you maintain any hobbies outside your work?I go swimming, its pretty fun as I like to try imagine the different mammals people are. I’m also going to start running soon....

That’s cool, I love the fact you still keep your imagination flowing (in the literal sense too ha!)Yeah hobbies can bring new ideas. I take lots of walks as well, fresh air is always great.

When you do have to be indoors, do you have a specific playlist or certain

artists that you listen to when doing work, which helps ‘put you in the zone’?I have a really varied music taste, I think late night music would have to be things like The Album Leaf, Lali Puna, Isan, Vangelis (Blade Runner score)... basically minimal, electronic, synth music. During the day, I listen to playlists so I am not really thinking about what track is next. This site is really good for them http://www.birp.fm/, podcasts too, like Radio Lab and This American Life, I like to feel like I am learning as I am working. The late night stuff is mostly shoe-gaze and it’s something I capture in my work, especially the tree and stars stuff.

Do you find that the things around you influence your work? What would you say is your main influence and who’s work do you admire the most?I tend not to look at other illustrators work and look more towards sculpture and photography as I think that if you want to strive towards something new you wont get it by looking at other peoples work. If I had to say who inspired me it would be Edward Gorey, Mary Blair, Jim Flora, Maurice Sendak, Eyvind

Earle, Dr Seuss, Japanese wood block paintings, Andy Goldsworthy, Francisco Jose De Goya and José Guadalupe Posada. There’s also tonnes of other stuff, woods, trees, bark and rain... basically I am a sponge and I walk around and just soak it up and filter bits out.

See more of Matt’s work at www.rabbitportal.com/

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SNOG: These Rocky Roads are utterly moreish and you won’t be able to resist cutting up an extra-large piece for yourself.

MARRY: This Risotto is yummy enough for a dinner, even if leek isn’t quite the most romantic or impres-sive vegetable out there!

A VOID TO FILL: This is the Mother of Pie that will give you a warm hug that even the tinny radiator cranked up to the maximum setting in your student room can’t provide.

R e c i p e ’ sTo get hearts racing or keep them chasing

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James Murphy, our college’s Student Liaison, or commonly known as the Students’ Union guy, was in fact once an art student himself, like you and I. He was actually a student at Leeds Met, studying Art & Design, and is now continuing his practise along side his work here for the Students’ Union. James is currently producing a series of 5 foot tall, hand-drawn images of iconic drinks and American landmarks, in his beautifully bold and graphic style. I was able to catch up with him on his lunch break at Nation of Shopkeepers (at the same time as Sophie Wilson, there were lots of giggles and crazy stories amongst the laid back interview questions).

How did you first get into art and what sort of work do you enjoy doing?I think it helps that my mum is an accomplished illustrator, so it was always encouraged. I started out re- designing skateboard decks for friends at a young age. When they scuffed up their decks I redid them, they knew I could draw and could get away with paying me nothing. At the same time I would always choose art as an option at school, which turned out to be a drag. Around 15/16, I started helping friends out with tattoo designs, which in turn got me into

certain music. I was drawn in by flyers and posters that local and international bands would use, I knocked them up for friends’ bands to begin with and then got lucky by making posters for a number of bands I was into. I still do them every now and again when I have time.

Unfortunately, Illustration got beaten out of me at University but I now feel I am more productive and working harder than I ever have done. I can’t really describe the type of work I do as well as I’d like to. I see myself as an illustrator that portrays a bold and distinctive style and is always looking for something new to depict or create. I am equally at home printing t-shirts and posters, making fine illustrations, promo packs and other goodies. It’s what takes up most of my time at present anyway.

What are your hobbies outside of art?Mexican food! Making AND eating it! Can that be a hobby? Anyway...Apart from cooking I like to travel. Who doesn’t? I like going away, seeing and doing new things... For example, last year I went away to a different place/country each month (I must admit that was a very selfish New Year’s resolution!)

Artist

James MurphyOnce an art student...

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Is there anything that you would like to try?In all honesty, I can’t paint for shit! I would love to be able to paint, I could see myself as some 18th Century Italian Neoclassic artist if I tried... I normally work in just red, black and white, so maybe branching out there would be a start. I think I just need to generally get better at everything and just practice what I do and the way I do it. In the long run, I want to keep designing posters, t-shirts and boards and open a shop selling it all! Where is your favourite place on Earth and where would you still like to visit?My favourite place so far is San Francisco, it is such a striking place with really friendly, beautiful people and lots of interesting characters to chat to. It’s an interesting place and extremely creative and forward thinking. To me it has everything going for it. Saying that, the one place I’ve always wanted to go ever since I was little is Australia; I’m totally into rugby league and surfing which are both massive there. I like the Sun, the sea and being in cities. It just seems a very beautiful country with an infinitely cool, laid-back attitude. I’ll see... What’s your favourite animal?I’m not a very ‘animal-ly’ person, I like the look of elephants though. I like snakes and sharks because they are interesting and misunderstood. A shark would be a cool pet... pouring water into its tank and that... does pouring actions. My friends tell me I should like cats, I don’t agree with them. It’s not that I don’t like cats, I just don’t like cats a lot. All my friends LIKE CATS A LOT! What is your favourite genre of music?Probably….. [Long pause...]….. probably street punk. As always, this is a really difficult question to answer for no real reason what so ever. Yeah, melodic punk and rock & roll. Lots of bands to like, past and present.

Do you have a favourite pen?Best question ever! Everyone should have a favourite pen! I have two and I can’t decide between them. The Pilot V-sign liquid ink pen and the Edding pens from up in the college library are awesome. I use a number of point size pens in any given image and you can’t go wrong with those. I hope the library is stoked with me promoting their stock!!

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Websitewww.iamjamesdmurphy.co.uk

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H o w T o M a k e . . .Freshers Bunting from nothing (almost)

Fold Cut Punch

Gather

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Glue Stick

Join Hang

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May 1852; City of Westminster. Her Royal Highness Queen Victoria steps from her carriage to a well-rehearsed scattering of applause. Her Prince Consort, Albert, follows from behind, his startling scarlet uniform somehow managing to be shadowed into dull rouge by Victoria’s broad and dominating shoulders. Greeted by Henry Cole, co-organiser of The Great Exhibition of the previous year, The Queen steps up to the front gate of Marlborough House, Pall Mall, and silently cuts the red ribbon at its modestly-sized door. The South Kensington Museum was officially open.

Now, 60 years later, that museum has long since been relocated to Somerset House, and renamed The Victoria and Albert Museum. NEST Magazine brings the students of Leeds College of Art an exclusive interview with Prince Albert, and her (Once) Royal Highness; Queen Victoria.

Jonathan (interviewer): Your Royal Highness, can I say it is a great honour to have you here

with us today. Can I start with you, Albert? I understand that you were in fact the brains behind both the Great Exhibition of 1851, and the subsequent opening of the Museum that we know as the V&A. How would you describe your role in the museum both past and present?

Albert: Well, in the beginning, I helped establish the Great Exhibition with Henry Cole. We were both members of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce. Our aim was to promote and feed the growth of Britain’s industries and arts. Great Britain, at the time, was of course the greatest superpower and leaders in every field of design and technology. We had no rivals.

Jonathan: And now? Does the museum still do this?

Albert: Somehow, yes. The V&A is still the greatest museum for Art and Design in the world. It is Britain, that has failed us.

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Jonathan: How so?

Albert: As I say, Britain was once the greatest manufacturing empire in the world. We led the Industrial Revolution! But now we have countries like China and Japan overtaking us. In 2010, it was announced that China had the second biggest economy, behind America. Japan now lies third behind them with an economy worth £3.4 trillion! Great Britain has an estimated ranking of 7th. And why is this? Because Asian countries such as Japan and China know the importance of mass production. Masses of people performing masses of tasks to feed the world with vast quantities of products. The result is great financial gain for such countries.

However, hope is not lost for Britain. What China has lost is their ability to innovate – perhaps not in technology – but rather in design fields of fine art, fashion, furniture and even agricultural sciences. Modern-day visitors to China will observe the fetishisation, rather than a celebration, of traditional aesthetics. What was once a rich artistic culture of great uniqueness and skill has been regurgitated into outright Kitsch. It seems China, in hot pursue of America, has learnt to gain great wealth through mass-production but has lost its integrity to pioneer. With the exceptions of the rare individual with a mere smouldering of artistic vision, China is now good for only two things: tacky imitations of its ancestors’ glory, and cheap labour employed to provide ignorant Americans with a fattening dose of consumerist sustenance. Whilst The Great Exhibition was intended to maximise Britain’s economy through design and manufacture, it also held the intent of retaining Britain’s integrity and pride. To this day, the Great Exhibition’s successor: The V&A boasts some of the greatest contemporary British designers. Heatherwick Studios1, Bellville Sassoon, Alexander McQueen2, Professor D N Landis3. These are the British names that have laid their hands upon the very fabrics of our age and delicately twisted them into shapes

previously thought unimaginable.

Jonathan: You mentioned McQueen and Bellville Sassoon, who are both designers represented at the current Ballgowns exhibition at the V&A. Do you think that this exhibition reflects your original vision for the museum?

Albert: The exhibition is beautifully curated and definitely exposes the craft and great skill of Great British Designers. Of course, times have changed since The Great Exhibition and designers from all over the world can communicate their ideas to the entire world in an instant. When French shoemaker Christian Louboutin releases a new design, it is quickly snapped with Instagram and shared over Facebook and Twitter. In a flash, the design has gone global; China, Japan, Africa, America. In 21st Century design, there is no time, nor geographical limitations; thus, the V&A can no longer ignore designers from around the world and their great impact on the British Economy. The current Ballgowns exhibition is subtitled British Glamour since 1950. Sincere to the V&A’s foundations, it celebrates British Design, yet is not exhaustively patriotic. The limelight is shared with designers Hussein Chalayan and Erdem – both of Turkish descent. This tactic is sensitive to the changes Britain has witnessed since the Museum first opened, acknowledging how some of the greatest British designers are in fact of international heritage.

Not only does the V&A continue to educate the entire population (entry to the museum has been free of charge since 2001), but it boosts our economy. Welcome this: A visitor to the Ballgowns exhibition is seduced by the Hollywood decadence and elegant sensuality of a Jenny Packham bridal gown. This same visitor – their eyes glazed and distant with vision of themselves enrobed in that unreachable gown – may decide to visit Harrods Store, a true English institution, and purchase an opulent Jenny Packham chiffron nightdress for £309. The visitor has left the country with a

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lasting impression of not only a fabulous British Designer, but also a beautiful piece of British craft. The visitor has become both a student and an investor in the British Economy. Therefore, yes. The current exhibition at the V&A continues its primary vision of educating, promoting and investing in our countries designers, whilst appreciating the technological advances that have nurtured Britain to a new type of Greatness in the 21st Century.

Jonathan: You seem immensely proud of what the V&A has become. Your Majesty Queen Victoria, you are recorded as once saying ‘beware of artists – they mix with all classes of society and are therefore most dangerous’. Ironic, isn’t it then, that one of the greatest Museums of art and design in the world is named after you?

Victoria: There is a fine line between the artist and the craftsperson. The latter must be nurtured to ensure that the British economy can bloom with vitality and pride. The ‘artist’ - that is to say the ‘Fine Artist’ - is a dangerous individual. More often than not the artist is opinionated, unadulterated and uncivilised. We must ensure the artist does not take ‘cultured’ as a substitute for ‘cultivated’.

The V&A is an institution that enables functioning members of society the liberal girth in which to develop their artistic practice in a way that will be of most benefit to the nation.

Jonathan: In other words, the V&A is nothing but a constitutional filtration system allowing the government to control what visual media is allowed to ‘enrich’ the public’s lives?

Victoria: As you know, when I was Queen I worked very closely with the Prime Ministers of the day to ensure that the nation was victorious in every field. Nevertheless, it seems a bit farfetched to accuse the V&A as being a platform for propaganda, if that is what you are alluding to.

Jonathan: Interesting that Henry Cole, the first ever director for the V&A (at the time known as the South Kensington Museum) was a Civil

Servant, much to the knowledge of Prince Albert, who appointed him. And to this day, 60% of funding for the V&A does actually come from the government doesn’t it?

Victoria: From a Public Body of the DCMS that acts at arm’s length from central government in order to achieve the museum’s key strategies.

Jonathan: Yes, those are the exact words from the V&A website, as a matter of fact. It seems a suitably bamboozling mixture of abbreviations and purposely vague figures of speech; not far from a politician’s election campaign, really.

Before we depart, I would also like to highlight a single word that appears no fewer than 7 times on the ‘mission and objectives’ page of the V&A website: that word is strategy. With Queen Victoria assuring me that the V&A Museum would not employ propaganda to manipulate what designers are presented to the public, it seems unnerving that the Museum (which vaguely admits to working ‘an arm’s length away from central government) have clearly taken time to develop a ‘strategy’ in their development of the museum. With no intention of calling the Museum’s purpose, political; I can only assume that the institution is working hard to ensure that Art and Design from all spectrums of society are being evenly and fairly represented – even those that do not fit the mould of the current British Government.

1 Heatherwick Studios is at the forefront of British experimental design. The studios’ first major solo exhibition runs at the V&A until 30 September 2012, so catch it quick!2Bellville Sassoon and Alexander McQueen will have couture pieces on display in the Ballgowns exhibition until the 6th January 2013.3Professor Deborah N Landis, the esteemed Hollywood Costume Designer who brought us the iconic costume of Indiana Jones and dressed Michael Jackson, is the guest curator of the V&A’s Hollywood Costume exhibition, which runs 20th October 2012-27th January 2013.

~ 27 ~ Random

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M y s t i c P e g “...peg related cosmos hipster shit...”

Some say he was once the College Mascot, bitter from getting fired after an embarrassing incident involving a live hamster. Others say he is the reincarnation of Henry Moore. Very few say he a cyborg formed from the body of a Damien Hirst experiment and the circuit board of Schindler’s Lift. One thing is for sure: he knows what happens at Leeds College of Art, and he’s not happy about it. And he’s a Moose.

An Art College used to be a place where young creatives could run wild, pushing the boundaries of societal norms and disproving preconceptions by letting their subconscious peek their little shiny heads out from their institutionalised bodies. Without the arty-farty bullcrap: they did whatever the hell they liked, and by some miracle it made a lot of people very rich and famous. The sad truth is that Health and Safety has gone mad in the past two decades, and what is now deemed ‘unsafe’ is at times disheartening to say the least. I’m calling for change. But students of LCA: don’t go crazy and start shouting ‘Fuck the system!!’ – That’s so 1970’s. Just keep cool and calm. Stay sneaky and do it anyway. It’s easier to ask for forgiveness that permission. By: Anonymoose.

~ 28 ~Art-icles

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A number of articles have been appearing over the last few months on Facebook, and in the archaic ‘newspapers’. They claim that a 2:1 at degree level is no longer high enough to impress potential employers in the real world. Kudos for instilling the nation’s student with a refreshing urgency to pull their finger out and work, I say. Unfortunately, LCA seems to be deluded in what defines a job well done. True Story: whilst spying on a peer marking ritual, the 20 year-olds were urged by their tutor to segregate one another’s ability into 4 patronisingly simple categories: unacceptable, acceptable, good or excellent. Unbelievably, the tutor went on to say these exact words: ‘everybody has turned up today, so we shouldn’t have to use unacceptable and acceptable.’ Forgive me, but would it be ‘acceptable’ if the attendance was only partly poor!? We fight so hard, as art students, to convince society that an arts course is not just about turning up, and yet we are told that we get a ‘good’ degree if we are all present at 10am!? And since when do our individual grades rely on a group effort of waking up in the morning? No, Tutor, the unnerving truth is that you can turn up, you can be crap, and the result will be ‘unacceptable’.Angrily: Anonymoose.

There is one word that when uttered in the lunch queue, the toilets, or the corridors of LCA is guaranteed to make the students’ and teachers’ blood boil. So much so, I feel it not necessary to elaborate too much on the blatant futility of these devices, nor the epic waste of money that their installation have been. Have you guessed what they are yet? Yep, turnstiles. (shudder)I will only say two things. Firstly, I estimate that the unit cost of the turnstiles is approximately £1000 each, and there are 8 between the college’s two sites. Secondly, to swipe yourself in slows the average student down by 7 seconds per entrance/exit. Using the turnstiles twice a day for three years, you will waste 102 minutes of your degree. A whole one hour 40 minutes is lost, even if you have the card ready in your hand each time. Not to mention all the bruised knees from failed doors and the resulting collision with those barriers that they cleverly decided to make transparent. Bruised and Bored: Anonymoose.

Have you met our principle? No, neither have I. Sadly, it took me a good ten minutes on Google to find out what their name was. It’s Simone, by the way, and she’s a she. Don’t get me wrong, I do trust that a woman can hide in an office just as efficiently as a man, I was merely surprised because I got confused with Simone and Simon. (Simon is actually the Director of Academic Studies and Student Engagement – does that mean he can wed students!?). I’m far from suggesting we have weekly student assemblies, but I should know who she is, or more importantly, what she does.From one Anonymoose to another!

~ 29 ~ Art-icle

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‘NEST’ magazine are looking for motivated and creative people to get involved in making the next issue. If you like making your own cocktails, are a comic stip writer or wouldn’t mind having your creative space photographed, or have any other ideas please contact us!

Photography student WLTM a charming Web page designer to help set up a website and a possible dabble in social networking. Ideally knowledge of graphic design would be great. Contact jl100990@students.leeds-art.ac.uk for more info.

Fine Art student looking for fashion photographer and makeup artist for jewellery fashion shoots, likely to be a few throughout the year. j.videgrain@hotmail.co.uk for more info.

3rd year Fashion Photographer seeks stylist to work on magazine. Contact: nh94310@students.leeds-art.ac.uk

Freelance Animator is hoping to find people to collaborate on future projects. Please contact me at sacha.frampton@btinternet.com

Leeds Art RAG Society are looking for students to get involved with raising money and awareness for worthwhile causes. If you are interested then speak to a member of the Students’ Union or email campaigns@students.leeds-art.ac.uk for more infomation.

Two students from Digital film and Photography are hoping to find a model for upcoming project. More details on request, carbonwhitehowden@hotmail.com

~ 30 ~Joing the Nest

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L o n e l y ( H e ) a r t s artist seeking artist

‘Design the Cover’ Competition

“A couple of months ago, I was lucky enough to have been asked to design the cover for the very first issue of the Leeds College of Art Students’ Union Magazine, ‘NEST’. Although nerve-wracking, I felt honored and excited in equal measure, and, of course, hugely appreciative to have been offered the opportunity to showcase my design ideas. Now the opportunity is being offered to design the cover of the next issue in a brand new competition- see the information below for more details.” ~ Sophie Wilson

All covers must be related to the subject matter ‘nest’, as tightly or as loosely as you wish and must include the title ‘NEST’. The front and back cover are both A5 each, but please allow space for bleed. If you are chosen you also get the opportunity to be a featured artist for that issue. All you have to do is submit your designs digitally (contact info can be found on the back page), the closing date is the 1st of November, so make sure you have your submissions in by then! Each person is able to submit up to two designs. Please label all work with your name, course, year and contact info.

C o m p e t i t i o n

This Issue:

Co-Editors: Sacha Frampton and Kai WestCover Artist: Sophie WilsonInside Cover artist: Rosey StrideFeatured Artists: Sophie Wilson, Benjamin Turgel, James Murphy, Matt Saunders and Jessie LeongArticle writer: Jonathan Videgrain and Anonymoose Photo-editor and sourcer: Nicole Holcroft-EmmessPhotographer: Jessie LeongRecipe writer: Jessie LeongIllustrators: Kai west and Sacha FramptonExtra help: James Murphy and Chris Luk

Special thanks to everyone who helped shape the magazine in the meetings, The Students’ Union and of course the ‘magazine team’!

Twitter: @lcasu_magazineEmail: editorial@students.leeds-art.ac.uk