RCA Highlights

Can’t remember the last time I sweated so much in one cycle - hottest Sunday of 2011 so far!

Took Shelby II to Kensington to see the RCA show today. Few bits of work really stood out for me from the MA Communication Art & Design. First, Joseph Pochodzaj’s Language-Analysis: he analyzed speeches made during the financial crisis by government and/or trade unions, using discourse analysis from micro (e.g. most frequently used words) to macro levels to comment on the communications strategies used for the purpose of social and political power.

Another: The Red Tape Series was also a very satisfying exhibit for me. It was a nice combination of audio, video and print to create a sort of ‘learning corner’ in which visitors can listen to recordings, browse books and pamphlets and view the graduate design work that came out of the series. From March to May this year, students organized a series of lectures and talks to instigate inter-departmental conversations about salient topics in art and design practice such as ownership, protest, performance, fiction, and curating. Speakers in the series include The Yes Men, Mark Fisher, Nina Power and Neville Brody.

[However, listening to Brody speak in one of the Red Tape Series audios was extremely frustrating. (Yet again!) He talks about ‘warfare’, ‘foot soldiers’ and ‘battleground’ without any real reflection on the protest events he is referring to. His ideas seem permanently couched in simplistic military metaphors and circular reasoning. He seems to be recycling - without edit! - to the same schemes of cultural resistance he used in the 80s.]

On a more pretty note, I enjoyed Cat Roissetter’s bleak and evocative etchings - on the wall, these weren’t very big but seemed wonderfully portentous in their fine detail and texture.