Bauhaus, Dessau, Germany by Nate Robert
Today I made it to the Bauhaus: Art as Life exhibition at London's Barbican. To be honest I did whizz around it as I was starting to feel a bit light-headed from hunger but what struck me was that the utopian institution looked like an awful lot of fun to be part of and the perfect balance of pure creativity and craft appealed to me. The 200 or so students really loved their 'masters' including Paul Klee who taught there and Walter Gropius who founded it. One of the exhibits was a 44th birthday card for Gropius decorated with students lip prints demonstrating their high regard for him. Similarly students hired a Junkers aircraft to drop a package of gifts onto Paul Klee's house for his fiftieth. Aw!
This reverence I can understand, for when you are lucky enough to study under a good teacher, with whom you have a rapport, it is one of the most rewarding experiences. The closest I ever came to being in an environment where I was really encouraged and felt like I was part of a real school was whilst I was studying my BTEC in Art and Design at the Eversley Court campus of Eastbourne College of Arts and Technology which was demolished in 1998 to make way for Barrett Homes. It was a beautiful Victorian building built for the purposes of teaching arts and crafts in the late 19th century (I think, I can't find any info online) complete with parquet floors and gargoyles and the two years I spent there were so wonderful and enriching - and I didn't even realise it until I left. Something clicked during my time there and I wouldn't have developed my art practice (minimal though my output is!) as I have if I had missed out on those harsh words (Pete Webster actually ripped up some crappy work I'd produced and said "I never want to see anything like this again") and revelatory lessons in producing something solid and pleasing. Most of all it was really quite traditional on the technical side but encouraged free thinking without being pretentious. I remember getting up early and staying at college late on the days when work was going well (that is a rare feeling) to continue painting, riding that wave of excitement you feel when you are onto something creatively.
I have a painting I completed during my time there that hangs in my hallway - it's rather large and ambitious - and I can remember the energy I put into it. It probably only took me an afternoon to complete, working on the floor pouring watered down System 3 paint onto the canvas, without any of the self consciousness that hinders me now. It is one of my favourite pieces and I was only 17. I can't imagine producing anything like that now. I feel like I have lost that energy and I partly blame the University I Shall Not Name for being such a disappointment. It's my fault though really. I should have had the courage and foresight to apply for a course at a proper art college but I didn't have enough confidence in myself neither did I take the idea of an art career seriously enough back then and any potential I had was untapped. I didn't paint for 5 years after I graduated. The contrast with ECAT was huge. I didn't have a proper space to work in, I never saw my tutors and I ended my 3 year degree suffering from debilitating depression. I didn't feel like I had progressed as an artist at all and so pursuing art was out of the question. I received no encouragement and was all but ignored because painting was unfashionable back then and conceptual art was cool. The Sensation show at the Royal Academy had opened the first week of my Fine Art degree and seemed to be a big influence on everyone. I enjoyed it but only because it was sensationalist. I couldn't produce work like that. Finding pretentiousness, high concept and the intellectualisation of art uninspiring I struggled and my output was low. It didn't help that I was too young to take any of it seriously and spent most of my time being a student cliche - sleeping all morning and spending my afternoons in the pub.
Sometimes you are in the right place at the right time and other times the wrong place. As the years pass I realise that you need to appreciate and savour the good times. Make hay while the sun shines!
I have a painting I completed during my time there that hangs in my hallway - it's rather large and ambitious - and I can remember the energy I put into it. It probably only took me an afternoon to complete, working on the floor pouring watered down System 3 paint onto the canvas, without any of the self consciousness that hinders me now. It is one of my favourite pieces and I was only 17. I can't imagine producing anything like that now. I feel like I have lost that energy and I partly blame the University I Shall Not Name for being such a disappointment. It's my fault though really. I should have had the courage and foresight to apply for a course at a proper art college but I didn't have enough confidence in myself neither did I take the idea of an art career seriously enough back then and any potential I had was untapped. I didn't paint for 5 years after I graduated. The contrast with ECAT was huge. I didn't have a proper space to work in, I never saw my tutors and I ended my 3 year degree suffering from debilitating depression. I didn't feel like I had progressed as an artist at all and so pursuing art was out of the question. I received no encouragement and was all but ignored because painting was unfashionable back then and conceptual art was cool. The Sensation show at the Royal Academy had opened the first week of my Fine Art degree and seemed to be a big influence on everyone. I enjoyed it but only because it was sensationalist. I couldn't produce work like that. Finding pretentiousness, high concept and the intellectualisation of art uninspiring I struggled and my output was low. It didn't help that I was too young to take any of it seriously and spent most of my time being a student cliche - sleeping all morning and spending my afternoons in the pub.
Sometimes you are in the right place at the right time and other times the wrong place. As the years pass I realise that you need to appreciate and savour the good times. Make hay while the sun shines!
Class of '68 Eversley Court. Only picture I could find of ex ECAT art students and they look much cooler than class of '98 would have looked anyhow.
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