26 Apr Central Saint Martins – FOUNDATION BOOK on arts

Book Review: following up on a summer course I attended on Mixed Media some time ago at Central Saint Martins College – UAL London, I recently picked up a copy of the book: CSM Foundations – Key Lessons in Art and Design to freshen up the lessons and to get further insights in modern art education.

The foundation course is a famous entry-level course to build up one’s own portfolio. It provides a 360 introduction to the art world, and is structured into different sections that give introduction and insights in the different elements of artistic creation. The curriculum is builds upon international ideas and curriculum such as the preparatory art courses at the BAUHAUS school of art in Weimar, Germany.

The book reflects the course and is structured into different chapters starting with ideation/research and then moves on to exercises in: drawing, reflection, crafting. The next part of the book then details further the artistic exploration and critical, topical positioning process, necessary for an artist to explore and diagnose one’s creative potential.  

Thus, the book gives good jumping off points for exploring new ideas and deep diving into specific areas of interest. This makes it a nice book to browse certain chapters and concentrate on exercises and parts that are relevant to yourself.

Very useful sections include practical thoughts experiments and short exercises to jog the mind and asking yourself:  on the differences between art & design, meaning & metaphor, or to challenge oneself in generating 30 ideas in 30 minutes, writing a proposal, contextualizing image and narrative, and many more.

My verdict: a practitioner’s book to start out in the at world and explore your own position & voice within it.

Available: In English under the following link