Foreword February 27, 2009
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The Arts Institute at Bournemouth, recently gained the title of University College, in recognition of academic achievements and progress and is now known as The Arts University College at Bournemouth.
There is certainly something special about photography at Bournemouth. You might be a student on a three-year course; you might teach here for ten years; you might visit for half a day out of curiosity or out of a burning desire to discuss work in progress; you might momentarily have turned the page of a magazine and be attracted by a photograph in an advertisement by a current student or graduate. Whatever the point of contact, and however long its duration, there is distinction about the study of photography at the Institute and of the images made by its students.
Photography was first offered by the former Bournemouth and Poole College of Art in 1959 when it occupied temporary space in an Edwardian annexe. A converted science laboratory provided processing facilities, with a gymnasium offering occasional studio space. From such a modest start the Institute developed facilities which now rank amongst the best in the UK. This has been achieved by careful planning, close relationships with the industry and through the enthusiasm of a succession of subject leaders, teachers and, most importantly, creative students.
The Photography School has always had as its principal purpose the practical education of students in the processes and practice of making photographic images. The outstanding characteristics of our courses are to be found in the vocational focus they achieve and in the production of creative photographic work by innovative students. Despite the small size of the Institute, and the limitations of resources to support an
expensive activity, the strong links with the industry have enabled students to consistently achieve high professional standards.
We have a most distinguished alumni of photographers who are leaders in their field. Collectively, they have contributed to our status as a major centre of photographic education whose list of achievements and
recognition are scarcely matched anywhere else in the world.
The exhibition ‘from here to there’ shows 50 years of photography as represented by 26 alumni from the period 1959-2009. This celebration of world class achievement takes place in a year when the Arts Institute commemorates 125 years of service to the communities of Bournemouth and Poole as well as to specialist arts, design and media provision in both the national and international contexts. The enduring quality of our higher education was recognised in July 2008 when The Privy Council laid an order to give us the power to award our own degrees and to adopt University College Title.
Professor Stuart Bartholomew
Principal
Curator Phil Beards March 4, 2009
Posted by admin in : 'Curators' , add a commentPhil Beards is a Principal Lecturer in Digital Production and leads the Arts Institute at Bournemouth FdA Digital Media Production course. He graduated from Wolverhampton Polytechnic in 1978 with a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design and from Coventry University in 1997 with an MA in Electronic Graphics. He began working with Digital Media in 1984, including a period as an award winning sound producer and as a video producer and interactive designer. He has spent the last 28 years teaching design and media.
In my role as Course Leader I have, for the ten years until his retirement in 2008, worked with Geoff Drury managing placements for students on the FdA Interactive Media course. On numerous occasions supervising placements we came across graduates of Geoff’s and the respect accorded to him during these meetings was tangible. I have seen esteemed photographers stop their shoots to chat with him or cancel meetings to be available for our visit. Through Geoff’s contacts we found many great placement opportunities and employment possibilities for students. There are many graduates now working in the industry who owe Geoff a debt of gratitude. It was through these numerous experiences that the idea for ‘from here to there’ was born.
In the months coming up to Geoff’s retirement in 2008 it occurred to me that it would be appropriate to celebrate his career at the Institute through an exhibition of his ex-students’ work. The concept of each exhibitor showing a piece of final college work alongside a current image was decided upon and work began making ‘from here to there’ a reality.
Over the months of planning for the exhibition, Geoff’s modesty at celebrating his career has seen the focus of the exhibition change to accommodate the work of graduates over an extended 50 year period. This has meant that we have been able to include the work of photographers Philip Townsend and Michael Birt, alongside more recent graduates like Mitja Bozic and Marcel Lam.
I am confident that the exhibition will demonstrate both the achievement and the diversity of the graduates from all of the Institute’s photographic courses over a sustained period of time. It is no coincidence that the
Arts Institute at Bournemouth attracts talented individuals to its courses and this is in no small part down to the contribution of the exceptional teaching staff.
Phil Beards - January 2009
Curator Geoff Drury March 1, 2009
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Geoff Drury was a Senior Lecturer in Photography from 1986 until his retirement in 2008. He knew many of the alumni whose work forms the exhibition and has maintained contact with them.
It was1959 at Maidstone College of Art - I was their first photography student - and with a college scarf, duffel coat and lots of enthusiasm I hitchhiked my way around Kent and London to take photographs. I then moved on to Guildford/Farnham College of Art, which had an excellent reputation for photography. I learned to use creative lighting and gained technical skills. Monday morning crits for all years were very important, lively and extremely beneficial. No prints to show and you were out of college, only getting back the following Monday with the required films processed and printed. It was a very self-driven and creative environment.
I left college in 1963 and was first assistant to Michael Williams, a leading fashion and advertising photographer in Oxford Street, London. From there I became a photographer working for A.C.K. Ware, based in Fetter Lane. This involved editorial advertising and industrial photography and I also covered the PR work for the start of BBC2. The studio manager then introduced me to Madame Yevonde Middleton, a society portrait photographer with a studio in Knightsbridge. I was employed to bring in commercial work. Madame Yevonde with her assistant was going to Ethiopia to photograph Emperor Haile Selassie and would be away for three months. I had the studio to myself, all I needed now were assignments. I was lucky and quickly gained commissions. I soon became so busy that I needed an assistant. When Madame Yevonde returned she was pleased with my success and thankfully the work continued to come in. This soon gave me the confidence and the work base to become a freelance photographer working from 1965 in south London in advertising, editorial and interiors.
In 1984, I became a visiting lecturer at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design where one of the first location projects I organised was to a foundry in Poole. Finding that the foundry was about to close down, seven students decided to record these last days. The resulting exhibition ‘Men of Iron’ traveled to many galleries, including the TUC headquarters in London.
I found the project work very rewarding and partly because of this in 1986 I became a full-time lecturer in Photography at Bournemouth. I was keen for the students to take part in some commercial assignments, one of which was a two-week field trip in 1987 for James Burrough Distillers and to the Laphroaig Distillery on the island of Islay. The next year and with another 15 students we went to their Tormore Distillery at Speyside. In 1996 we completed a secret photo shoot for Ford’s new Ka, culminating in the students exhibiting their photographs at the Espace Pierre Cardin, Paris, for the launch of the new Ford Ka. The next day was the Paris motor show. In 2001, 50 students took photographs (over a 24-hour period) covering London’s transport network for an exhibition organised by Transport for London, and for the International Association of Public Transport. To support the Dorset la Manche 10th anniversary, students took photographs showing a week in the life of Poole and Cherbourg. The complete exhibition was shown in both towns.
We also had visits to Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie, Arles, in France, between 1991 and 1996 and in 1997 five students were chosen to take part in the World Young Photography exhibition held in Ljubljana, Slovenia. For over ten years, once or twice a year, student trips were taken to Sinar in Switzerland, where we attended specialised four-day workshops for large format photography.
These are just a few samples of the many rewarding experiences over the years, not forgetting the hundreds of miles driving a mini bus to the different locations.
In August 2008 I retired, completing my professional journey. I have worked with, and met, some fantastic people and will take with me many special memories. We hope the exhibition ‘from here to there’ will have its own website, to include many more of our graduates. Hopefully through the website they will be able to be part of ‘from here to there’ and the record of Bournemouth Photography will continue to grow.
Geoff Drury - January 2009
Retired fishermen, Folkestone fish market 1961
Roman pavement & found objects London
Tiny ammonites found on Dorset beach