I’ve already reviewed the GSA BA and MFA Degree Shows. My last review proper is a department close to my heart, Visual Communication. I’m going to keep this short and sweet and pick out some of the graduates I thought were doing interesting things.

Standout? Lizze Malcolm. Lizzie has captured still images from unrewound Library archive videos. In the show you access each image by running your thumb across Rachel Whiteread-esque casts of VHS tapes – another unexpected but thoughtful detail. For an online interactive version go to http://www.archivalimpulse.com/ . Her show chimes with a lot of the data themes in this year’s MFA (see Ellie Harrison, Oliver Braid for example).

It’s compulsive viewing, but quite apart from the deeply theoretical processes it’s just always refreshing to see a design student fo something which doesn’t look like design. There seems to be an obsession in some quarters for preparing design students for industry – a hunger for graduates to ape the grafik zeitigeist. That’s all fine – we should –  but Glasgow School of Art is an art school – a place for research and experimentation. Let them get on with it, and enjoy it while it lasts.

Lizzie Malcolm – Archival Impulse

Showstopping photography: Jennifer Wilcox (link to VisCom10 site). Hulking great black slabs of ski-lift engineering against the white-out slopes of Glencoe. All composition, contrast and impact.

I met Rydo on the stairs on the way out. We were both clutching handmade postcards of the delicately screenprinted geometric works of Grace Gallagher.  We’re both clearly men of exquisite taste. Or maybe we’re just gluttons for delicately screenprinted geometric work. Either way, this is delicately screenprinted geometric work worth seeing in the flesh.

Lastly, check out the almost OCD level work of Natasha Kurth. She’s made a newspaper centre page spread collating every CMYK registration mark from the Guardian from 23/10/09 to 01/12/09. I really hope the Guardian publish it.

GSA Visual Communication Degree Show, Foulis Building, Renfrew St.
Friday 12 June – 19 June, 9am – 9pm.

http://www.gsa.ac.uk/degreeshow2010/
http://www.viscom10.com/