LCP IN THE 2000
- LCP on dyslexia http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk 21 Jan 2000
The LCP's dyslexia support unit has greatly expanded over recent years. "People come to us now because of word of mouth merely because they think 'they might have it'. We get four or five times as many referrals nowadays," says Ms Symons. "It's all about helping them to find people they can trust."
* Jane Hanlan, 24, third-year graphic design, London College of Printing.
"I used to think that I was just a bad learner. I didn't like school and my parents didn't give me much help with my homework. The only subject I liked was art.
"It was at college that I was introduced to the dyslexic support team. My degree course requires a 10,000-word dissertation, and one of my tutors started to notice that I was worrying about it. I met Heather Symons and she explained what dyslexia is.
A lot of people are dyslexic and are still going far in life.
"I go to a tutor for one hour a week, and he helps me to write out a plan and then I discuss what I want to do. My tutor gives me advice, such as telling me to look at my dissertation as two 5,000-word essays instead of as 10,000 words.
"I don't like reading. I get past the first page and then I fall asleep. But I have learned to look at the introduction page first and to pick out the parts that are relevant.
"My weekly hour of support is really important. One week, my tutor did not come and I did not do anything. Reading and writing are important in a designer, and being able to do them gives me that bit more confidence."
- LCP clash with the media school dean Sally Feldman http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/150022.article 4 feb 2000
Staff and students at the London College of Printing have accused media school dean Sally Feldman of mismanagement and bullying in a row over academic freedom and dumbing down.
Lecturers' union Natfhe has passed a resolution condemning the demotion of MA course director Michael Chanan, a critic of senior management. Angry students have set up an action group to demand his reinstatement to teaching duties, claiming his treatment is "symbolic of the rot that we must fight".
Mr Chanan is a popular senior lecturer in film and video who has made documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4. He has been "stood down" against his will from almost all his teaching duties and removed as director of the MA in documentary research which he set up.
He declined to comment but his supporters claim that he has been victimised for whistleblowing and criticising standards and management. He resigned as acting director of studies for film and video six weeks after Ms Feldman arrived, a move interpreted as a protest at her management style.
Mr Chanan has received testimonials from at least 18 major international academics. This week, the student journalists' newspaper, the Back Hill Reporter, said that support for him was growing among staff and students.
The action group of his students said in a statement pinned to notice boards that the content of the film and video courses had "taken a decisive lurch towards classical mainstream Hollywood", highlighting "the severe lack of cultural diversity".Both Ms Feldman and Will Bridge, head of the LCP, declined to comment. But the London Institute, of which the LCP is a part, said: "We take great care to ensure our dealings with members of staff are fair and equitable and we do not believe that such an objective is well served by entering into public debate about the circumstances of any individual."
- Igho wekpe (IT helpdesk) talks to the guardian on working as a bouncer http://www.theguardian.com/money/2000/apr/08/jobsadvice.careers9 8 april 2000
Working on an IT helpdesk might sound less fun but according to Igho Wekpe, who does evening shifts at the London College of Printing, helping stressed students battle with deadlines and improve their computer knowledge displays his "communication skills". He reckons that the tenacity and patience involved working on a helpdesk will show a future employer that he has an ability to "interact with people" - an elusive quality that many employers are looking for. "You can tailor the work to make yourself appear dynamic and special," says Igho, who is currently studying at LCP for a BSc in information studies.
- Senior lecturer Peter Osborne publishes a book in June 2000 http://us.macmillan.com/travelinglight/PeterOsborne
"Traveling Light"
Photography, Travel and Visual Culture
T
his is a thoroughly illustrated study of the close and continuous relationship between two of modern culture’s central phenomena: the photographic image and travel. Contributing to the growing literature of travel and its representations, the book argues that from its beginnings, photography has played a constitutive role in the formation of travel--comparable in importance to its part in the portrayal of social identity. It shows how, in turn, travel has shaped the use and language of all types of photographic production. |
- Eija-Liisa Ahtila born 1959, Finnish film maker and video artist alumni from LCP in 2000 becomes the first winner of the Vincent Prize, a biannual award for contemporary European artists. She also was the first recipient of the Vincent van Gogh Award for Contemporary Art in Europe.http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/eija-liisa-ahtila-3098
- John Gillard, acclaimed as one of the foremost teachers of creative skills in Britain, has died at the age of 67 in november 2000 from pneumonia. Former headmaster of the school communication of arts who was forced to close in 1995, he was a visiting lecturer at the London College of Printing for seven years from 1961. his funeral occured on monday the 6th of november 2000. http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/38080/
Alex Cooper interview - letterpress technician
Alex
Cooper interview- letterpress technician
Interviewer:
What’s your
name, age and the year you entered LCC?
Alex
Cooper:
I’m Alex
Cooper, letterpress technician and I am 40 and I entered in 2000.
Interviewer:
So you must
have some vivid memories of when you first entered?
Alex
Cooper:
Yes I did yes.
Interviewer:
Because we
got the year 2000 and our teacher wanted us to focus on that year and we asked
other people and they couldn’t remember so it’s nice.
Interviewer:
So why did
you choose to come to LCC? Like what appealed to you about LCC at that time
period?
Alex
Cooper:
Well I came
back as a mature student in 2000 okay and then I started working here in 2004.
Um… and I think it was I never wanted to sit in front of a mac. I came to when
I graduated I never thought that I could spend the rest of my career in a
studio environment I came from a background of making things carpentry things
like that. It was the facilities that that it wasn’t all computer based, I
could use screen-printing, black and white photography, etching processes,
letterpress. You know that was my interest in making as well as designing and
the college had all those facilities and I knew about the History of LCP and I
was very into the print processes so it made sense that I came to the, what it
was originally a technical college for instruction of print processes. And it’s
quite funny now as I run obviously the letterpress department. Every Cab driver
in London, when you talk to a cab driver seems to know where LCP was, was
educated at LCP alright so you got quite a few cab drivers and taxi drivers
that cant believe that we’re still using letterpress and a lot of them were
trained here.
Interviewer:
But now
they’re cab drivers not everyone’s a technician like you!
Alex
Cooper:
The thing
is, yeah cause you know what this areas is one of 6 rooms that they had in the
college of different sort of, there was the Ludlow machine, all the lino type
machines. It started with hand setting and then it went on and on and on and it
had to speed up and things like that. The process had to be sped up from hand
setting to typing out on a keyboard, casting type, casting lines of type, photo
setting all these processes to keep up with technology. So this was the change
but spaces are premium at the college, we’re getting more and more students,
more and more studio spaces than needed and they very slowly threw out area per
area. And I think in 2004 this area was going to be thrown away. It was part of
the school of printing and publishing so then you didn’t just have media
school and design school you had printing and publishing. I can’t remember what
the others were called; there were 4 schools originally. But it was just unused
over near the library so they moved it- school of graphics design took it over.
People like Alan kitching, Calvin Smith all saved the area and then I’ve been
working here as a student intensively …
Interviewer:
So you were
campaigning to save the area?
Alex
Cooper:
Yeah
exactly you know and its growing and when in 2004 when I got the job, I think
it was January 2004 so I interviewed for the job, got the job and we literally
had to drag people through the door because people were going ‘why do I have to
use this’ you know things like that.
Interviewer:
So back
then people wanted to like more on with technology and they didn’t really
appreciate letterpress?
Alex
Cooper:
No no and
it didn’t have a technician and people were setting and we still got a
considerable amount of type to put back but very slowly each year we’re getting
the workshop in a better situation/ condition. And we’re struggling to deal
with the amount of students that want to use the area; which is a really good
position to be in. but it started off as a tool for teaching typography a lot
of these skills can be transferred onto the Mac cause there’s no careers in
letterpress anymore and we had had people say ‘oh what’s the point when you
cant get a job in it’ but its skills that transfer and you’re at college you
should be trying all these different things. Cause the majority of you
will end up sitting in front of a mac so you got to push the boundaries for
what you can do. You can use it in a traditional way, you can use it in a
experimental way. Illustration students using it, interacting moving students,
film students, things like that. But in terms of the wider thing of the
college was, what I loved about it was the community. I had some great times
here, the bars were much better then, it used to be all painted red, really
dark…
Interviewer:
Was that
when you first came?
Alex
Cooper:
When I
first came and it was all painted red. I would always remember they had these
big round tables that were wobbly like this. It was a really great environment
to come down. For me anyways college isn’t just about what you learn in the
workshops, isn’t what you learn in the studios; alright the play a big part but
its in the people that you mean, the experience you have and you’ve really got
to sort of immerse yourself in the whole experience…
Scott and
tony upstairs, I haven’t done an official apprenticeship but they have so
they’ve had 20 years working in industry before they even came here. So at 16
they signed up to a print finishing company, a printing company, did their 6-year
apprenticeships and then worked in industry and they passed all that knowledge
on and that’s what I liked about the college when I walked round and first had
a look. There were older guys with all this experience and you think I can just
tap all that experience off them.
Interviewer:
So did LCC
have a strong link with the industry back then?
Alex
Cooper:
Yeah, even
still to the extent that the press upstairs; the Heidelberg is donated by
Heidelberg. They sponsor it to get students…
When did
those printers came along, have they been here for over 10 years?
Alex
Cooper:
Oh yeah
Just in
general with the year 2000 was there any memorable event that stood out to you,
it doesn’t have to be necessarily about art or LCC but just like what was
happening around the world?
Alex
Cooper:
I really
cant recall (that was a while ago, 13 years ago I’ve been lucky because I’ve
had some great experiences with the college and the fact that we’ve been sent
abroad to the state to Europe to work to speak about what we do. It’s a bit of
a blur to tell you the truth, it a good place to work. Basically it’s the
students that make that because every year you get somebody who really
challenges you everyday. I don’t know whether that could be done but we can try
it and that’s the rewarding thing about the job. But something specific about
the 2000 I can’t really remember.
Interviewer:
How big was
your class back then because now we have a class of almost 200 people?
Alex
Cooper:
Right well
it used to be different because they used to have pathways. What used to
happen, I studied on a course that was called typographic design and there was
information design and there was illustration and those pathways grew to
include advertising, design for advertising; but its more social advertising
rather than hard-core advertising you know- social awareness and things like
that.
‘Its more
like flight the hunger’ or something like that?’ yeah, (that’s really good)
Siân Cook
used to run that course; I believe she was a signatory on the second first
things first manifesto. So Siân has got… I think she has taught at Ravensbourne
all these sorts of colleges. And there was interactive moving image came along…
Interviewer:
Did these
pathways get cancelled just a few years ago?
Alex
Cooper:
Last year
was the last year and it was very sad to see.
Interviewer:
How comes
they decided to change though?
Alex
Cooper:
I’m not
going to answer that one (school politics) no, yeah you can image a place this
size there is an element of politics and I was sad to see cause it was my
course as well so it was sad to see your course going. But I had a great
experience; it was a sort of life changing experience actually coming here as I
came from this sort of carpentry background etc. and building background to
coming back to college. I first went and did my foundation fair few years
before, went to a college and hated it. I didn’t want to do design anymore then
decided to come back to my studies and then it was a life-changing event. I met
my wife here, in LCC when I was a student. I got my job here , working here is
something I’m very passionate about. So LCC…LCP I should say was a life
changing expertise for me really.
Interviewer:
When did
LCP change to LCC?
Alex
Cooper:
If you go
on UAL website go on the London college of communication part of it and they
used to have the whole history. Obviously we’re been here for 50 years, this
came out of the London St. brides library, printing library, which is just off
a fleet street. That’s a great resource for you to use; free library, old wood
specimen books, really beautiful books, and great resource there. We’ve got
some great links with St. brides- we grew out od St. brides but another
interesting thing about the college was that they was called the London college
of printing distribute of trades and it was a technical college for printers
but what it also did was they had courses like flower arranging and courses
like window dressing and how to arrange butchery in a butchers window and it
was all these trade, it was a trade school really.
Yeah it
sort of absorbed all these other courses and maybe there is something to be
read about that, as I quite like a story.
Alumni 2000
GIO STAIANO
CEO at
GIO STAIANO PHOTOGRAPHY
London,
Greater London, United Kingdom (London, United Kingdom) Photography
University
of the Arts London - LCC LONDON
Media,
Photography
2000 – 2002
Headshots Wedding
Photography Portrait Photography Event Photography Portraits Photos Weddings
Digital Photography Photography Birthdays Anniversaries Celebrations Parties
Bridal Showers Art Corporate Events Receptions Commercial Photography Fine Art
Photography Fashion Photography Travel Photography Photojournalism Celebrity
Lightroom Image Editing Image Manipulation Photo Shoots Digital Imaging Black
Lifestyle Photography Wedding Photojournalism Editorial Environmental
Portraiture On Location Studio Photography Magazines Family Photography Senior
Portraits Maternity Fashion Shows Editorial Photography Medium Format Studio
Lighting Live Events Canon Photographers Capture One
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/gio-staiano/29/603/a2
John Himbury interview- technician
John
Himbury interview- technician
Interviewer:
What’s your
name and age?
John
Himbury:
My names
John Himbury and I’m 58.
Interviewer:
During the
year 2000, were you already here back then?
John
Himbury:
Yeah I was
already here, I’ve now been here for 15 year so I’ve now been here for 2 years
in 2000.
Interviewer:
What was
the technology like around here in year 2000?
John
Himbury:
Not as good
as it is now.
Interviewer:
Were the
rooms still like this back then?
John
Himbury:
No, we used
to be based on the second floor of the design block and it was just about the
time when Macs first came into being.
John
Himbury:
Have you
ever been to letterpress? (Yes) When you had your induction about the 2 hours
for letterpress, I did a 6-year apprenticeship.
So I’m…I think I’m the last of the actual compositor; cause that’s what
setting type by hand is called. I think I’m the last of the compositors in the
university.
Interviewer:
After that
how was the change in technology, like when did LCC start to get better technology?
John
Himbury:
LCC gets
better technology every year.
Interviewer:
And then
most of the computers would be windows instead right, at that time?
John
Himbury:
I’ve always worked with Macs, I started with
macs when the first came out so..
Interviewer:
So LCC
already had Macs when they first came out?
John
Himbury:
Yes.
Interviewer:
Why did you
choose to come here, to LCC?
John
Himbury:
I used to
work for a design company, many years ago and I came to LCC because the company
where I worked used to do lots of work for Polygram records and PolyGram
records decided to do all their work themselves so we were out of work. And
then consequently I came here, and to be honest it’s really nice working with
students because you think you’re actually giving something back to them.
Interviewer:
So the
style of art I guess, that’s something we’re interested in, since right now I
guess the style is very modern at LCC- what were the designs back then like for
the school.
What were
their promotional materials like?
John
Himbury:
Umm…at the
time they were modern but when you look back, obviously they now look old
fashioned but at the time it was modern, it was cutting-edge. (so it was always
top trends) yeah.
Interviewer:
Did they
still use a lot of San Serif back then?
John
Himbury:
yeah they
just used… what generally happens is typefaces generally go through a trend so
when I first came here there were some horrible typefaces and people were using
them because it was fashionable. And that’s what design is like; if you’re
wearing certain kinds of clothes it’s the fashion. If you’re designing certain
kinds of magazines or booklets it’s the fashion.
Interviewer:
Yeah, and
how big was the student body back then?
John
Himbury:
Not as big
as it is now. (Because we have 200 people in our first year for GMD and that’s
like a lot of people) Well I think there’s 5 and a half thousand students on
campus now. When I first came here there was about half that amount.
Interviewer:
Where there
any designers that were here or just artists that were around the time period
of the year 2000 and went out to become kind of famous? Do you recall any?
John
Himbury:
no to be
honest with you. One of the biggest designers that was here was a guy called Tom
Eckersley. Who’d at his time was a really leading designer, if you go Google
Tom Eckersley.
Interviewer:
Do you have
any events in the year 2000 that you recall that you know mark your memory?
It doesn’t
have to be LCC related just like in general.
John
Himbury?
No not
really.
Interviewer:
That was
when you entered LCC?
John
Himbury:
Yes.
Interview: Tony Yard
Interview
with Tony Yard:
Tony:
My name is Tony Yard. I came to LCC in March 2000. I come
from a printing background, so I used to work for a factory that used printing
presses like these here.
Interviewer:
How long did you work there before coming to LCC?
Tony:
In 1986, I got out of school and I was 16. How old am I
again now? So I was 30 when I came here, and I’ve been here for 14 years – so
I’m 43.
Interviewer:
Wow you had 14 years of hands on experience before you came
to LCC!
So what appealed to you about LCC back in that time that
made you want to work here?
Tony:
Back then it was called LCP not LCC – London College of
Printing. So when I came here, this workshop was all printing. So if you go
through the other side, you’ve got print making, and if you go through the 3rd
floor, there are some design studios. But when I came here, all 3 –the ground
floor, 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor were all
completely full of printing machines. So it was letterpress, lithography, plate
making, imposition, typography! And now this room (The Printing Press Room)
that you’re standing in, is all there is left now of that.
Interviewer:
So these machines have been here for over 10 years, correct?
Tony:
When I came here in the year 2000, the lithographic printing
press machine on the side, was brand new. It was brought here in about 1999.
Interviewer:
So at that time, that was considered very new technology?
Tony:
Yes! When I came here, this lithographic printing press was
worth about 900,000 pounds. It was that new. But even though it’s now 13-14
years old, it’s still worth about 250,000 pounds. It prints magazines,
newspapers, books etc. So the technical passport that you have in your hands
was printed here.
Interviewer:
So by staying at LCC, what do you hope to achieve? What
motivated you to stay here for so long?
Tony:
I really do love working at a college. The difference
between working at college and a company is that I haven’t really got a boss
here. So I can do whatever I want to do! Also I like working with people like
you – the students. I haven’t got someone telling me what I must do
specifically. I can do projects, research, test different things, print on
different papers. So if you want to come to me with a project and go “so this
is what I want to do”, I’ll go “lets do it!” and we can experiment and yeah, we
can definitely make some great ideas work! You can print with fluorescent ink,
or make a book, experiment with color and size, completely without anyone
telling me this job needs to be finished now. We have time to experiment.
It’s just really great how every year I get to meet batches
and batches of new students. Last year, there was a student who wanted to print
with ink that only could be seen under fluorescent light. And LCC had the
resources for me to experiment, so we gave that a go! It was just like
invisible ink! But not only that, but there are so many ways to play with
finishing as well – bind it and make it into a book, or make the map come out
of the technical passport. The projects can involve laser cutting, some 3D –
but honestly it’s down to the students to come up with the ideas and every year
since I came, there’s just been so many interesting projects that we work
together on.
Interviewer:
Were there any top trends for printing processes back in
2000?
Tony:
Well back then, letterpress was sort of old fashioned, it’s
sort of like right now where we have litho and digital is the latest. But
what’s happening now is that people your age have this trend where they don’t
want to do digital printing anymore. You’ve grown up with digital printing, and
have always been just going “file à print” with inkjet and
you see it all the time, yeah? For people like you, this is nothing exciting
right? Apple, Macs, Photoshop - all these things to you aren’t new anymore. So
letterpress, screen printing and lithography are all the popular ones now! So
it has gone through a full circle now.
Interviewer:
But when you first came, people must have been very eager to
transition from old processes such as letterpress, to digital printing
techniques, right?
Tony:
Yeah exactly! They were going “I don’t want to do
letterpress, I don’t want to do litho, I want to go all digital! Because
digital is the latest technology that’s fresh and brand new. But now it’s the
complete opposite. Large format printing, really well done and high quality –
but guess what? It’s boring for most people like students now. They want to go
back to layering, InDesign disposition, make some plates and even color mixing
their own ink, which were all the old processes!
Interviewer:
Alright, one last question to wrap everything up! Since the
year 2000, is our focus, were there any cultural or worldwide or even personal
events, that were particularly memorable to you?
Tony:
Ah, I just can’t really seem to remember anything specific.
2000 was quite a good year for me, since I came here!
Interviewer:
Thank you very much for taking your time to answer my questions!
To download the audio of the actual interview click here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?tyfp91uhgr49203
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)