John Hurrell – 4 June, 2009

Here we have the second such yearly Elam graduate work book to come out, one that shrewdly promotes the institution and its graduates. Yet on close inspection a publication like this is not really practical. It is too skimpy to be anything other than a vague memento that old ducks can fondly look back upon in about five decades time - to help them reminisce over when they were sweet young things at uni.

It doesn’t actually provide much information. It should be in several volumes so everybody is included in a thorough fashion. Four books in a boxed set, with four pages given to each artist: three of images, one of text. Plus an account of what each course involves - their conceptual guidelines - so that the School’s aims can be assessed and compared with its competition.

That would be a substantial asset, one packed with ideas. Such tomes would then be highly sought by curators, collectors and staff-seeking employers.

Last year’s design with Kate Newby doing the cover was an inspired choice. This year, with Clara Chon, is disappointingly conventional. However the outer wrapping is not really the issue. The content needs to be pumped up several notches, to change it from a taste to a meal.

John Hurrell

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