Way out at the Elephant by judithg

Way out at the Elephant

So Adam and I ventured down to The Smoke for an art foundation course open day at London College of Communication. It's based at Elephant and Castle which is apparently 'up and coming' but has most definitely not yet arrived. From the outside the building was not at all promising and we circumnavigated it in a slightly depressed way before venturing in. Inside however was very impressive and they clearly have amazing facilities. This whole art college thing is so far out of my comfort zone that it's hardly worth me worrying about it. I was so much happier being given a list of facts to learn and apply than being asked to be creative even though I really enjoyed art at school. If I'm honest I know I couldn't have coped with the pressure and the subjectivity.
Three GT:
1. It's not me that needs to be creative!!
2. A book that shouldn't be judged by its cover.
3. The lift was working at Elephant and Castle.
Welcome to the other side of London.
March 22nd, 2014  
Interesting story... the fact that your picture shows "Way Out" seems very fitting!
March 22nd, 2014  
I hope you're not saying that science isn't creative? It moves at a faster pace than art don't you think? Discuss...
March 22nd, 2014  
@fueast Well weirdly enough I felt that the practicalities of the course more closely mirrored my degree than Rachel's psychology does. She has loads of reading to do and there isn't a huge amount of contact time (more next year when they do a research project) whereas this is lectures and then stacks of get your hands dirty practical work. You have to take critique though rather than try and flirt with the chemistry technician so that he won't tell the lecturer that your compound isn't what it you were trying to make.
March 22nd, 2014  
"Well let the boys all sing and the boys all shout for tomorrow...nah nah nah nah nah nah nah"

A very Jam..tastic shot Judith

I sometimes wish I'd followed the "art" route at school and further education...I got 'O' level art, would have liked to study photography , but hey careers at school was you are an engineeer / motor mechanic if you are a boy and a nurse if you are a girl !

Cracking shot judith
March 22nd, 2014  
@judithg ok I suppose I was thinking about research rather than undergraduate learning. Am amazed by scientific invention but possibly we don't teach that very well!
March 22nd, 2014  
@phil_howcroft jamtastic is such a good word!
March 22nd, 2014  
Great account of your day and nice shot and perspective of the good old Elephant and Castle!
March 22nd, 2014  
Great shot - it is a real rabbit warren down there and pretty strange above ground with all the redevelopment - bit like the medieval Lord of the Manor peasant clearances.
March 22nd, 2014  
Controversial thoughts here! Art for arts sake or to accomplish more. I'm too old for new courses but glad they are around for people.
March 22nd, 2014  
@whippeteer have they got a plan? The old residential streets are rather nice but there seems to have been some fairly random ugly development since the sixties (including the rather brutal LCC.)
March 22nd, 2014  
@fueast We're allowed to approve of both!
March 22nd, 2014  
Nice POV
March 22nd, 2014  
@fueast and actually I did science because it was hands on and creative. It got very pre-prepared and kit based but I hankered after the days where you had to make your own kit and there was a real satisfaction in getting a beautiful result. Shame they've taken so much practical out of school science.
March 22nd, 2014  
I would think that the one subject that has changed out of all recognition is art....so different from my day! It must be a very exciting career to be starting out in now!
I must say I have enjoyed immensely going round with Lydia to different unis....you must feel the same, it really opens your eyes!
Great angle showing the prominent sign writing.
March 22nd, 2014  
cool take on this - yes, huge changes planned for Elephant and Castle, to try and remove the very road heavy centre and make it less of a through route and more of an actual place http://www.elephantandcastle.org.uk/pages/interactive_map/112/elephant_castle.html (it was in the Metro or Standard)
March 22nd, 2014  
@shannejw thanks - that's interesting - good to have a massive park and if they can make so safe cycle routes it will be great.
March 22nd, 2014  
Great pov. You're very lucky the lift was working. I did some work near the Elephant about a decade ago and usually had to toil up the stairs. The area was definitely far from up-and-coming then..
March 22nd, 2014  
@fueast thanks alison, whenever I see an underground picture on 365 , the Jam song goes off in my head . Juliette always used to do lots of 'The Jam' shots @sparkle
March 22nd, 2014  
Cool shot.
March 23rd, 2014  
Great perspective! From your descriptions Adam should do really well at art college but I do understand what you're saying. I would have loved to study art but compared to the creative minds in my class my work was dull and one-dimensional. I was ok technique-wise but probably not crazy enough for some of the stuff you need to get accepted ;).
March 23rd, 2014  
Glad to hear they're planning to do something with the Elephant and Castle. I used to live fairly near there and it always seemed such a pity that somewhere with such a lovely name was so brutal. Did Adam like the college?
March 23rd, 2014  
Superb photo. Love the colours and the corridor of human activity. Elephant & Castle ...isn't that such a wonderful name!
March 23rd, 2014  
Oh Judith does tube shots. Good stuff. Elephant and Castle. A dump.
March 24th, 2014  
JH
Aww, poor Elephant - it's on the way!
March 26th, 2014  
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