Wes Anderson Inspires Art & Design students

The exhibition marked the first time many of the objects on display had been shown in Britain, offering students a rare opportunity to see original models, sets, props and costumes from some of Anderson’s most iconic films, including The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs. Seeing these intricate pieces up close gave students timely insight into Anderson’s distinctive visual style. They have just begun their externally assessed unit which has the theme of ‘Artificial’ and Wes Anderson’s use of sets, props, models, and colour create a highly, stylised ‘Artificial’ world for his characters to inhabit.

The students are also currently completing a project which has the theme of ‘Icons’ and this exhibition also linked perfectly to this work. Staff and Students particularly enjoyed coming face to face with Fantastic Mr Fox, Kristofferson, the terrible Rat, Franklin Bean, and Walter Boggis.

After a quick break for lunch, the group travelled as a group to the National Portrait Gallery where students were able to find further inspiration for their project work in the permanent collections, including iconic pieces by Holbein, Vermeer, Van Gogh, Picasso, Marc Quinn and Cindy Sherman.

Nick Saunders, Head of Art & Design, said of the trip,

“Despite less-than-ideal weather, the trip was a valuable and thoroughly enjoyable experience, providing meaningful creative stimulus at a crucial point in the academic year.”