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Derek Trillo, Author at The Open College of the Arts

To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA.

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Derek Trillo


Has the last year been a delay, distraction, or an inspiration? thumb

Has the last year been a delay, distraction, or an inspiration?

As the lockdowns are (hopefully) drawing to an end, it’s worth looking at examples of how some students have channelled their experiences into their student work. For many people this historic period has provided the opportunity of ready-made subjects for creativity. Not only artists, but the public in general have been getting very creative. Much of this is part of a community spirit to entertain, to lift the mood of others and to brighten up homes that seem increasingly like a scene from Groundhog Day. 

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A (virtual) study visit with interview and Q&A thumb

A (virtual) study visit with interview and Q&A

A tour of the project Climacteric with OCA student Jane Weinmann In a live discussion, final year photography student Jane Weinman and OCA tutor Derek Trillo will talk about the strategies and approaches Jane used to develop her major project.   The focus will be on topics that students at any level might encounter, with specific […]

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How to make research writing easier! thumb

How to make research writing easier!

A Win-Win situation: citation software… What would you say if you were offered less work, better-focused research, easier and quicker writing, better accuracy of citations and bibliography and everything as neatly organised as a series of music playlists? Okay, who wouldn’t say yes? However, this is a post about one of the most boring topics […]

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To creatively focus on the present thumb

To creatively focus on the present

We may not all have access to outdoor spaces with the chance to nurture and grow, but our creative endeavours – even simply the planning of, or reflection on them, facilitate a state of mindfulness: ‘to still a busy mind, settle into a new activity and refocus on the present’

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Study event: Format19 festival thumb

Study event: Format19 festival

Join OCA tutors Derek Trillo and Helen Warburton in Derby 15-17 March 2019. Spread over three days you could choose one or two days, but would get more from the weekend and a greater sense of community and cohesion with fellow students the more days you can attend.

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Produce, Re-use, Recycle… thumb

Produce, Re-use, Recycle…

In 2005 an 8 year old girl was told by a security guard to stop sketching Picasso and Matisse paintings as ‘they’re copyrighted’ (Jardin 2005). So what is a copy and how much new, creative work is required to term the work as ‘influenced by’, or an ‘homage’?  Is her version in a different medium a copy?

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Posting images post-digital thumb

Posting images post-digital

We all use – and therefore copy – artworks to illustrate our own research, but as we have seen taking and using these images is complicated. In this post I am using the primary source of artworks – galleries – as a case study to examine the post-digital shift in how copyright is thought of and applied.

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What has Hogarth ever done for the digital artist? thumb

What has Hogarth ever done for the digital artist?

The question of copyright is one that has recently perplexed the student forum: a tangle of legal, moral and financial issues. Creative talent occupies quite a rare position in society, one deemed worthy of automatic protection against duplication and exploitation. In a series of blog posts I will attempt to clarify three related issues: the capture of images that may infringe copyright, the use of other people’s images as illustrations and the appropriation and altering of artworks to produce ‘new’ work.

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