Then later in the day we met for afternoon tea at the National Gallery Cafe. I must say it was quite delicious and was a wonderful way to end out trip having high tea with our entire group.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
London : January 16th 2011
On our last day in London we had a free morning so we decided to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. It was a great experience but it was very crowded with tourists and it started to rain on us during it. I did get some great photographs of them though!
Then later in the day we met for afternoon tea at the National Gallery Cafe. I must say it was quite delicious and was a wonderful way to end out trip having high tea with our entire group.
Then later in the day we met for afternoon tea at the National Gallery Cafe. I must say it was quite delicious and was a wonderful way to end out trip having high tea with our entire group.
London : January 15th 2011
Today we met at Borough Market to try some of the very delicious food! I had a cheese toastie, fresh squeezed orange juice, chocolate croissant, and chocolate candy. All of the food was so good, i only wish i could go to markets like these everyday.
After the market we started on a hunt for galleries in the east end of London. The first gallery we went to was The Approach where we saw work by Gary Webb and Key Largo. There were three sculptures titled Miami Poo Pipe, Dorset Knob and Tom's Music.
The second gallery we went to was the Nettie Horn Gallery where we saw a video by Oliver Pietsch, titled From Here to Eternity. Even though we didn't see the whole film montage video, you can tell the artist was showing various documentaries and films. The purpose to me at first was unclear and maybe because we didn't sit through the whole thing, but i later found it was exploring human emotions and psychological torments. This makes sense for the sort of clips we were viewing.
The third gallery we went to was Ibid Projects where we saw the exhibit "Exaggerate the Classics" by Rallou Panagiotou. This was probably one of my least favorite gallery shows. The gallery where the work was being shown seemed like a sketchy basement and i didn't feel safe walking around in there. This may have been apart of the environment that was wanted, but to me it just seemed a poor choice. There was some nice sculptures being shown but many of them to me were very odd and i wasn't sure how they were all relating to each other.
The fourth gallery we went to was White Cube Gallery where we saw "Lamentations 2010" by Rachel Kneebone.When i first walked in i was excited to see some more ceramic porcelain sculptures. I was surprised to see how graphic they were but thought it was an interesting interpretation of the trauma of death, loss and grief. I do wish there was some better craftsmanship in the making of these sculptures. there were some cracks that you could see formed during the firings of these works, which could have been a desired effect but then i feel like they should have been exaggerated more.
The fifth gallery we went to was Parasol Unit, where we saw "Burlesque in Which We've Thrown It On It's Head" by Nathan Cash Davidson. Davidson who is a painter had very unusual paintings of people like King Henry VIII, Eliza Bennett and other popular cultural characters. Many of these paintings used bright and bold colors. There was also many architectural elements you could see in these paintings. I thought these paintings were interesting but not really the type of paintings i usually enjoy looking at.
The sixth gallery we went to was the Victoria Miro where we saw "Collages from the Independent 1999-2004" by Tom Lubbock and "Exhibition 17" by Francesca Woodman.
Lubbock's paper collages were crafted very well with a great combination of text and images. I thought the content of the collages were hard to understand though and not as interesting as the craftsmanship of the collages themselves. The collages are created through unusual and open newspaper briefs about political and social events of our time.
Woodman's photography is just amazing to me, i think the way she used her body as the subject and object in her work is done so well; how it shows stages of transformation, deformation, alteration and effacement. I also love how she uses her body and the environment around her in her photographs. In her photographs you can find her hiding behind furniture, doors, windows and others objects. The way she is playing with shadows in these often rough environments is also very interesting.
After the market we started on a hunt for galleries in the east end of London. The first gallery we went to was The Approach where we saw work by Gary Webb and Key Largo. There were three sculptures titled Miami Poo Pipe, Dorset Knob and Tom's Music.
The second gallery we went to was the Nettie Horn Gallery where we saw a video by Oliver Pietsch, titled From Here to Eternity. Even though we didn't see the whole film montage video, you can tell the artist was showing various documentaries and films. The purpose to me at first was unclear and maybe because we didn't sit through the whole thing, but i later found it was exploring human emotions and psychological torments. This makes sense for the sort of clips we were viewing.
The third gallery we went to was Ibid Projects where we saw the exhibit "Exaggerate the Classics" by Rallou Panagiotou. This was probably one of my least favorite gallery shows. The gallery where the work was being shown seemed like a sketchy basement and i didn't feel safe walking around in there. This may have been apart of the environment that was wanted, but to me it just seemed a poor choice. There was some nice sculptures being shown but many of them to me were very odd and i wasn't sure how they were all relating to each other.
The fourth gallery we went to was White Cube Gallery where we saw "Lamentations 2010" by Rachel Kneebone.When i first walked in i was excited to see some more ceramic porcelain sculptures. I was surprised to see how graphic they were but thought it was an interesting interpretation of the trauma of death, loss and grief. I do wish there was some better craftsmanship in the making of these sculptures. there were some cracks that you could see formed during the firings of these works, which could have been a desired effect but then i feel like they should have been exaggerated more.
The fifth gallery we went to was Parasol Unit, where we saw "Burlesque in Which We've Thrown It On It's Head" by Nathan Cash Davidson. Davidson who is a painter had very unusual paintings of people like King Henry VIII, Eliza Bennett and other popular cultural characters. Many of these paintings used bright and bold colors. There was also many architectural elements you could see in these paintings. I thought these paintings were interesting but not really the type of paintings i usually enjoy looking at.
The sixth gallery we went to was the Victoria Miro where we saw "Collages from the Independent 1999-2004" by Tom Lubbock and "Exhibition 17" by Francesca Woodman.
Lubbock's paper collages were crafted very well with a great combination of text and images. I thought the content of the collages were hard to understand though and not as interesting as the craftsmanship of the collages themselves. The collages are created through unusual and open newspaper briefs about political and social events of our time.
Woodman's photography is just amazing to me, i think the way she used her body as the subject and object in her work is done so well; how it shows stages of transformation, deformation, alteration and effacement. I also love how she uses her body and the environment around her in her photographs. In her photographs you can find her hiding behind furniture, doors, windows and others objects. The way she is playing with shadows in these often rough environments is also very interesting.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
London : January 14th 2011
Today we took a Thames River cruise and saw many of the different sites and places we had visited along the river. It was very cold but was still nice to see everything and get some great photographs. I do wish we had taken the trip earlier when we first had gotten to London. It would have been a great introduction to the city and to what we were going to be doing the rest of the time. Even so it was a nice change of activities and i enjoyed having a chance to sit and see everything.
After getting off at Greenwich we went to the royal observatory. It was interesting to see all the different watches and time pieces they used to help navigate ships. It was also great being able to see and walk on the meridian line. Then after we walked around and found the Greenwich Market. It was a smaller market and more of a craft and flea market.
After we made our back towards home and stopped at the National Portrait Gallery. My favorite portrait was by Marc Quinn, Self 2006. It was a mold of his head made out of silicone, his own blood stainless steel, glass and refrigeration equipment. The head was cast in several pints of his own blood, which he called frozen moments on "life-support".
After getting off at Greenwich we went to the royal observatory. It was interesting to see all the different watches and time pieces they used to help navigate ships. It was also great being able to see and walk on the meridian line. Then after we walked around and found the Greenwich Market. It was a smaller market and more of a craft and flea market.
After we made our back towards home and stopped at the National Portrait Gallery. My favorite portrait was by Marc Quinn, Self 2006. It was a mold of his head made out of silicone, his own blood stainless steel, glass and refrigeration equipment. The head was cast in several pints of his own blood, which he called frozen moments on "life-support".
London : January 13th 2011
Today was a free day from class so me and some of my friends decided to take a tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and the Roman Baths. Windsor castle was very big and beautiful. Before we entered the castle they told us that if the British flag is flying then the queen is not home, but if her special flag is flying then she is home. The queen wasn't home when we were there but i thought it was unusual to do this because if someone was trying to get to the queen they would know when she is there. We also went inside and saw the queen's private art collection of drawings from Leonardo DaVinci and the royal family's photographer's portraits of the family. Then before it was time to leave we saw the changing of the guards. From there we went to Stonehenge, which was amazing to see up close. You were able to walk around the whole thing and get different views. There were also these burial mounds on the other side of the road that you could see. It was so nice to see Stonehenge in person, it was so much better than i thought and from what i learned and talked about in art history so many times before, it was nice to finally understand the amazing effort that was put into building this structure during that time. Then we ended the day by going to the Roman Baths. We walked through the building, which held structures and artifacts from when it was in use. Then we saw the Roman Bath hot springs and you could feel the heat and see the steam coming from the water.
London : January 12th 2011
Today we went to see the Tower of London. It was a lot of fun wandering around the castle and looking at the crown jewels. I love looking at all the different parts of the castle, including where they would stand at the top to stop intruders or down in the dungeon where they would keep the torture devices. The view of the London Bridge was also amazing to see. It is so different from any other bridge i have ever seen before.
After the London Tower we went to Petticoat Lane. This was a local market but there wasn't too much going on because the to really go on is Sunday. But we did get a really great deal on scarves so we bought a few to bring home. After that we went to Whitechapel Gallery. We saw artist Claire Barclay's exhibit Shadow Spans and Richard Wentworth's Three Guesses: A Confiscation of String. This was probably one of my least favorite galleries. I guess I just don't like that kind of sculpture. To me they didn't make much sense. However I did enjoy the installation by Mona Hatoum called Current Disturbance. To me this piece was at least fascinating the way she put together all these light bulbs and wires in cages that are cell-like, and together they give off this perpetual tug and resistance of energy.
After the London Tower we went to Petticoat Lane. This was a local market but there wasn't too much going on because the to really go on is Sunday. But we did get a really great deal on scarves so we bought a few to bring home. After that we went to Whitechapel Gallery. We saw artist Claire Barclay's exhibit Shadow Spans and Richard Wentworth's Three Guesses: A Confiscation of String. This was probably one of my least favorite galleries. I guess I just don't like that kind of sculpture. To me they didn't make much sense. However I did enjoy the installation by Mona Hatoum called Current Disturbance. To me this piece was at least fascinating the way she put together all these light bulbs and wires in cages that are cell-like, and together they give off this perpetual tug and resistance of energy.
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