V&A.Barbican.British Museum.

We started our day off at the V&A. We had a tour of the V&A by Glenn Adamson. I appreciated his bluntness as he led his tour through the museum. I liked how the museum was arranged by medium rather then a period in history. I felt it was a really nice way in concentrating on the medium and showing different styles within that medium. I really enjoyed the cameraless photography show. These images were created directly by explosing the shadows and light to the paper. Most the images in the show felt like moments, quick glimpse, dreams. There was a very painterly feeling to these photographs. I felt more of the artist hand in the making of these prints even though all photography (more dark room) involves the artist hand. I like how the show called them shadow catchers. And I really liked the quote "Photography has to do with death. Absent moments that are no longer there."




After the V&A we had sometime before heading over to the Barbican. So we decided to pick up lunch and go back and see Anish Kapoor's sculptures in Kensington Gardens, not in the rain. I really liked C-Curve 2007, the rectangulared curved piece. Not sure the reason but I loved his work. May be in part that I enjoyed photographing it. It was interesting how the landscape was broken up through this piece. At times the ground is in the sky and the sky is on the ground. If you stood at a certain angle it broke it up in both ways. I enjoyed the pink circle piece, Sky Mirror, but wish the sun hadn't been behind it but behind me so it would have reflected light better, and allowed the color to be more vibrant. Like the idea how they look different at different times of the day or different seasons of the year.

After our walk through the park we made our way over to the Barbican. But before heading over there we stopped in a glass blowing shop, called London Glass Blowing. We watched as a lady was molding the hot glass. The pieces they had in their shop/gallery were amazing in color and was cool to watch. In Venice I was able to see a man blowing Venician glass so it was reminiscent of my experience there. At the Barbican we saw a show by Damien Ortega. I liked his concepts of telling about the news, a different story each day for a month but honestly wasn't sure if it was the space or not, but felt it could have been better executed. I liked how the work was his interpretation of the news. Like his way of thinking these things out and also like the way the viewer had to pick up the newspaper in the beginning. They were imitation newspapers that explained his work. It was like you walked around with a newspaper while reading them on the wall and then looking at a visual interpretation of them. And how you walked home keeping this imitation newspaper, most likely to keep, when often - more likely then not - we just recycle or through away.

After the Damien Ortega show we saw the Black Watch. It allowed me to better appreciate the first play we saw. Honestly I did not like it at all. I did however like the part where they told history through the changing of the clothes. I thought that was creative. Not sure if I was siting too close but I felt I was doing too much back and forth with my head. I get that we saw what happened between the soldiers but I felt the first play did a better job at emotionally showing that. Wish they had portrayed more of the emotions then the repetitious fighting. Felt like the viewer was building up for something that never came.



Right around the corner from our flats is the British Museum, the following day we were able to take our time and explore on our own. We were asked to check a couple things out while there - including the Rosetta Stone, Elgin Marbles, and the exhibition: Drawings from Picasso to Julie Mehretu. I enjoyed drawings from Judy Phaff, to Franz Kline, Jim Dine, William Kentridge, Francesco Clemete. I've been to the Parthenon in Greece so maybe that's why I enjoyed the Elgin Marbles more then the other old sculptures in the museum. Like most other sculptures of that time, it's amazing how stone can look like drapping cloth. It was cool seeing alot of these sculptures in person, I finally took art of the Western World 1 this past semester so a lot of the things I learned about in class were in the museum. The Rosetta Stone was cool. It wasnt until the Rosetta Stone was discovered did people even know how to decode hieroglyphics. It's an interesting history behind communication. I was excited to learn that The Great Wave by Katsushika Hokusai was at the Bristish Museum. The Great Wave was not nearly as big as I thought it was going to be. I walked right by it at first, I thought I was going to be looking for something much more large scale. Instead, it's this smaller maybe 11"x17" print with beautiful blue blacks and greys. It's about the over whelming power of nature. I also found the porcelian disk titled Dawn by Tokuda Yasokichi very beautiful. The amazing colors that seemed to go from the ocean to the sky. I enjoyed the area with the antique clocks in it. I did not realize that the Grandfather Clock was born in Britian.