East End Gallery Hunt Experience - All Galleries.

This day started out very windy and I wasn't really excited for this. Because it was towards the end of our trip, I was tired and still overwhelmed by the art we've already seen and just wasn't into it. We started out and once I realized we were on our way to the Francesca Woodman exhibit, the mood was somewhat lifted.

The Approach Gallery: 'Key Largo' Exhibition of Gary Webb's work.

-This space was awkward. Being upstairs from a tavern I would think would limit who comes into that space. Also, it's up narrow, steep stairs that may make it hard for elderly or disabled. The sculptures in here I wasn't really a fan of either. They didn't seem to please my eye aesthetically in any way and they all seemed too different to put in a space that small together. I kind of liked "Miami Poo Pope" only because it was made out of glass and I liked the reflections from it.

Nettie Horn Gallery: First UK solo exhibition of Oliver Pietsch. "From Here to Eternity" (Video)

-This video was interesting to say the least. Although we didn't stay for the whole piece, I really like how the imagery was about death but the music was upbeat and beautiful. I also saw this as death within culture and mass media as I recognized some of the imagery from movies and shows from America. What really bothered me about this space was when people needed to enter, they buzzed which was loud. Then once they did enter, they were extremely loud. Also, the bean bag chairs are a great idea in theory but seemed to be a disturbance when people moved, got up or sat down.

Ibid Projects: 'Exaggerate the Classics' by Rallou Panagiotou.

This gallery.... what to say. Well, I didn't enjoy the space. It was confusing and poorly laid out. I didn't know what rooms held what pieces and where I was suppose to be led or where I shouldn't of been. I was more concerned with finding my way around rather then looking at the work. This work was not my style either. It was definitely sloppy craft and this area seemed like some space that someone stored there foundations work and called it a 'gallery.'

White Cube: 'Lamentations' by Rachel Kneebone

I loved this space, especially downstairs. The color of the walls against the white of the porcelian was really amazing. her pieces were beautifully done. I would have been more drawn to the sculptural pieces downstairs if they were just on the floor and not on a pedestal. The ones upstairs I really liked because they came out of the wall. I was more drawn to them for the 3D aspect then any of their content. I really enjoyed having the sketches there too. I liked to see where an artist or piece starts and where it ends up.

Parasol Unit: 'Burlesque in which we've thrown it on its head' by Nathan Cash Davidson

I really liked how this artist was our age; born in 1988. It was exciting to see someone right out of school into a contemporary gallery with a solo show. However, I wasn't drawn to his work in the slightest. It seemed very 'basic painting' to me. The space was large and almost empty to me. There was also hardly anyone in this exhibit which was probably one of the only spaces I've been too that seemed empty.

Victoria Miro: 'Collages from The Independent 1999-2004' by Tom Lubbock

This was an exhibition that has been reopened in tribute to Tom's death on January 9, 2011 from a brain tumor. These pieces were all collage pieces that were put together very well. I really enjoyed a lot of them because they had more in depth meanings then just cut out pieces of paper out together to form a visual representation. They also were crafted really, really well. You needed to get up close to see that they were collages.

Victoria Miro: 'Francesca Woodman' by Francesca Woodman.

Words cannot express how happy I am that I have seen her work up close and personal. Francesca is my favorite photographer for how she sees the human form and its interactions and relationships to objects and spaces. Shot all in medium format black and white and all silver prints, printed extremely well, these images have a presence and a huge aura to them; individually and as a whole. Her work is hardly ever viewed in exhibitions considering she had a very short career and life. The space could not have been better either; upstairs was AMAZING. I also really loved how packed this gallery was. It made me realize just how great she was to a lot of people even though she's not considered 'a famous photographer.' This was the highlight of my trip and I cannot wait to let this all soak in.

Borough Market Experience

This place was huge! I didn't expect it to be this large and have so many choices. I was overwhelmed with scents and all the people around. I ate an egg and cheese on a roll with some hot chocolate. We walked over and ate in the courtyard of St Pauls Cathedral. This morning was so windy! But it was a nice experience. I still like the egg and cheeses back in NY better though.

The National Portrait Gallery Experience

Upon arrival, I didn't really have a first impression of this place since it is kind of within the building of The National Gallery and looked the same. We headed right to the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibit. I went in expecting amazing work and was somewhat disappointing. Most of the images looked like they came from a student exhibit with terrible lighting, off color printing or just flat out straight forward portraits with no back story (They all had a story but most were not conveyed through the image themselves. They needed the artist statement to survive) I really had trouble with the four overall winners. I only really enjoyed one which I believe won 2nd place, "Tic Tac & Tootsie" which portrayed two homeless twins who fell into homelessness at 19, then became addicted to prescription drugs and then into prostitution. I felt most of this from the image itself. Others that I thought were extremely strong in image and content were not even winners (Unless you consider just being chosen for the show as a 'winner') Overall, I'm glad I saw this exhibit and also glad it was only 2 pounds but just slightly disappointed from the quality of the images.

After this we walked around a bit before they closed and saw Jason Brooks piece "Sir Paul Nurse." This was amazing. It was a huge portrait from arcylic on linen which looked just like a photograph. I thought it was a Chuck Close but it wasn't, just resembled it. I really, really enjoyed this piece. I was also excited and disturbed to see "Self" by Marck Quinn. I don't know who would think to make your self portrait out of your own blood and it really creeps me out. It did remind me of something Damian Hurst would do though.

OXO Gallery Experience - Gallery 3

Today after Greenwich and the Royal Observatory, we decided to finish up the last of our three extra galleries. We went to a gallery in the OXO Wharf building by Southwark that had a show titled "The Art of the Album." The show consisted of mainly silk screened limited edition prints of the covers of very famous albums such as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin and Oasis. It was really exciting to see the images as images and not as covers to albums. Also, the gallery itself had a nice, fresh, young vibe and was really packed when we were there. The show was extended from the 9th to the 16th by popular demand. I'm really glad we took the time to go out of our way a little to see this place. It was an awesome exhibit! Well worht getting caught in the thunder/lighting/downpour on the way out (Most fun I've had in London)

The Royal Observatory Experience

This place was really cool to walk around. I loved how high up you were, minus the walk to get to it. The view was really spectacular. Walking through was okay, I liked the building and space more then the instruments inside. It was still really awesome to see though. I think most of our favorites part was the Prime Meridan line. We all took pictures stradling the line by the New York part. It was really fun and cool to see. Some of us also went into the building that was a camera obscura and it was so cool! The top of the dome became the lens and it was reflected onto a table inside.

River Boat Cruise Experience

This was a fun experience. I kind of wish we did it earlier in the trip only because a lot of what we saw, we already saw up close. It was still nice to see the skyline and be able to pin point places we already were at and where they were in relation to each other. It was also a little chilly but at least it wasn't raining! It's also cool we did it with the theater group and that we ended up in Greenwich and got to explore it there.

Gallery S O Experience - Gallery 2

This gallery looked so small and quaint but had some really great pieces in it. Antoinette was really nice and informative. I was really drawn to the ladder necklace and the paper pearls that were on display. I also liked how this was a gallery to purchase items, not just look. She then took us to the back gallery, which was my favorite part. This space was amazing and I hope I have studio/gallery space like this one day. In this space, I really enjoyed the lint pieces and the high heel piece. I did however enjoy the room more then the work. Overall, I'm glad we stopped. She gave us the idea to see the student interim show at the Royal College which is showing metals and photography that we may go see tomorrow.

Whitechapel Gallery Experience - Gallery 1

This gallery was difficult to navigate in a way, maybe just in comparison to others we've been to. I was also upset that 3 out of their 8 galleries were closed due to installations. Big bummer. However, out of the galleries and shows that were up, I really enjoyed Mona Hatoum's piece and the show This Is Tomorrow. Mona's I liked the sound and how it created more of an environment throughout the whole room. I also liked how not each light bulb was set up the same; some would turn on and brighter while others stayed off, then visa versa. In This is Tomorrow, I enjoyed how this was a show at this gallery back in the 50's. I also really liked all the posters they had; the color palette and compositions. Overall though, not a huge fan. I felt there were more workers then visitors and that seems wrong to me.

Tower of London Experience

I was really excited for this mainly because of the architecture and to bring back my experience to share with my father who was more excited I was going then I was. I didn't know the whole history behind this place, and not that I do now, but I know a lot more. I heard before I came here that the Crown Jewels was not impressive and I have to say I agree. I thought the Star of South Africa diamond was the most impressive piece there just because it's the largest diamond in the world. I felt this place was a little too 'tourist attraction' and I wish they kept it more historical looking. I really enjoyed all the little outcoves and small staircases and old wooden doors. I wanted more of that. More then just sound effects, lighting and 'press this button to hear all about torture' I'm really glad I did see this though and overall had a great time there. It was also a nice break from the art we have all been seeing and a really great look at history and architecture.

British Museum Experience

I'm so happy that this place is so close! Today was nice and relaxing. Woke up late, walked to the museum, walked back to the room for dinner and off to class later right down the street. I loved the size of this place and the architectural style, which reminds me of the Met, as well as most of it's collection (artifact parts of the Met) I really enjoyed seeing the Rosetta Stone after studying it in art history, typography and history classes. The Elgin Marbles were also really great to see in person because of all the controversey surrounded them. This was a very impressive collection and a nice break from all the paintings, drawings and other forms of 'art' we've been looking at. I also really liked the Living & Drawing room because it had some contemporary pieces, at least compared to the British Musuems collection as a whole. The Picasso to Julie exhibit was okay. Nothing exciting or earth shattering. I did however love that I got to see a Michaelangelo cartoon and a study for Les Demoiselles.

Damian Ortega Experience

I wasn't quite sure what to expect upon arriving; thinking this was just a theater with his work lining the hall into the theater itself. Once inside, I realized this show is very similar to a project I did in my Contemporary Issues in Photography course where we needed to pick something out of the Sunday New York Times and make a reaction piece to it. I really enjoyed some of his while others I thought weren't as strong for me. I liked The Other Side, Waves IN & Waves OUT and Shallot. I wasn't so much drawn to the pieces that had so many elements they looked thrown together.

Black Watch Experience

I still don't know how I feel about theater. What I will say though, is I liked the varitey between the venues we have been too. I really liked how this one was so close to the actors and felt a lot more intimate. I feel awkward watching others in live performances, even in performance art 'installations.' However, I really enjoyed the idea of witnessing another perspective on war and from another culture. The accents were delightful in one way but hard to understand at times in another. I did really love the part when Campbell, I think was his last name, was walking the 'red carpet' and the whole cast was changing him as the past unfolded. I don't know how I felt about all the language. I do think some of it was great and necessary at times but I do think it may have been a bit too much at others. I really loved the humor in this play as well. This one was just a little harder to watch in a way because it takes place now rather then years ago and this will be part of my own past. I'm just glad it was more humor and performance than singing and sadness.

V & A - Camera-less Photography Experience

When I first walked into this museum, I was really impressed with the architecture and it's size. I didn't realize how large it was. All the rooms were really impressive, especially the jewelry and the glass room. I also really enjoyed the tour by Glenn Adamson. I thought he was very knowledgable and intelligent. I loved when he started talking about gender and how what defines this is how you stand, talk and mess with your hair. The

Camera-less Photography was by far the best thing I have seen so far here in London. It was really inspiring and it gave me a lot of ideas for my own thesis and work for this project. I enjoyed the video on each of the artists as well and it gave me great insight into them as artists and into their work.

I also didn't ask my question to Glenn Adamson because it was a personal question and not about V&A or it's collection. I looked him up online and found he taught and studied in America and I was curious why he decided upon coming to Europe, more particularly London and the V&A. As I am an Art history minor I am curious in where people, like curators, choose to work. They are surrounded by this work everyday all day and I think it's something you have to be really careful about. If this isn't a careful decision, I fear that one may become tired of the work they see or it may lose it's importance. (This is a whole conversation I can go on forever about)

The National Gallery Experience

I absolutely love the walls and ceilings and space in general in this gallery. I can only look at so much historical work though before I get tired of it. I was really excited to see works that I have studied before like Van Eyck. My favorite painting is The Adolfini Wedding Portrait and I was so happy to see it in person and to see his Man in Red Turban. I will be going back to this gallery as I didn't get to see it all. It was too crowded and I was extremely tired from all that work. Going from ICA to this was a hard leap for me.

ICA Experience

This gallery was a really great space. I enjoyed the building a lot more then the art work inside of it. I think this work was really bizarre and not that well crafted on many levels. It did give me hope that my work could possibily make it into a gallery one day :) I did enjoy a couple pieces on the lower level including the inkjet work and the video of the coins.

Fourth Plinth Experience

Today at the fourth plinth I was happy to have such a beautiful day with beautiful lighting. I was loving all the architecture that was around and I thought it was such a beautiful part of London. I didn't like how many people were around but I have a slight claustrophobic issue. The plinth itself was really pretty. I really loved how the sun shone through the glass and caught the colors of the textiles. I also enjoy the history behind the ship and textiles themselves. It is definitely the nicest one out of all them because, as John stated, it's the only one that isn't as rigid.

Tate Britain Experience 2 - Muybridge, Whiteread & Beyond

So today we finally got to experience the Tate Britain fully. I have to say, the Muybridge show blew my mind. My thesis project has a lot to do with Muybridge and it wouldn't be possible without him and Egerton's invention of the strobe, my project couldn't be possible. This show also gave me my idea for my final project to this class and I'm super excited for it. I was impressed with the amount of work they had from him including all the images not relating to motion.

Rachel Whiteread... what can I say? I wasn't really drawn to much here. However, I really enjoyed her minimalistic approach to sketches she made for her sculptures like the chairs, tub & line drawings. I was immediately drawn to the ones pertaining photographs of her House studies and the one for the Trafalgar Square Project. These were really interesting with the use of correction fluid and pencil marks. It's giving me all sorts of ideas.

The rest of the museum really bothered me actually. I know they were fixing up a lot of spaces so galleries were moved but it felt way too jumbled. I went from an India room to an European portrait room to contemporary to a modern art room. This was way too fast of a jump for my mind to handle. I also wasn't really impressed with their collection as a whole. All in all, this is probably the least of my favorite museums I've ever been too.

Westminster Abbey Experience

I absolutely love this building and loved learning about this building in all my art history courses. I'm really excited I finally got to see it in person. I didn't this church had so many little rooms and tombs to it. I was surprised to learn Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin were buried here. I really wish we could have taken pictures but I understand why we weren't allowed. I still am speechless from this experience and don't really know what else to say about it right now. It was very overwhelming with all the information on the back story of this beautiful space.

War Horse Experience

I'm not a fan of plays, theater of any sort or anything relating to war for the most part. So for me, this was really hard to get through, plus it was very long for this time at night, especially after the day we had. Either way, I did really enjoy the props, especially all the animals, the lighting and when the scenes flipped to slow motion. I find that even not being into this kind of art, this play made me appreciate it more. I thought they did a great job at being very minimalist on the music and the set. They did a great job at creating a sense of space and different moods through lighting. I can't say I'm glad we did this, but I am excited to say I got to see this play in London way before it comes to NY! :)

Globe Exhibition & Tour Experience

Let me start off by saying I am not interested in theater in the least. I have tried several times and I just am not into it. That being said, you can imagine I am not, nor have I ever, nor do I plan on ever being into Shakespeare. But once we entered the tour of the Globe itself, I was really fascinated by the architecture. I would have been more excited had it not been remade and if it looked more 'old & of the time' but to me, it struck me as remade. It was a good experience and I'm glad I saw it but I wouldn't revisit or see a play there by my choice.

Saatchi Gallery

I'm glad we actually found this gallery and had a small amount of time to walk through it! The gallery itself was more than I had imagined. This place was huge and actually had some great work in it that I was really attracted to. I really enjoyed the pieces by Cerqueira Leite, Tessa Farmer, Dan Perfect, Idris Khan, Steven Bishop & Luke Rudolf. All this work really made different impacts on me and I really, really wish we had more time. I flew through this place and still didn't make it to the basement level where I heard there was some really cool sculpture pieces. All in all, if I'm ever back in London, I would revisit here to really let it sink in.

Serpentine Gallery Experience

After getting lost at the Knightsbridge tube station and calling a cab to take us there, the 'getting lost in the rain' seemed well worth it. At first, I was really confused and looking for someone to help me figure out what I should be looking at or what I should be doing or even feeling. Finally, we all got the hang of it and I didn't know how to respond. I sat there and just let myself feel and take it all in. Once I was watching the "InvisibleBoy" I suddenly felt happiness within this lonely video. I loved it all. The sound, imagery, and cinematography. The snow was a great addition to it because I loved how it made the inside and outside work together. I wanted to see someone outside playing in it or examining it. That was my favorite room. I also really enjoyed "June 8, 1968" for the beautiful imagery and the train sound vibrated the wall I was leaning against. It felt like they were watching me and after I found out it was a funeral train, it made it even more beautifully creepy. I also really enjoyed the Tom Hunter film "A Palace For Us." I thought this was a great story line. I got confused at one point within the film because it went back and forth a lot but the idea and basis was exciting to me. I really enjoyed the gallery itself. I think the building and the grounds were beautiful. I had Kensingtons Gardens on my list of places to see on my free day so I'm glad we walked through a small part of it today. I did also like the Anish Kapoor piece but I wish we could have seen more because he is one of my favorite sculptural artists. Either way, I really enjoyed this experience and I'm glad we did it all as a group.

London Eye Experience

This. Was. Amazing. I love heights and the fact that I could photograph from that high up was amazing. I would love to do some aerial shots of this city! I think we all really enjoyed it and had a great time. My roommates and I have decided to go back at night. I've seen pictures of it then all lit up and it's absolutely beautiful! I cannot wait!!

Again, I will post some of the pictures I took when I go through all of them!

Tate Modern Experience

When we first got into the Tate Modern, I was in love with the space! I really enjoy old spaces, especially factory style spaces, that are converted into something new. I saw a postcard in the store of the old turbines before the conversion into museum. I'm also into these spaces for their architecture and because I love photographing them. I really enjoyed Ai WeiWei's piece "Sunflower Seeds." Regardless of any context, it's visually stunning and so vast that I was drawn right into it. His video made it clear about how the process was done and why and I really like that 'behind the artist/behind the piece' commentary. I also really enjoyed the rest of the musuem, mainly the contemporary work like Serra, Smithson, & Kapoor.

Ai WeiWei question: http://aiweiwei.tate.org.uk/content/738563299001
Also, I will write about the Gauguin exhibit in a separate post.

I will post pictures later from the visit! I took so many!

Tate Britain Experience

My experience of the Tate Britain was more of a first impression. We weren't there for very long and once we were in we headed straight for the Turner Prize exhibit. The entrance, at least the one we used, was very 'back door' I felt for a big museum like this. Maybe because I'm use to flashy entrances like The MET and Guggenheim. Either way, I did enjoy the architecture inside and out. It had large ceilings when first entering which always makes me feel so small and insignificant in a way. It did however seem like museums that I've been in before, particularly The MET. Nothing really struck me as fascinating or different. This could be for three reasons. 1- I was extremely tired coming off a 7 hour red eye flight, 2- The building wasn't that exciting or 3- Because we were only viewing one aspect of the museum, The Turner Prize. I look forward to going back and gaining an entirely different aspect of this museum.

Turner Prize 2010

Looking through the Tate Museum's exhibition for the Turner Prize 2010 was interesting to say the least. I know that isn't a great word to use when describing an exhibit or work or art, but I really don't know how I feel about it yet. I do love contemporary and conceptual art, don't get me wrong. However, I feel for such a big honor the work could have been stronger.

Dexter Dalwood.
     Dexter is a British painter. He paints individuals and events that shaped Western culture of the 20th century. The only painting I was really drawn to was the "Death of David Kelly" 2009. I enjoyed the simlpicity and colors in this painting but didn't understand exactly what he was trying to say. Which is fine, but just a point.

The Otolith Group.
     "Inner Time of Television 2007-10" comprised films, photoworks, curatorial projects, and writing and discussions. I absolutely loved the ambiance of this room; the dark walls with quotes on them, the glass ceiling, and all the people listening intently either to individual TV's or the large one. The only thing that really bothered me was the fact that there was so many TV's and my attention span didn't want to stay there to listen to them all.

Angela De La Cruz.
     De La Cruz's work begins as traditional monochrome paintings and then she violently distorts them. Then they are placed in awkward corners or in the middle of the gallery floor. I really enjoy the idea of this, however, I wasn't too keen on the execution of the pieces. The only one I somewhat liked was "Untitled (Hold no.1) 2005" This was a large black piece projecting from the wall. I like that it was more three-dimensional then the rest of her pieces.

Susan Philipsz
     Philipsz does audio installtions and this one in particular titled "Lowland" 08-10. Taken from the commentary on the wall, this pieces "examining how it modifies and enhances our perceptions of space." I think this is a wonderful description of her piece and it's exactly how I felt about it. I enjoyed many things about this. First, I loved watching people and how they interacted with the piece or just reacted to the piece; kids falling asleep on mom's knee, couples listening intently together, or students wandering about listening and watching others. I also liked that standing in different areas made the piece sound different, either lower or higher or you heard triple playback. The idea of a performance piece without the visual performance really entices me as well. My one criticism was that the room was really noisy. Maybe that's part of the piece but I didn't really like that.

If I had to choose one of these artists for the Turner Prize 2010, I would have chosen Susan Philipsz because I enjoyed her piece the most and I believe it to be a step forward in the art world we are currently in. I believe I heard one of her pieces in July at the Guggenheim and I absolutely adored it. It went through the entire museum as all the visitors were looking at other art. Very haunting and chilling but beautiful none-the-less.

LONDON ART SEMINAR: Banksy pledges £80,000 to Russian radical art grou...

LONDON ART SEMINAR: Banksy pledges £80,000 to Russian radical art grou...: "http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/dec/12/banksy-russia-voina-donation"

Thanks Emily! I absolutely love Banksy.

Free Day Ideas!

I was told by someone who lived in London, right around the corner from us to visit many places. Kensington Gardens was a must-see!

http://www.royalparks.gov.uk/Kensington-Gardens.aspx

Also, if there is transportation available, I'd really love to see Stonehedge. Learning about it in every Art History course makes it all the more enticing.

http://www.stonehedge.com/

I want to see the Cartwright Gardens. Mainly because my mom's last name is Cartwright!

http://www.londontown.com/LondonStreets/cartwright_gardens_8cd.html

Big Ben

http://www.visitlondon.com/attractions/culture/big-ben

Parliament

http://www.parliament.uk/

Markets

http://londonmarkets.co.uk/

Absolut Ice Bar

http://www.belowzerolondon.com/

Buckingham Palace

http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalResidences/BuckinghamPalace/BuckinghamPalace.aspx

London Zoo

http://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/


I'll keep updating as I research and pass these places.