Today I explored one of the greatest collections of art in the world. I knew going in that it was revered in art circles, but I was still pleasantly surprised by the amount of popular works that they showcased. I enjoyed weaving throughout all the interconnecting rooms although it was easy to miss a section. I did not want to take pictures of them but so many art students and children were using clipboards to sketch their favorite paintings. It had a very lively and young atmosphere but still felt spread out. I was glad that it was not as crowded or loud as the Louvre was in Paris. They have so many fantastic pieces that I remember studying in Art Appreciation.
Degas
Renoir
Monet
Before I contrast two of my favorite works, I wanted to gush about the Impressionist paintings that the National Gallery exhibits. Musée d’Orsay is my favorite museum, but I was surprised by the amount of fabulous impressionist and post-impressionist artists they displayed. From Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Van Gogh, and Degas, there were so many breathtaking paintings and I loved viewing them all.
Pissarro
Van Gogh
The first painting I was ecstatic to see was The Execution of Lady Jane Grey by Paul Delaroche who was a French artist. As I mentioned in my previous post, Lady Jane Grey was executed at the Tower of London and the painting captures a devastating, historical moment. It was a painting that I have always wanted to see in person, and it was as spectacular as I hoped it would be. The second painting that I will be contrasting is Samson and Delilah by Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens is one of the greatest Flemish artists and his painting shows a biblical character whose strength is stripped by the cutting of his hair.
Rubens
Delaroche
Delaroche painted historical pieces and worked in the Romantic era (1800’s) while Rubens illustrated religious masterpieces in the Baroque period (1600’s). Although nearly two centuries separate these two artists, they each focused on particular subjects, whether they were rulers or biblical figures, and created tension with their use of color and lighting. Rubens is portraying a scene of betrayal and moral weakness. Delaroche has captured a scene of tragedy and innocence. Both artists have witnesses in the dark, muted backgrounds with elements of gold in the forefront. They have the executioner and Delilah wearing a deep, scarlet red which starkly stands out from the other characters.
These two paintings are massive and magnificent in scale. I hope that if you every travel to London, you will make time to stop by the National Gallery to see these masterpieces that range hundreds of years.
After reflecting on my time at the National Gallery, I have not only contrasted the museum to the Tate Modern’s, but I have ultimately found a deeper appreciation for older pieces of art. Having taken two art history courses in my life, I have realized that it is easy to think of a work of art as cool, interesting, or even sometimes a bit dull when it is not directly in front of you. However, when walking around the gallery today having these pieces right before my eyes, there were times where I was truly taken aback by how beautiful these pieces are. At least for myself, I did not truly grasp the beauty of the works – and the talent of the artists themselves – until I was standing a few feet away from them. Prior to today and this trip, I never would have thought that I would have the opportunity to see the Arnolfini Portrait or one of Monet’s Water Lilies. It is definitely a time that I will always remember, as I was able to surround myself with some of the most beautiful paintings in the world.
Monet’s Irises
Two pieces that really struck out to me were Monet’s Irises and Monet’s Snow Scene at Argenteuil. While both are impressionist pieces, these two works pulled different emotions from me. Both emotions were positive, but I found it interesting how differently they were drawn and what Monet sought to create from the two pieces. Firstly, Irises (one of my favorite flowers) was incredibly fun to look at and analyze. The movement in the piece is incredible, as I saw the irises flowing with the wind. The level of nature in the work is breathtaking, with the rich purples, greens, and blues working together to create a serene portrait of a field of irises.
Monet’s Snow Scene at Argenteuil
However, the painting of Snow Scene at Argenteuil depicts a snowy day at Argenteuil. This painting features people walking along a town with buildings in the background of the painting. This work has depth, as the viewer can see the transition of the painting as they look at the foreground compared to the background. This work elicited a strong emotion of nostalgia for me, as I connect snowy days in the town with ones of my own growing up. The white and blue colors in the painting work well together to establish a scene of beauty. I feel as though this piece does not have the amount of movement that Irises has, but the piece does not fall short of beauty.
I have a deep appreciation for modern art. I believe that it allows our concept of what art is to transcend traditional practices. It demonstrates how art can be an idea rather than a display of technical skill, and through that logic I have a better chance of being a good artist muahaha. Art class was my favorite thing in high school, and it was there that I learned about Marcel Duchamp’s notorious piece, “The Fountain”. The piece is literally just a urinal with a signature on it but it stands for much more than that. Duchamp stated that the piece is an everyday object, raised to the dignity of a work of art by the artists act of choice. It’s basically the original “it’s art because I said so.” Many people back in the day saw it to be a bit of a middle finger to the art world. Duchamp signed the piece under the alias R. Mutt which is some kind of play on a sanitary products company called Mott, but in high school we joked that he used a fake name because he was scared of how pissed off people were going to be that a urinal was his art. Anyway, this piece has been a favorite of mine for years and when I stumbled across it today near the end of my time at the Tate I was so excited. I was alone, giddy and smiling, taking pictures of a urinal and the people next to me kinda laughed at me, but really I feel bad for them that they don’t realize they were in the presence of the greatest urinal in the world, or at least one of the greatest. Technically it was a replica, but the original doesn’t exist anymore, it got destroyed or lost or something.
Today we attended the Tower of London and spent a couple hours roaming the grounds, observing all the artifacts that are kept there. We saw the royal jewels, ancient armors and weapons, and of course the torture room. While the torture room was very disturbing and creepy, I found it amusing how casually people observe it today as a tourist attraction. While I was in there, I overheard one of the tour guides say that the royals didn’t use the room that often and when they did it was typically to get information out of someone. She then explained the uses of each machine. There was a metal circle that was used for squeezing people, a rack used for hanging people by their wrists while their organs were drawn from their stomachs, and a wooden bed where they would stretch people by their limbs, “Not very nice.” I didn’t read much about the people that were famously imprisoned there, but what I did see was that in 1360 King John II of France, while imprisoned at the Tower, visits the Lions and gives 20 shillings to the Lion Keeper. I didn’t learn much else about him but I know that he was nicknamed “the good king” so it was probably a pretty big bummer that he was imprisoned but you know if he had the lion keeper on his side he probably had it better than some. The real tragic prisoners in my opinion were the ravens. There were around 10 ravens hopping around the yard at the tower who had all had one of their wings clipped, damning them to hop around the tower for the rest of their lives. This was part of a tradition that was hundreds of years old led by the superstition that when the ravens leave, the kingdom will fall.
My first impression of London was that I was delighted by how calm and clean it is for such a big city. I’m so used to big cities being filthy, covered in litter, and reeking of piss, so when I arrived in London I was delighted to find that is not the case! Everything is very clean and I even saw city workers power spraying concrete fixtures to clean the filth off them. So far I have been underwhelmed by the lack of culture shock that I have experienced. Behaviorally I have noticed a few things about the people of London. One of these things is they are always saying sorry even when nothing needs to be apologized for, yesterday when trying to shuffle pass these 4 guys in a crowded bathroom, all four of them said “sorry”
We all explored the tube together, which I’m sure was very fun for Shawn, Courtney, and Casey, the whole time they stayed at the front and back of the group in order to heard us like sheep. The station resembles the NYC subway a lot but is quieter. I would describe the people here as similar to New Yorkers in that they all seem to have their own agenda and don’t want to be bothered but are less aggressive and intimidating about it. I observed that the locals pass each other on the escalators on the left side which is something I don’t recall ever seeing in America. Most of the time we just stand and enjoy the ride.
We ended our first whole day with Strait Line Crazy. The play was a beautiful portrayal of Robert Moses’s incredible and tragic story, leading to his eventual downfall after a lifetime of being stubbornly blinded by his own ambition. It was interesting watching British actors tackle American dialects and seeing how they all compared to each other on stage. Surprisingly I was least impressed with Ralph Fiennes attempt at an American dialect, but this did not distract from his incredible performance. Fiennes acting displayed a gradual and controlled decent of a character who’s obsession with power and control lead him to his lowest point as an over worked man, hated by the public, and left all alone without his friends and the eventual loss of his wife. I enjoyed the minimalistic use of the stage and set and enjoyed watching the play in a thrust style theatre. Having just performed in a thrust production myself it was cool to watch actors of such stature approach the same challenges that I had when dealing with a thrust, challenges such as strategically using the whole space and always having an actor face a side of the theatre at any given time.
Home to one of the largest collection of modern art The Tate museum is a must see location. Its many displays of art will have something for everyone. I came across several displays of art that I enjoyed one of those was requiem NN 2006 – 2013. This piece of art was created around the “No Names” bodies found by the river. The specific river it was focused on was Magdiaera river in Colombia. The art show to images that are several years apart. As you moved and looked at the display the art would change back and forth between the two images. The way the images transform brings me to think about how time effects things and how it changes. Another view that I took from the art is that there is always more than on way to see the same thing or story. The following photos are of the display from two different angles showing the two views.
In the Tate Museum I found a room that I was really fond of. It was a room filled with many visual illusions, I have always like how it messed with your head. The art making things move when they are really not and many other effects. I have always been interested on how things like this effect the mind. One of the displays pulled my attention and it was a line based piece of art that made it hard to focus on what was 3d or not when looking straight on. I haven’t really come across something like this and found it interesting. I do not recall the name of the display but have included a photo.
The other piece of art that I want to talk about is the Display “then and now 2016” by Lorna Simson . This art is made from two found photographs after screen-printed and worked by hand. This art shows how ”The police violence against African American citizen continues to dominate the headlines.” I am fascinated by the way the ink looks pulled vertically connecting the two photo that are in black and white. The composition and design is what pulled me to this piece of art. There are so many things in the Tate Museum and even someone who may not be interested in modern art is sure to find something that they may like. There was a Mirror Room display that sounded interesting but required tickets to get in, maybe if I have time later I may revisit and continue exploring.
I remember enjoying myself very much at the Tower of London when I visited as a 14-year-old, and I found that I still feel that way about I now. However, there is much more to see inside of it than I ever knew! There are so many different towers that make up “The Tower” that I can scarcely keep track of them, and I regrettably did not have the time to look at all of them. But I still managed to gain a wealth of information during the visit, both about the complex itself, and about the various objects and individuals that formerly or currently call the complex home as well.
The first stop was the vault containing the Crown Jewels, and I mean that literally. There was an impressive, bank vault-style door close to the start of the exhibit, which, combined with an employee’s inability to tell me anything about how the Jewels are preserved and cared for, tells me that the security of these national symbols is an utmost priority. The opulence of the crowns and other accoutrement involved in the UK’s coronations displayed the outstanding wealth of the kingdom’s monarchy, as well as its longevity. A majority of artifacts in the collection were made and used during the reign of King Charles II, the first king to reign after the execution of Charles I and the following disbandment of the monarchy, and are still in use nearly four centuries later! Though, a significant number of the most famous jewels in the various crowns and regalia were obtained during colonial occupation (of India, most specifically) and subsequently make them remnants and even symbols of English colonialism.
After that, I drifted over to the Fusilier’s Museum, which regaled the creation of a British infantry regiment of the same name in the late 1600s, and told the story of their involvement in conflicts ranging from the American Revolutionary War to very recent military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. I found the collections of weapons, both those native to the UK and those captured from enemies, fascinating; more importantly, it made me realize just how much military action the UK has taken part in, apart from the Revolutionary War and the two World Wars that I know from history classes back home.
I took a moment to look at the now-famous ravens of the Tower, and then headed up into a smaller tower making up a corner of the wall that divides the inner ward of the complex from the outer ward: the Salt Tower. Built in the late 1230s, and restored in 1857-8, this tower held a variety of prisoners in its upper room over the centuries, many of whom were Catholics based on the carvings left in the stone walls. One of those contained within the room was one Hew Draper, whose description on the informational placard caught piqued my interest.
“Hew, a respectable inn-keeper from Bristol, was accused of practicing sorcery against the courtiers Sir William and Lady Elizabeth St Loe (better known as Bess of Hardwick). Hew denied the charge, although he admitted involvement in sorcery in the past. He claimed he had burned all his magic books. He left, however, a detailed astrological carving here on the wall of his cell.”
Looking at the aforementioned carving, I was thoroughly impressed at the amount of precision and detail present in it (even after being worn down since 1561). Even more admirable is the fact that this diagram and the accompanying grid must have been wrought from memory, given that Hew was a prisoner at the time and not likely to have access to astrological books.
From there I sauntered across a portion of the inner wall of the complex, learning about the defensive strategies of soldiers that lived there and the only successful breaching of the Tower along the way, and then headed over to view the White Tower at the center of the complex. It was certainly interesting to note the architecture of the building, and learn how different eras in British history (Norman, Stuart, Hanoverian, etc.) saw the various rooms of the White Tower used for different purposes. But my favorite part of the White Tower was the building-spanning collection of arms and armor maintained by the Royal Armouries organization! There were suits of armor meant to represent a line of England’s kings, various equipment gifted to royalty by other nations as diplomatic gifts, firearms seized from citizens during the UK’s buyback scheme of 1991, and a basement storeroom filled with racks upon racks of old standard-issue military equipment like muskets, sabers, and cannons!
With my museum itch scratched (and my feet starting to ache), I made my way from the Tower of London to the King’s Cross St. Pancras tube station to meet with a friend of my mother at a nearby hostel she was staying at. She is Dr. Kay J. Walter, a professor of English at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, and we had a nice, if a but late, lunch at a pub called The Rocket that was close by. The drink was good, the food was decent, and the conversation was excellent, covering topics ranging from brain drain in rural areas (and the Southern United States in general) to recent events at UAM involving a Fulbright Scholar. She is a very nice lady, and I’m glad that we met and began a new friendship together!
It was a busy but fulfilling day, and, with the issues with my debit card cleared up (or so I thought at the time), I was beginning to relax and let myself enjoy my new surroundings!
The Tower of London stands as a historical monument centered amongst a bustling city. The towers of brick stretch towards the sky, facing the glass towers that reflect the modernity of present-day London. Arriving at the tower, the first thing we encountered was the Traitor’s Gate; the entrance to the tower where those whose fate was death and imprisonment entered but never made their way back out. We casually strolled in through the front gates.
We began our tour by finding the crown jewels—the collection of royal ceremony objects and crowns acquired by various monarchs. This tangible examination of history was fascinating. I learned a lot about the coronations and the history of royalty in London. Watching Queen Elizabeth’s coronation video was interesting considering her platinum jubilee is approaching. It put into context just how long she has been on the throne and was another example of a stark contrast between present and past. There was a moving walkway that took me past the various crowns worn by the kings and queens. It was awe strikingly beautiful to watch the jewels sparkle and gleam in the light. It was like they had a life of their own, vibrantly shining, and demanding admiration. I don’t preach any kind of loyalty or support to a system of monarchy, but it was quite a glorious sight to have the privilege to witness. These irreplaceable and invaluable jewels were carefully arranged to create this symbolic piece of history that has been meaningful not only to the people who created it but everyone who has been impacted by them henceforth.
Does that make the royal crowns a kind of art? Is the study of history itself a type of art in this way? A more abstract concept that can be up for interpretation and impacts people emotionally and throughout our day to day lives in different ways. I love history, if I wasn’t a theatre major, I would probably be doing something with history and writing. It has always fascinated me. I think in a way theatre is the study of history. To be able to step into the shoes of someone else you must understand what they’ve been through, you must find new ways to empathize with people across ways of life and timelines. This is the journey I took as I explored the tower, stepping into the shoes of people who lived completely different lives from me but might have shared a piece of the same spirit and heart.
As I walked up across the tower walls I looked out towards the brilliant blues of the skyscrapers and thought about the people who stood here before me. Was there ever someone like me who stood here and thought about things in the way I do? Did they watch the world forming around them and wonder what it was coming to? Did they experience the kind of hurt, beauty, fear and wonder that we move through today? I pictured a woman standing where I stood, thoughts swirling in her head, feelings bouncing around in her ever-changing heart. I imagined her looking out across the same skyline that I saw, thinking about life. Except she was from a much different time, she only exists now in my thoughts and imagination. The skyline she saw looked much different than the ever-growing city that I gazed out upon. Did she wonder what the future would be like, and did she imagine that it would look anything like this? That made me think about who might be around to remember me hundreds or thousands of years from now. What will that future look like, how different will it be? Is it anything that I even have the capacity to imagine? Will there ever be someone like me who sees the world in the way I do now, even if the view they’re taking in is completely different? This is one of the many reasons we make art; to leave behind a piece of who we are for the people who might need someone to relate to in an unimaginable and unpredictable future.
I walked into the next room and couldn’t believe what I found. It was an exhibit of photo displays comparing the people who used to live in this castle during its early days, compared against modern day people standing in the same positions. The people of the past looked like ghosts, reconstructions, and memories of who they were. Seeing them standing next to people from my time was strikingly similar to the thought experiment I had just been reflecting on. As I looked around the room I immediately began to cry. It was so impactful to think about and have a visual representation of the way we carry on the stories and significance of people through the creation of our own narratives.
The Tower included many exhibits and sights to see, the armory and the giant ravens who are said to guard the tower. One of my favorites was the prison in the Beauchamp tower. The Tower of London has a history as a state prison. I learned about the fate of the prisoners; some entered the Tower already sentenced to death. Depending on their crime and social status they spent their imprisonment in different ways. Some had beds and servants and were able to move freely about the tower while others suffered psychological torment in dark cells. What I found most interesting was the graffiti on the walls. Knowing that they were spending their last days in this tower, the prisoners etched messages, symbols, crests, and signatures on the wall; one last attempt to be remembered by the people who come after them. Another example of the purpose of creating as human beings, as a comfort that we can express ourselves beyond our lifetimes, we can be understood by people we will never meet. It is a way of escaping death and mortality. I thought about what it was like for them to spend their last days staring out the tiny windows that only allowed for an inch wide slit in the wall view of the street below. Regardless of their crimes, I pitied them.
One carving particularly stuck out to me. It read, ‘Honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.’ Then there was a line that was thought to have been added after he was sentenced to death, ‘hope in God departed.’ Such a striking message and communication of feelings in so little words.
This day made me contemplate the impact we have on each other; now and in the future after we are all long gone.
The Tate Modern Museum is a collection of more “modern” art pieces. The building itself is more than 371,000 sq ft in floor space area with two separate sides consisting of 4+ floors each. The Tate began its construction in 1995 at its current location, the old Bankside Power Station after needing a bigger space.
Two exhibits immediately caught my eye and they really resonated with me for personal reasons. The first was the “Marquette of a Monument Symbolizing the Liberation of the Spirit” by Antoine Pevsner. The exhibit shown below is a bronze cage with a hanging ball-like structure in the middle. The way that I was able to understand this piece was finally breaking free of any confinement. Another interesting aspect of this exhibit that I found was how organic the shapes were even though the sculpture is made of straight lines. To me, this symbolizes the natural stage of fully becoming yourself and finally taking a step into who you are.
The second exhibit that spoke to me was “Flag” by Fred Wilson. This exhibit feature twenty-seven flags from African/ African Diaspora nations. All flags in the piece had no color and were completely black and white. Something that many people do not really know about me is that my mom’s family several generations back is from Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) Africa. As soon as I walked into the room and saw that flag, I immediately felt a sense of pride. Being able to travel thousands of miles away from home and see a huge part of me and my family culture filled me with a word I can only describe as humble. Hearing stories of how my family had to leave and everything that they sacrificed makes me proud to not only call myself American but to be a Zimbabwean as well.
The building has long been a favorite of mine as a shining example of adaptive reuse. Overall, I’m disappointed to say that both the building and collection felt entirely adequate but didn’t blow me out of the water as expected. Fortunately both architecture and art were punctuated by enough high points that my overall experience was a good one!
Monument for the Living
The first piece I want to discuss is Marwan Rechmaoui’s Monument for the Living (2001). This is one of the last things I encountered on the old side of the museum for crossing Turbine Hall into the Blavatnik addition. Of course, a scale model of a building immediately caught my attention. The description tells us that it is of the Burj El Murr building in Beirut, Lebanon. It was left in an unfinished moment of stasis when civil war broke out. “Originally an office block, it was only ever used as a sniper outpost. The tower is too tall to knock down and too dense to implode, and so continues to dominate the skyline.” I think the art piece itself does not have much value until one hears its name. “Monument for the Living” is an interesting reversal of general protocol: monuments are generally reserved for the dead. In addition, the form, to me, suggested a frame that was the only thing left standing after an attack. Finding out that the frame was actually a remnant of a building that never totally manifested was another instance of subversion in some sense. I also think that a concrete structural frame standing alone can be an oxymoron, it is evidence of life, but is in itself cold and missing its vital life-giving component: people. Thus, overall, I felt that Rechmaoui’s choice in name is what lends the piece its power and identifies its strength, which is to codify a formal and conceptual dichotomy.
Seamless
As a counterpoint to Monument for the Living, I next want to highlight Sarah Sze’s Seamless. Filling a room between galleries, I was drawn to this piece for its loads of potential energy. I thought it was a Rube Goldberg machine at first sight, and it seemed like it could spring to life if only a switch was flipped, or a ball was pushed. The description tells us that “Seamless connects familiar objects from everyday life into a three-dimensional network.” I had hoped that there would be some underlying logic to Sze’s choices on what to include, beyond the compositional. For instance, I thought perhaps the objects might be assembled in the order they were used: from morning to night as they moved across the room. I was hoping for too much, but I loved the way this piece interacted with the space. Pieces of the museum were cut away to allow the work to interact with the wall plane, affording an interesting view of the in-between space of the museum’s pristine galleries. Overall, I felt that this piece was a different sort of “monument for the living.” Rather than a single giant (in real life) object which holds history and speaks in socio-political undertones, here is a collection of small and insignificant objects in which the assembled whole is greater than the sum of the parts. They are a different type of documentation, or proof, of life as it is lived day-to-day.
Theatre in London U of A 