May 30th, 2022

Today our group visited the Tate Modern Museum; one of the largest modern art museums in the world! It was incredibly fascinating to view so many pieces and modes of art, especially with the number of installations that the museum had. Two pieces of art that stuck out to me were Meredith Frampton’s Portrait of a Young Woman (1935) and Cildo Meireles’s Babel (2001). Firstly, Frampton’s piece is elegant and beautiful, as it depicts a woman standing in contrapposto stance, which symbolizes a more poised and relaxed state of being. When viewing this piece, I see the woman being closely tied to the arts, as the cello sits next to her along with a flower. She is painted in such a realistic way that it appears to not even be a painting at all, but rather an actual woman standing in front of you. 

The other piece of art actually took my breath away. Concerned with the effects of mass communication, Meireles seeks to showcase the noise of the world through the radios stacked upon other radios. It was quite remarkable, as each of the radios were playing different sounds, making it so the person viewing the piece could not make out anything remotely coherent about what each radio was sharing. I felt that this piece was deep through these remarks, as the effects of mass communication ultimately leads to mass confusion. In my opinion, Babel was one of the most moving pieces in the Tate Modern Museum because it reminded me that we live in a world that lives dispositionally, relying on quick news cycles that makes the world suffocating at times. 

After visiting the Tate museum, I grabbed a BBQ wrap from Borough market and then I tried Bienenstich (or Bee Sting Cake) for the first time. It was quite remarkably one of the best desserts I have had in a long time, and it is safe to say that I will be going back to that stand on Wednesday when we go to Sky Gardens and have lunch at Borough market!

– Maggie Martin

Today we explored the Tate Museum of modern and contemporary art. I really enjoyed this museum. The interior of the building was striking with expansive hallways and high ceilings that boasted of it’s potential for grandness. I noticed that this museum is free and open to all, and I really appreciated that about it; I think it’s important to allow all classes and people from different walks of life to experience art in the same way. Art wasn’t created for just the elite, in fact it is often made in honor of the oppressed – especially in this museum, that seemed to be a consistent focus.

Because this is a modern museum the first thing, I noticed was the unique use of vibrant color. It was because of this that the artists who chose to make pieces playing with lack of color were that much more noticeable and thought-provoking. Such as this black and white display of the flags below. This work is by Fred Wilson, and it is composed of 27 flags of African and African Diaspora nations. The artist is reflecting on countries that formed because of independence movements and freedom from colonial rule. The description reads: “The flags have ben stripped of their identifying colors. By doing so, Wilson questions the capacity of the flags to represent the complex history of these nations. As he explains; ‘The colors can represent tribal, cultural, religious, and political identities as well as national ones, sometimes simultaneously. Conversely, the missing colors also speak to the fluid and in flux nature of Africa and its national identities.”

I’ve never thought about the ways color represents a country before, and the symbolism behind it. I think this is a very noticeable statement that made me look at these flags from a different perspective.

Seeing things from a different perspective is what art is all about. While we were on our way here, I overheard some discussion on the validity of modern art. You hear the common remark of “oh I could do that!” but that is simply never true. The artist that created the piece came from an inner place of deep feeling, strongly rooted backstory, and a vision of the world around them. The colors they chose, what they created and the way they framed it to tell a story will always be unique. No two people are the same, and therefore art can never be exactly replicated by two different people. Sure, copies or replicas can be made—but the individual experience that the creator has while making the piece will always translate to how the viewer is experiencing the piece. Art is putting a tangible and visual quality to humanity, the things we all experience and feel. However, art is also an expression of individuality and inner essence. It is a way to immortalize and share just one of the infinitely different perspectives that the universe can be experienced from.

Therefore, I really enjoyed Painting by Albert Gleizes. I think the artist speaks on this subject a bit, and the name of the artwork speaks for itself. The description told me that Gleize often keeps strong links with the subject matter that inspired them to make the art. This one is thought to be a female head, possibly his wife’s. The artist was deeply affected by his experience being conscripted into the French army during World War One. He became gravely concerned with the future of society and thought that ‘artists could help create a better world, not just by making beautiful things but by offering new ways of looking.’ This really spoke to me, and what I think art is all about. Giving someone a unique perspective of the world will change the way they see it. It is an essential part of our growth and change, and it is a perfect exercise in empathy and understanding; something we could all practice diligently right now.

 My favorite part of the museum was Cildo Meireles’ Babel (2001). It was a giant sculpture that stretched to the ceiling of the dark, blue lit room. It was completely made from tv’s and radios and projectors – a conglomeration of media. But this exhibit was unique because it wasn’t just visual—the radios were all playing and making sound, but not in sync. They were all playing different stations, songs, and voices. I walked into the room, and it demanded my undivided attention. Before I entered this room, my mind was overwhelmed and scattered, but there was too much sound and chaos going on once I entered that I couldn’t focus on a single thing happening outside of this art piece. It forcefully shuts out anything else going on. This piece of art forces us to connect and pay attention; to look deeper than just the surface level, past all the noise to tune into our own feelings and influence that the piece has on us. Being in this room was incredibly comforting to me. It felt like a representation of the inside of my mind, and I felt understood. It quieted me, calmed me, and brought me inward. It allowed me to focus, even amidst all the different things happening. When I could pick out and selectively listen to one thing, it was extremely satisfying. I heard Dancing Queen by Abba come on one of the radios and I immediately felt so excited and lifted. It was familiar, focused and unquieted by all the other noise. It felt like finally being able to get back on track. Just like any art piece, the different people in the room were hearing and experiencing different things from me.  They were tuning in differently. What makes us tune into one thing over the other? What makes one thing easier to listen to and digest than others? I stood in this room for quite a while and thought about this as I observed people’s reactions to this art piece.

There were lots of themes of freedom, or lack thereof in this museum. Such as my favorite painting that I found, Stern by Marlene Dumas. As soon as I saw it, I was very emotionally struck by it. I had to sit down in front of it and watch its unmoving influence unfold upon me. It made me incredibly introspective. Especially after going to The Great Gatsby immersive experience last night and having very personal interactions and conversations with a character (Myrtle) who was fighting for her freedom after a lifetime of sacrificing for what she thought was love. She became a hostage to what she thought she wanted, and there were striking lines about freedom, only living once, and sacrifice. This painting really reminded me of her, and how she made me feel. I thought about my own personal freedom, and the ways in which I sacrifice it for a false sense of security and happiness, just like Myrtle. At the end of Gatsby, Myrtle dies chasing down the freedom she has realized that she truly desires. She never achieves it. This painting depicts a woman lying face up with her eyes closed and her eyes open. There was an aura of green color breaking up the darkness around her. It was heart wrenching. It made me think of womanhood, of love and loss, and of imprisonment; either literally or metaphorically. It made me think that I didn’t want my story to end like hers, Myrtle’s or the woman in the painting. Then I read the description and I was shocked to find that my interpretation of the painting had not been very far from the artist’s intent. “This shows Ulrike Meinhof, a member of the West German far left militant organization Red Army Faction. Found dead in her prison cell in May 1976, she appeared to have taken her own life, although some claim she was murdered.” I thought the mention that it might’ve been suicide was interesting, to be so drained of your personal sense of humanity that you feel the need to escape in any way possible. I can only hope that death granted this woman a sense of freedom. Whether or not her life was taken from her or willingly given up, it drew a striking comparison to Myrtle who would give herself away for love, or money – when all she ever wanted was to be free, as we all do.

I’ve included some of the other works that spoke to me and their descriptions below.

Signing Off from London,

Margaret

May 30^th

Today, I visited the Tate Modern one of the greatest modern museums in the world. Anyone who knows me can guess that this was not my favorite spot in London. Modern art holds very little inspiration or captivation for me but there were a few pieces that I stopped to ponder.

The initial wonder of the Tate Modern is the building. Although it could come across as harsh due to the extent of concrete, I thought the curators did a wonderful job in providing an atmosphere that allowed for every type of artistic expression. It is lovely to see a free museum where families and travelers can wander in to experience floors of exhibits.

My first reflection is on the Landscape of Longing by Saleem Arif Quadri. It was made during the late 1990’s and was supposed to evoke a spiritual journey. I enjoyed the colors and textures of the seven wooden works. The borrows reminded me of the individual paths one might take but it also exhibited a fantastic use of negative space in how the shapes were purposefully arranged. It was meant to represent life’s many mysteries while resembling Islamic calligraphy.

The next memorable piece was Babel 2001 by Cildo Meireles. It was a modern take on the biblical story of the Tower of Babel which tells of man’s journey to reach heaven but ends with no one understanding each other due to God’s intervention. Meireles stacked stereos into a tower, and they span across all types and ages. Each radio plays a different station which cues the listener and viewer into the ideas of mass miscommunication and information overload. I enjoyed the message and construction of this work.

After reflecting on my enjoyment, I realize that I prefer modern art works that engage other senses. The first piece had such visual texture that, even though I could not touch it, it evoked the sense of feeling. The second work had a layer of sound, and this added meaning to the purpose behind the artist’s vision.

Regardless of my apathy, if any of you enjoy modern art of any kind, I highly recommend the Tate Modern. And even if you don’t, stop by for a quick look at the amazing architecture and free exhibits.

-Tabi is Booked

The voyage was long and arduous, but after many hours at 38,000 feet we made it to London! I believe that the novelty and intrigue of being in a new place was the only thing keeping me on my feet during the stretch of time between getting off of the plane and getting to the hotel. I nearly fell asleep in the lobby waiting for my room to be ready! I slept almost as soon as I hit the bed, and woke up at about 8:00PM local time. I did manage to do a bit of adventuring that first day though. Namely, finding a nearby Korean chicken place and a convenience store before returning to the hotel and falling asleep again.

The next day had much more going on, with a panoramic coach tour of London slated for the morning and a walking tour lined up after that. Our tour guide, Molly, enlightened me to all sorts of new knowledge. Some of the most interesting examples are as follows:

• There are actually two cities in the larger structure of London. There is the city of London, which is one square mile where the vast majority of finances are handled (banks, insurance companies, etc.), and there is the city of Westminster, which consists of most everything else. The larger city has 32 boroughs, and, in total, it makes up around 700 square miles!The Great Ormond Street Hospital is a premier children’s hospital, and the author of Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie, donated his royalties from the book to better the location.Fleet Street is named that because of the river that once ran along it. That river is now underground, but you can see it draining under the Blackfriars Bridge at low tide.London, due to its long history, is a city with many layers- like a spongecake, as our tour guide eloquently put it. There are structures and remains from the Romans, and then the Saxons, and then the Normans, and so on, and they all pile on top of each other underneath the present-day surfaces of the city.The Court of Common Counsel for the city of London can change any legislation within a single meeting of the committee, but this is, in part, due to them only holding sway over the one square mile city of London.The river Thames has a drastic swell based on the tides, falling and rising as much as 40 feet.Parliament cannot open without the Queen present, so they cannot technically achieve anything without her, despite her status as a figurehead monarch.

The walking tour was much less organized than the bus tour, or at least it seemed that way. We walked about Piccadilly Circus at around lunch time, and scattered to find restaurants that intrigued our individual interests nearby. On my part, I followed Taylor and Hailey, who were already set on a Malaysian restaurant that one of Taylor’s friends had recommended to her. The place was nice, and the food was great, but in the future, I should make sure I’m genuinely hungry before I buy lunch so I don’t leave any food behind.

To get to and from Piccadilly Circus, and to get to the next portion of the walking tour from King’s Cross back to the hotel, we got our first introduction to the London underground rail system, colloquially known as “the tubes.” Between the maps and different lines overlapping and keeping track of which direction you are supposed to be going in, it all seems very complicated and difficult to decipher to me. And the fact that our group was separated at our very first stop because of a lack of clarity regarding when we should get on the tubes versus wait for the next one did very little to uproot that idea. I’m sure that I’ll get a handle on it with time and practice, but I won’t be surprised if I get lost a few times in the process.

The evening of our second day in London, our group made our way to the Bridge Theatre to see Straight Line Crazy by David Hare. The presence of Ralph Fiennes as the lead had been emphasized to us in earlier discussion of our itinerary, so I was expecting a truly fantastic show of dramatic storytelling. The play was performed on a semi-thrust stage, as I call it, with the 2/3^rds of the playing area downstage being a thrust that goes out into the audience and the other 1/3^rd of the playing area upstage being wider and more like a proscenium. After watching it, I must say that I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t quite what I expected it to be. In the first act, all of the speaking characters felt larger than life. Robert Moses and the Governor in particular felt like caricatures in their big, blustering behaviors, and I cannot decide whether that works in the show’s favor or against it. On one hand, it amplifies the content being discussed, which might otherwise fail to intrigue an audience that likely consists of very few architects and landscape planners. On the other, it makes the characters a but harder to take seriously, or to relate to what their goals and given circumstances are. The second act felt much more believable than the first, though that might have been a consequence of becoming used to the characters over the first half.

All in all, these first two days were a struggle, though certainly a meaningful one. And that’s without mentioning my lost debit card and the hoops I had to jump through to cancel it and get a new one set up on my phone! I know things will get easier, and I can’t wait to see what London has in store for me!

Something that I have forgotten about the London culture and history is how much there is and how long it has been around. On our travels to the London Tower we past many remains of old building and structure’s. How they are just integrated into to the normal spaces around the city with modern building surrounding them as they are several 1,000 apart in age. One thing in particular was the Roman wall a structure that is much older than entrance of a subway tunnel not even 100 feet away. The wall is also visible to the street with motor vehicles driving. If this wall could talk what would it have to say, how much has it seen?
The tower of London is no different this castle overlooks the nearby river with modern boats along with planes and helicopters flying over. The castle having its own history separate from the Roman wall that is just a short distance away. I am fascinated with the insane amount of the depth of history that London is filled with. No matter where you go you will find history and stories in this modern city and the London tower is stocked full of it. The Tower of London is filled to the brim with history like, The keeping of animals on the grounds, The torture of prisoners, famous prisoners, the military history, and more. Not only is this a area of history it is still in use to house the Crown Jewels. The building that the Jewels and other artifacts are stored also incorporates much of the history of the royal crown and it importance. It was fascinating to be able to see the items in person, those items holding such a significant historical presence was mesmerizing. A fascinating history that Interested me was the fact that animals where kept on the grounds for many years. Many of these animals were imported from around the world. I came across a display telling of how an ape that was imported by sea killed a boy by throwing a cannon ball at him, he then continued to destroy and throw thing upon arriving at the London Tower. Currently the only animals that are still around, and could have been their before the castle are ravens. Ravens have a weird history behind them because there is only speculation on why they were kept but no facts. They speculated at some point they were kept on the grounds, but when they went to remove them a story of when the ravens leave the grounds the fall of the kingdom will shortly follow was brought up. There was many other animals on the grounds but the ravens are the only ones that still remain. They have actually trimmed part of the feathers so that they can not easily fly away or get harmed. In one of the buildings they had a museum filled with the military history of London. I found it interesting on how over time the uniforms changed and adapted, using resources from allies to complete their kits and impacting the next generation of outfits.
Like many places the tower of London also kept prisoners during its time of operations. It spanned from Nazi to spies and even an American all with their own stories and history. The Nazi person used a parachute to drop into the area on a unauthorized peace mission. One of the spies was discovered because he had a lemon and at the time it was used to create invisible ink, he was able to play the violin all night before he was executed by firing squad. This area has a large amount of history behind it and it continues create even more history.

Today we got to visit the Tower of London and I tagged along on a beefeater tour… still not sure if I needed to pay for that or not… In any case, I was very impressed with the tour, especially since our guide was able to give much information that was left out of the various plaques around the fortress. I think this was to make sure that the crowds kept moving through the exhibits. Shawn wasn’t kidding when he said that the crown jewels get crowded! There was about a forty-minute line to access them by the time I got out. Also, check out the suits of armor that were on display. The small one was likely designed for a five-year-old.

Jane Gray was the most interesting and tragic figure I learned about. Nine days after she was coronated, her sister Mary took power from her and imprisoned the teenage queen. The Catholics were popular at the time. Apparently, the forces keeping her at the Tower of London forced her to watch the execution of her husband on the green below from the window above. She was subsequently convicted of treason and executed.

I also saw two musicals: Frozen and the Phantom of the Opera. I didn’t really expect either to be as excellent as they were. Frozen definitely had the largest budget for any show I’d ever seen. At intermission, they sold programmes for six pounds and brochures for ten. I bought a programme which was filled with a bunch of information about the production and cast. It made me wonder what was in the more expensive brochure. However, you could tell how large the budget was for this show because multiple companies produced the costumes alone. There was a moment during “Let it Go” where Elsa’s dress transforms seemingly instantaneously, meant to be magic. From my seats in the upper rows, it was impossible to tell how it could’ve been anything else. Callie explained to me how it works though. Samantha Barks’ costume had a seam down the middle connected by two electromagnets. At a music cue, they change the electromagnetic force and the outer dress gets sucked into the stage in less than a second. Applause, in the middle of a song, during a matinee too. There were many more impressive technical bits during the show, but that one stood out. I’m sure it’ll be in costuming textbooks in the next decade.

I really enjoyed Phantom as well. This show definitely had the most skilled cast I’ve ever seen. I’ve heard the music many times before, but I was deeply effected when they raised the chandelier at the beginning and played the Overture. I also didn’t expect there to be as much explosion and pyrotechnics as there were. I knew the vague plot of the show, but had never read the book or seen the movie. I don’t want to spoil too much for those who want to still see it, but the music and action are enough to give you chills, easily. I was also greatly impressed with Lucy St. Louis’ voice. I believe you need over three octaves to play Christine professionally and St. Louis did it with great power and use of breath.

After seeing a straight play and two musicals, I’m beginning to understand better how to pick my seats. You benefit more from closer seats for plays because you can see the details of the acting better. However, you can afford to have more distant seats for musicals because you’ll get a better view of their overall choreography. Musicals can have a lot going on onstage at once, so it can help to have a wider view, especially if that means you get cheaper seats.

Based on the outside view that we were afforded during our bus tour on the first day, I was surprised by just how much there was to engage with inside the Tower of London’s walls. I think my recent time in Rome gave me the false expectation that we would be looking at stone ruins and a few plaques. How pleasantly surprised I was! The crown jewels exhibit, which we began our visit with, was genuinely jaw dropping. I’m not sure what my expectations were, but the level of opulence that I encountered would have exceeded even the highest, I imagine. I thoroughly enjoyed that portion of the morning, but I was also interested in seeing the areas where historical prisoners had been kept, and looking at the markings and signatures they had left on the walls. I liked reading about John Gerard, an English Jesuit Priest, who was one of the few that actually managed to escape the Tower of London by climbing over the moat via a rope that was tossed across, along with John Arden.

Gerard interested me because not only did he manage to pull off an escape, but he did so after being tortured there, which is relatively rare in its own right. Hung by his hands with heavy weights attached to his feet, he apparently suffered significant damage to his hands and was still recovering during his escape, according to his own writings. By his account, he was nearly unable to finish the escape across the rope because of his body’s weakness in the wake of the torture. Without the aid of his friend who had tossed the rope into the tower, he claims that he would have surely fallen into the moat. After reading about Gerard’s escape, I was able to walk up on the battlements and see the point where they would have stretched the rope across. I’m not sure I would have been able to make the escape myself.

Overall, I thought that the Tower of London was super metal.

[now playing: Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe) – Power Trip]

When I first heard of The Tower of London, I pictured something similar to Big Ben. Don’t ask me why I thought it was just a singular tower that was built hundreds of years ago because I won’t be able to defend myself. In reality, The Tower of London is a grand fortress filled with multiple structures dating back a thousand years. As I walked through this breathtaking historic site, I couldn’t help but revert to a child-like state of absolute wonder and amazement. I was standing in actual history. Kings walked where I was walking. Queens were beheaded mere feet from where I stood. To ask me to pick my favorite part of this castle is like asking one of the Queen’s weirdly terrifying ravens not to bite the general public: impossible. The Crown Jewels were breathtaking. Seeing artifacts that I had only read about or seen in documentaries was such an indescribable pleasure. I was standing before royalty. It almost felt like the spirits of the monarchs who proudly adorned these brilliant pieces were watching me marvel at their precious jewels and crowns. Another part of the castle that filled me with a morbid curiosity was building where prisoners were held at the Tower. One of the most famous prisoners held here was Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII. Anne spent a large portion of her childhood in Henry’s court and was greatly admired. Henry himself prevented her from marrying another as he had fallen in love with her. He tried to marry her but was turned away as he was already wed. Henry then denounced the catholic church for denying him his marriage to Anne and announced himself as the head of the church, granting himself an annulment. Soon after they were married, Queen Anne gave birth to a little baby girl who would later rule England as Queen Elizabeth I. While attempting to give Henry a male heir, Anne later suffered a miscarriage and the traumatic event of the birth of a stillborn son. Unable to provide Henry with what he so desperately wanted, she became unpopular and King Henry had her imprisoned (Britannica). Anne was punished for failing to provide the king with a male heir and was charged with treason and adultery. These charges were fabricated as a result of the belief that Anne had tricked the king into entering a “cursed marriage” (Andrews). After only three years of marriage, Queen Anne Boleyn was beheaded on the 19^th of May.

Walking through the eerie rooms where people spent their last days as enemies of the crown was a humbling experience. The walls of the rooms held original messages carved by people held prisoner there. Seeing these carvings was an incredibly emotional experience. I could feel the desperation of the souls of those prisoners even 500 years later. This transferred emotion wasn’t just isolated to the prison.

All of the Tower of London held a tangible energy only found in a place deeply affected by history. From the Chapel to the memorial for those beheaded at the palace, the historic significance weighed heavy on my heart. It is easy to become engulfed in modern affairs and we often forget to look back on the lives of those who lived before us.

Sources:

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. “Anne Boleyn”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 May. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anne-Boleyn. Accessed 27 May 2022.

Andrews, Evan. “6 Famous Prisoners of the Tower of London.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 11 Sept. 2012, https://www.history.com/news/6-famous-prisoners-of-the-tower-of-london.

The London tube system is much like a subway station you would see in New York City or Chicago. My first experience with the tube was right off of the plane. My group arrived earlier than the other group, so we set off to check in to our hotel early. We boarded the tube with all of our luggage and braced ourselves for the forty-minute ride to the Russel Square Station which is located a block from our hotel. The tube ride itself is a blur. Between the sleep deprivation and the constant looks of annoyed British citizens wondering why a bunch of luggage is taking up their much-needed commute space, I just wanted the tube ride to end. My second ride on the tube was a much better experience. I felt like I settled into the flow of people entering and exiting the station and the ways in which to stand on the tube without falling over due to a sudden jolt. The true test was when we were boarding the tube with the whole group and due to some confusion and an overcrowded train, five of us were left standing on the platform as our fellow classmates and professors rode off in the tube. This could have been a cause for panic; however, we were calm and simply waited for the next train. When it came, we boarded and remembered where we were supposed to get off and like we had done this a million times, we exited the train and met our group on the platform. The tube, in reality, is very easy to navigate and will be a great mode of transportation when it comes to exploring London.

Our first play of the trip was Straight Line Crazy by David Hare. Ralph Fiennes (LITERALLY VOLDEMORT) starred as Robert Moses, an ambitious urban planner in New York City. This play covers thirty successful years that Moses dominated New York as the king of the expressway. Fiennes’s captivating portrayal of Moses completely enraptured the audience, showing the rise and fall of his power over the transportation industry. The play begins in 1926 as Moses begins his journey to power with the construction of two expressways in Long Island that would give access to cars filled with eager patrons looking for a beach day. The play later cuts to 1955, detailing Moses’s slow and painful fall from grace. From the minimalistic set to the larger-than-life characters, this show succeeded in holding the attention of its audience through powerful dialogue and intricate set details. The set being a thrust stage and relatively bare set gave the play an incredibly intimate feel. The actors were enthralling from the minute they stepped onto the stage. The play had neither a sad nor happy end, no ribbon to tie a nice bow as the final dialogue was uttered. The audience was left with a story of real life. As the cast took their bows, I found myself beginning to weep. I wasn’t sure why I was crying, but I was incredibly moved by the great piece of theatre I had just witnessed. Maybe I was crying because I want to do something great like that with my career. Maybe I was crying because the story was a rather tragic one. Whether it be the inspiration or the tragedy, I was moved to a deep emotion. That is the exact purpose of theatre. As artists, we aim to muster change in the audience witnessing our work. In the case of Straight Line Crazy, it was a resounding success.

Today’s excursion took us to the Tower of London. Walking through the room where the crown jewels were kept felt like an exercise in reverence. Past corridors of coronation regalia, like embellished swords and a robe embroidered with Tudor roses, a projection of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation flickered on the wall of a dark room. Chairs stood in pew-like rows, and guests settled into them wordlessly as if disrupting the silence might somehow make this space less sacred. I don’t think I can ever fully understand what the monarchy means for people who grew up in the U.K. Yet, as we passed by a display of crowns that belonged to the monarchy, some that were made to replace others that were destroyed and some that were recovered after wars, I couldn’t help but think of resurrection. Maybe, there’s something sacred about the fact that this symbol of Britain has continued to return to life again and again. As the White Tower exhibit mentioned, the coronation spoon was all that survived of the crown jewels when parliament took them to be made into coins in the 1600s (Jewel House: Ampulla and Coronation Spoon). In a sense, the fact that this spoon memorializes the crown jewels is fitting because it represents exactly what the Crown Jewels evoke: the connection between the implicit weight of leading a country and the responsibility to approach this duty as if it were a holy thing.

            One exhibition that surprised me was a section of the White Tower devoted to the Ordnance Survey. According to the exhibit, the Ordnance Survey was a city mapping endeavor that grew from a mapping room inside the tower of London (Ordnance Survey). The signs describe these maps as a crucial type of “control” that allowed Britain to protect the country “against rebellions and invasions” (Ordnance Survey), and this particular kind of control immediately reminded me of Straight Line Crazy. Robert Moses sought control through urban planning for himself, and the all-consuming nature of this kind of work ate away at his life and relationships, but what does it mean to stay in one place and devote yourself to the kind of work that sustains the community around you? What kind of challenges come from the slow, patient work of standing still? I wonder if Thomas Colby, a lead geographer for the Ordnance survey that the exhibit mentions, grew tired of returning to the tower every winter to draft maps of the places he’d been (Ordnance Survey), or if he knew that, somehow, it would all be worthwhile. 

            What’s left of Walter Raleigh’s lodgings at the Bloody Tower communicate a similar sense of steadfastness. In what was probably my favorite part of the Tower of London Exhibits, we were able to see the room where Walter Raleigh would have worked and the garden he tended during his imprisonment at the Bloody Tower. According to a website affiliated with the Tower of London, Historic Royal Places, Walter Raleigh was imprisoned within the Tower of London three times (“Sir Walter Raleigh”). The first imprisonment occurred as a result of the impulsive explorer marrying in secret against Queen Elizabeth’s strict demands that she be allowed to approve the marriages of those in her court (“Sir Walter Raleigh”). After rule transferred to James I, Raleigh was sentenced to life in prison for conspiring against the king (“Sir Walter Raleigh”). Yet, as the Bloody Tower exhibition indicates, Raleigh still worked during those bleak years by planting a garden of medicinal herbs with which he created remedies for other prisoners and the royal family (Raleigh’s Lost Garden). Raleigh lived the rest of his life without the freedom to roam where he wanted to, but he still lived, and I’m not sure what to make of the part of that decision that requires surrender to an, at times, unjust force.

            Inside the Beauchamp tower exhibit are more remnants of surrender. Carvings made from prisoners are scattered across the walls. Many of them, like the quote attributed to Arthur Poole below, are efforts at repentance. Poole writes, “To serve God/to enter into penance/to obey fate/is to reign” (Graffiti Attributed to Arthur Poole 1564). Although absolutely heart wrenching within the context of what these prisoners experienced, Poole’s final message made me wonder exactly what I believe about fate in general.

Does surrendering to our own fates and making the best of them give us power over them, or is it just another way of losing the life we wanted? I think on most days I would say the latter, and maybe this somewhat individualistic American attitude is what creates a barrier between me and my understanding of the British Monarchy. As I stood in that dark room watching a twenty-five year old Elizabeth II being crowned queen, I was struck by how young she was and how difficult it must have been to set aside the life she had in mind for the one that “fate” or family line had given her. Meanwhile, what I could have seen was a woman who chose to live for the good of others instead of herself by reigning over the life that was planned for her. Sometimes, an unexpected garden in the midst of gray is better than the miles of open sky you wanted. In the spirit of letting go of plans, here’s a picture of an unexpected garden I found on an unplanned outing to see a play that I went to instead of napping in my hotel room. 

Till tomorrow, 

Kath

Sources

Graffiti Attributed to Arthur Poole, 1564. Wall Text, Imprisonment at the Tower Exhibition, Tower of London, London, England. 

Jewel House: Ampulla and Coronation Spoon. Wall Text, White Tower Exhibition, Tower of London, London, England. 

Ordnance Survey. Wall text, White Tower Exhibition, Tower of London, London, England. 

  Raleigh’s Lost Garden. Wall Text, Bloody Tower Exhibition, Tower of London, London, England. 

“Sir Walter Raleigh.” Historic Royal Palaces, https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/sir-walter-raleigh/#gs.1z4fpd.