High Tea Experience

This was the finale of our trip.  I really enjoyed dressing up and sharing our experiences with each other.  It was cool to experience how English people socialize.  It was a great setting to see everyone before we parted ways back to New York.  This was great ending to the trip and my experience in London is one I will never forget.

East End Gallery Hunt Experience (includes all galleries)

After going to the Borough Market, I became somewhat awake and ready to tackle this day.  Having to do the East End Gallery Hunt towards the end of the trip was kind of exhausting, but it was still fun.  Unfortuantely, I did not wear my jacket that day and it ended up being a little windy and chilly, but thankfully we walked around a lot so I got warm.  The different areas we walked to for the Hunt were sometimes like the projects, and other areas were nicer, only within a small walking distance though.

The Approach Gallery- "Key Largo" Gary Webb

It was kind of a small space in which his work was shown.  The way you had to walk through a bar to get to the gallery was also weird and somewhat awkward.  It could be actually a smart idea though because someone who is looking at galleries might want to take a break so they could relax at the bar, and they will get the business.  The sculptures in the gallery were kind of interesting.  I thought the idea of the brick one was awesome, but I was not too ecstatic with the imagery it portrayed.

Nettie Horn Gallery- "From Here to Eternity" Oliver Pietsch

I have to say I was not really thrilled with this video.  It was not that the imagery and concept wasn't good, it was just really hard for me to bare and look at when the bugs were feasting on flesh.  My stomach felt queezy when watching it so I ended up closing my eyes and just listening to the music.  The music was very lovely throughout the video.  I thought it was very clever of them to advertise the bean bag chairs, and to make the video more inviting.

Ibid Projects- "Exaggerate the Classics" Rallou Panagiotou

Well, this gallery was poorly set up and just scary.  I thought when walking through the gallery I was going to fall through the floors, the structure seemed so unstable.  The rooms did not help the sculptures in any way, since it seemed horribly maintained.  I feel as though some of the sculptures would have looked a lot better if they were in a better setting.  One of the wall sculptures that was made of marble called "My Toe" was probably the only piece of art I liked.  It was very simplistic and clean looking.  But yet again, the gallery itself was distracting.

White Cube- "Lamentations" Rachel Kneebone

After being in the Ibid Projects gallery, this space was a breath of fresh air, very clean and welcoming.  I liked the dark walls on the first floor and making the focus points really on the porcelain sculptures.  The detail in the artwork was really astounding and I really enjoyed looking closely on the vines and flowers.  The upstairs was also kind of interesting with the way the sculptures were hanging like wreaths on the wall, but I personally was not attracted to the subject matter.  It was a little bit too provacotive for me. I very much enjoyed the downstair's porcelain sculptures a little bit more, because it wasn't as in your face as the ones upstairs.

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

The space that his work was displayed in was really beautiful and large.  I wish there was more work that filled the walls, but it wasn't too bad.  His paintings were definitely a style that attracts to a certain crowd.  I am personally not a huge fan of this painting style, but I did enjoy the thickness of his paint in some of his paintings.  It was alo interesting how young the guy was, and how he had his own show.

Victoria Miro- "Collages from The Independent 1999-2004" Tom Lubbock

I remember walking into this space and being really amazed with the large windows and the openness of the gallery area.  It was absolutely beautiful and I actually wanted to live there.  Many of his collages did not even look like collages, they were so intricately well put together.  The imagery he created using collage was also amazing. I remember this one image that created a comb, and it was just so lovely.

Victoria Miro- "Francesca Woodman" Francesca Woodman

I thought this was definitely an amazing exhibit.  The story behind this young girl and her unfortunate death was sad, but in the time frame she lived she created astonishing photographs.  I am in love with black and white photography and was glad to see many images that were black and white.  Woodmans incorporation of her body in a lot of her images was lovely and it was beautiful how she formed her body into the environment in which she photographed herself.  There were so many photographs, that all of her photos had to be displayed on two floors and they were all individually interesting.

The Borough Market Experience

I thought this market was awesome.  I loved the variety of foods and how the different stations were set up. We got some breakfast when we got there, but there was no where to sit because it was a mob scene, so we went into the courtyard to eat.  It was pretty chilly and windy, but overall the experience was fun and different from anything I had ever done.

The National Portrait Gallery and Taylor Wessing Portrait Experience

I was pretty shocked when I looked around the National Portrait Gallery.  I was not expecting there to be modern style paintings, photographs, and other mediums as well.  My favorite image in the gallery was the painting by Jason Brooks called "Sir Paul Nurse."  Brooks' painting was a large black and white image of a close-up of a man.  It looked like a photograph from far away, but then I realized after reading the caption that it was acrylic paint.  As for the gallery, it was in an awkward spot.  I thought it didn't feel like an entrance compared to the National Gallery.

The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, I thought it was pretty good.  Some of the photographs were really not that interesting, but I still thought it was a decent show.  My favorite photo that I absolutely love is called "Wet and Dry- Laura" by Madeleine Waller.  The environment in which the woman was standing in was mysterious with the fog and the snow.  For me, the pattern of her bathing suit made the photograph successful, along with the context, too.  I did enjoy the space in which these photographs were displayed, and it was somewhat crowded and full of life for the gallery being close to closing time!

The OXO Gallery Experience

This was the third gallery of our choosing that we went to.  The title of the show was "The Art of the Album."  Many of the images in the gallery were album covers for major singers like Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin, and Oasis.  Looking at the images was not like looking at an album cover for me though.  Many of the images were very beautiful.  I was really excited when I saw an image that was done by Susan Derges called "Up".  Since I saw her in other galleries and museums, I was excited to see another one of her works and know just how well-known she is.  The OXO gallery was very inviting and clean, and seemed to be pretty popular.  Overall, I am really glad we went to this gallery, because I liked the combination of art and music that this gallery had to offer.

The Royal Observatory Experience

First off, the view was really wonderful.  It was amazing to see out as far as we did, and I was thankful that it was not a really cloudy day.  The walk up the hill was definitely something I was not prepared for that day, but it was worth it.  It was also very interesting when walking through the different buildings and looking at the clocks and different time zones.  The camera obscura in one of the buildings was really interesting, and at first I actually did not see it.  Once my eyes became adjusted to the darkness, I  was able to see that the light coming from the ceiling made this faint picture on a table.

Thames River Cruise Experience

I thought this was a wonderful tour to end the trip and see parts of London for the last time.  It was great to be able to see where we have been and where they were in comparison to everything else.  I was especially glad that it did not rain so I could finally take some pictures.  The top of the boat was the best viewing area in my opinion and even though it was a little cold, I enjoyed being outside.

Gallery S O Experience - Gallery 2

The Multiples Show that was being exhibited at the S O Gallery was not what I was expecting at all.  I am glad we ended up going into the gallery off of Brick Lane because it ended up being very interesting, especially going to the back gallery space where you had to walk through a small courtyard.  I loved the back gallery space because of the brick walls, and the industrial look.  My favorite artist there was probably Peter Bauhuis, with the small gold and silver delicate sculptures.  I was not really sure what they were, but they looked like little waves and creatures.  The cast shadows they made were absolutely lovely and so sharp because the objects themselves were so small.  The lady who owned the gallery was also very sweet and interesting to talk to.

Whitechapel Gallery Experience - Gallery 1

I personally was not impressed with the gallery itself.  Unfortunately it was probably because there were not many exhibits showing due to the changing of artists.  It was a smaller gallery than I thought it would be, but I liked the industrial space they had setup on the ground floor.  I was excited to also see another artwork of Mona Hatoum with the light piece.  Her piece made a statement in my mind, but the noise for me was hard to bear.  Richard Wentworth's "Three Guesses" was also intriguing, and I really enjoyed the simplicity of the string running up and down the wall.

Tower of London Experience

I have to admit before we got to the Tower of London I thought it was the two buildings on the bridge for some reason.  It was a true tourist spot and I liked the break from all the artwork, it really made for a fun adventure.  The main buildings that we went to were interesting to observe because of the old stonework.  In the Crowned Jewels building I found it all so beautiful.  It was a weird setup walking through from one room to the next, but when you got to the crowns I was dumbfounded at how big some of the diamonds were. 

British Museum Experience and Picasso to Julie Mehretu

The museum itself was absolutely beautiful and when I first walked into the building I was not expecting the huge skylight roof.  It made the building so much brighter and welcoming.  The first thing we went to go see was the Rosetta Stone, and the history behind this artifact was profound and almost hard to believe.  Without this stone who knows where our language would be today.  The Elgin Marbles were also interesting mostly because of the debate of whether Greece should have them or the British Museum.  For me it is hard to almost appreciate the look of them because they probably look nothing like they used to, they have deteriorated a lot over time.
The Picasso to Julie Mehretu exhibition was not what I was expecting either.  I thought there was going to be many more Picasso paintings/drawings, but it was still interesting. I actually did not know Julie Mehretu's work before this exhibit and I ended up being more drawn to her work than the displayed Picasso works there.  Charles Seliger's "Organic Form #5" also caught my eye with the use of colors contrast to black solid froms.  The shapes are extremely appealing and your eyes move through the piece easily.  Overall, there was an abundance of history and I liked the setup of the different areas of the world and the history within the area.

Black Watch Experience

I am not a big fan of war related anything, just because it is hard for me to watch it.  I get startled when I hear the loud explosions and gunshots, and I feel my heart start to race. It was a good play though and thought the setup was interesting and unique from the other play we went to.  I liked one of the first scenes where the army men cut there way through the pool table and the part with the red carpet where the one soldier went through history.  The lighting was definitely a big plus and I loved the part when they were marching/ dancing where you could feel the base through your body, and the strong music gave me chills. Overall, I thought it was very informative of what I could understand, because of there strong accents.

Damien Ortega

The setup of his exhibit was like a path in which you had to maneuver around his objects which was fun to do.  I only found a couple of pieces that I really liked however.  "The Other Side" was by far my favorite just because of the image that I saw, and to go with it, the community is hiding behind a mountain to avoid the hot sun.  The placement of the cubes from big to small made it seem like the shadow would fade away the farther the shadow goes out.  It was definitely a different experience from the other exhibits we went to.

V & A - Camera-less Photography Experience

This museum was very impressive and when I came in the front entrance it was a beautiful sight.  The first thing that took my eyes was the glass blown hanging sculpture.  The rest of the museum was also extremely well presented.  The tour with Glenn Adamson was also very well done, and I really enjoyed listening to him and his comments about postmodernism and modern design.  I found it very insightful and my question for him was "Are you an artist yourself and if so what mediums do you mostly work with?" Looking through the museum after the tour the one area which I really enjoyed was the glass, because I thought it was all very creative and amazingly done.
The Camera-less photography exhibit was absolutely wonderful and I really got a lot out of it.  I personally have worked with photograms before, so to see these large prints was mind blowing.  The chemigrams also really interested me because they all related to watercolor and painting techniques I have used.  I really liked the idea of using chemicals to create these images, and want to try it in my own work.

Question for Ai WeiWei

http://aiweiwei.tate.org.uk/content/738579468001

National Gallery Experience

First of all I did not realize how huge this museum was until we were inside trying to navigate our way around.  It has a plethora of old artworks.  The museum itself was extremely detailed and extravagant on the inside.  I started to look at the wallpaper and look at all the different patterns and colors that were in all of the different rooms.  The one painting by Hans Holbein was impressive in the angle at which you looked to see the skull.  Besides that I feel it was just like any other older painting of a portrait.  There was no interesting composition, but then again that was the norm for that time period.  The quality of his painting was beautiful though.  The other painting that I was excited to see was Jan Van Eyck's "Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife", because I had studied that piece a lot in one of my art history classes.  It was great to make the connections and look at this painting in person.  Overall, I liked the National Gallery, but I thought there was so much to look at that the artwork started to merge into one, making every work appear to be the same sometimes.  It was definitely an experience that I would not want to miss because the history there is amazing.

ICA Experience

I would have to say this was the least impressive experience I have had so far.  There was no comparison between the ICA and Tate Britain.  It fell short of my expectations prior to the visit. There were still some good artists, but the space just was not up to the standards of the other museums and galleries we have visited.  One of the artists I did like was Rowena Hughes because of her geometric shapes and mix of black and white with some color.  I do not believe it had an abundant amount of high quality artwork.

Trafalgar Square 4th Plinth

I found the area to be beautiful and very popular to many tourists.  It was a great day to go and it was interesting to see Yinka Shonibare's message in a bottle. The idea that all four plinths are historically related to each other was interesting as well.  I found the message in the bottle to be the most interesting just because it was different and not the normal bronze sculpture.  I think we are going back again to visit Trafalgar Square because of its beauty and peaceful setting.

Tate Britain 2 experience

This time I was glad to see the whole museum and look at other Turner Prize winner's artwork. I did not like how part of the museum did not have artwork because they were in the process of doing renovations or something to that nature, but even without the rest of the rooms without artwork, the artwork that was there was very modern and interesting.  I was glad to see many large modern paintings and sculptures that were abstract and simple because it kept me interested throughout the whole museum wanting to see more and more.  Bridget Riley was an artist who did "Late Morning" with many parallel lines interacting and almost creating an optical illusion.  The colors of the lines started to vibrate in my vision and sooner or later I was seeing waves.  I love when things trip my mind in an artistic way much like this piece did.  Overall, I really liked the modern aspect of the Tate Britain.

Muybridge and Whiteread's exhibits

In Eadweard Muybridge's exhibit I was thoroughly impressed with the collection of work he had.  When first entering the exhibit I thought it was somewhat dark, but it could have been because the main area of the Tate Britain was so bright. I found his series from Yosemite intriguing because as a huge Ansel Adams fan, I saw many similarities, yet they were different images.  His latest collection of stopping time was also mind blowing.  They were very scientific and were so interesting to look at and understand.  Rachel Whiteread was the other exhibit and I found her plans and drawings geometric and refined.  I found her drawings/paintings done in a painterly way even though they were just sketches for her sculptures.  Looking closely at the drawing/paintings there was the unintentional drips and streak marks that I believe make the image, and make me question what she was thinking or perhaps what she had been doing at the time.

Westminster Abbey Experience

The Westminster Abbey was a really beautiful church, with so much history.  I found the tour guide to be extremely intelligent and very clever and interesting to listen to.  He informed us about the church and the history that lies within it.  Some of the stories that he told the group that really stuck in my mind were the Unknown Soldier, and the one man that was buried in the tomb with one wife, and left a space for his other wife he remarried.  Only she outlived him for about 40 years and did not want to be buried there, so that was why there was an empty area next to him.  While walking around the Abbey it was kind of creepy knowing that I was walking on bodies, but I found it also interesting knowing that there were many famous people buried there, especially the ones I knew of buried there.  Since we were at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre, I liked seeing his burial at the church. I also thought that it was interesting that the church was built at two different times but the creators kept the same architecture throughout.

Globe Exhibition & Tour Experience

It was a tremendous experience to be able to see the replica of where William Shakespeare had his play performed.  As a fan of the movie "Shakespeare in Love", I was very excited to be able to recognize some of the things that I saw in the movie. It actually helped me understand why the seating arrangement was setup for the wealthy and poor.  Going to see a play there would be great, but unfortunately we were not visiting during the play season. I also really appreciated how they used the same wood and kept the architecture the same to the best of their knowledge to make it more historically accurate.

Saatchi Gallery

Thus far into my London experience the Saatchi Gallery has to be one of my favorite galleries, so much so that I plan on maybe going back during some of my free time. I thought the gallery presented itself in a very clean and bright fashion, which woke me up from the long journey through the rain.  I was very interested in many of the artists’ works.  Some of the really bright paintings caught my eyes, such as the one by Luke Rudolf who worked with oil and acrylic.  I also liked the setup of Josephina Guilisasti, and how her series of the vase and teacup oil paintings were displayed as a whol, filling up an entire room.  There were also a variety of sculptors that caught my eye like Dick Evans "Black Grape".  This gallery was really amazing and overall all the artwork was beautiful.

Serpentine Gallery Experience

This exhibit was for sure truly amazing and unique. I have never been to an exhibit like this before, and found it really moving. In the Philippe Parreno part, I did not fully understand it at first, but after looking at more and more, I saw the connection between the chanting of "No More Reality" and with the little boy using his imagination. I thought it was a very moving work of art.  I felt that the setup of the different rooms and the following of the sounds to the next room really made this an interactive exhibit. It was almost as if the audience was able to actively participate in the exhibit, which was a fascinating aspect that I really enjoyed. The image quality of the June 8, 1968 was beautiful and it felt like I was actually aboard the train.  The sounds also connected the videos which made me understand the exhibit a little bit better.
The Tom Hunter movie clip called "A Palace for Us", really stuck out to me as well. It was sometimes hard for me to follow with the past and present times switching constantly, but overall I think I understood most of it and actually related it to my life in some ways.

War Horse Experience

I just want to start off by saying that I thought the props (horses), background, and lighting were simply AMAZING!  I found myself at times thinking that the horses were real, completely forgetting about the puppeteers who were moving the horses.  The slow motion effects that the puppeteers created were also astounding. The horses were sculptures that came to life in my eyes, as I am sure many other people thought too.  The backdrop was also interesting because of how the drawings were projected to make a film.  The story line was good, but I thought some parts were dragged out and it made me lose focus in some areas of the play.  Overall, I thought the technical aspects were the best part of the play.

Paul Gauguin Experience

Even though I am not a huge fan of Gauguin’s artwork, the exhibition still impressed me.  His still-lifes of fruit are probably the ones that attracted me the most.  It was very crowded in the whole Gauguin exhibit so that was a downfall to trying to look at his work, but I liked how the different stages of his artwork were setup.  It made it easier for me to understand the stage when reading the text, and move on to look at the paintings and other sections of his artwork.

Tate Modern Experience

At the Tate Modern there were many amazing works of art and it really had a good mixture of mediums.  When first entering the Tate Modern, I notice an “industrial” type atmosphere. This atmosphere greatly enhanced Ai WeiWei's piece in my mind.  His work of art really took me by surprise and I felt so calm and relaxed when looking at it.  It had a lot of movement even though the height at which the porcelain sunflower seeds exceeded was one height.  It had such great unity throughout the artwork making it into one huge piece of art.  Through the rest of the museum I found some artwork that I could relate to my artwork. One of the artists was Miki de Saint Phalle "Shooting Picture" 1961.  I love the mixture of sculpture incorporated into a flat surface and then painting letting gravity pull the paint down.  Another artist is Rineke Dijkstra with the photographs of the three women naked who gave birth.  I saw these images only in a class, and I like how I got a totally different experience seeing them in person.  There were many other painters, sculptors, and photographers I enjoyed, but overall I really like the way everything was displayed in the Tate Modern.

Purdy/Hicks Gallery

I thought this gallery was beautiful with its industrial like ceiling and the idea to hang the photographs on white walls.  Tom Hunters photographs worked really well in the gallery space, although I wish all his photographs were on the top level.  I understand that there wasn't enough room, but it felt tight in the downstairs.  I felt that the natural light helped set the mood for the large photographs on the first level.  Downstairs did not feel as airy, and I thought that with his large size photographs they could use more space. All in all, his images were amazing and felt strong.

London Eye Experience

The London Eye was a tremendous site that is a definite highlight thus far into the trip. It was a great way to view the city as a whole and it gave me this feeling that I was on top of the world. Since I missed out on the bus tour from the airport, the London Eye gave me my opportunity to see the many tourist attractions and must see sights of London such as Big Ben. I can say with much confidence that I have never been on a ferris wheel quite like the London Eye before in my life. This visit allowed me to take pictures from all different perspectives, which I thoroughly enjoyed doing. One of the many interesting aspects of London Eye, besides its breath-taking views, was being able to move around in the pod/bubble. Being able to move contributed to the different perspectives I was able to capture in my photos. I was also taken-back by the surrounding architecture, and how different it is from American architecture.  Nonetheless, the London Eye will be one of the most memorable moments of my two weeks in London. 

Tate Britain Experience

I thought it was interesting when I was entering the Tate Britain, that we were going down the stairs into the entrance, but overall it seemed like a very traditional museum.  There was nothing really eye-catching when you walked into the building besides it being very bright and clean.  I did like the spaces and how the Turner Prize was set up. I also found it pleasing how you walked through a hallway to get to the next room so you had some time to clear your head to enter the next artist/group.  I think the area in which Fiona Banner had was the best for her artwork because it filled up the space the perfect amount.  Overall, it was a great museum, but I did not see the whole museum to make a full evaluation.

The Turner Prize 2010

I enjoyed this exhibit because of diversity between the four artists.  I thought it was very interesting to go from room to room and have my emotions and the way I felt change as I entered each room.  I would have to choose Susan Philipz as the Turner Prize winner.

Dexter Dalwood- was the first room I entered and I thought his works were interesting.  I like the way he incorporated different materials and played around with the flat and dimensional aspects in his paintings.  He also had a style of mixing the bold, solid shapes with a painterly style.
The Otolith Group-  It was not one of my favorites but I thought it was interesting because of the use of different senses that a viewer was able to use to take in the whole experience.
Angela De La Cruz- I really liked her simplified but beautiful pieces.  My favorite was the yellow with the fold, I could look at that one forever.  It was a completed work of art but I was almost waiting for something to happen to it, like it was going to tear.
Susan Philipz-  I am picking Susan Philipz for the Turner Prize just because of the impact her piece had on me.  When I first walked into the room I was not expecting singing and kind of put off by it but then when I stood in there for a few seconds longer it was like I was in a trance.  I felt nothing but peace in the room and everybody looked very content.  The sounds, base and echos were so pure, and it just felt relaxing to be in there.  She definitely created an amazing artwork through just sounds and feeling which I think is positively amazing.