Friday
Today I had a long list of things that I wanted to do, but was unable to go through with the second half of my list. I've just been really exhausted, and the last thing I want to do is look at works of art with 1,000 other people when I feel like sleeping.
I did, however, do some things of note!
I began my day at the British Museum which I was very excited about as I haven't been yet and it is literally two blocks away from my school. The building, of course, is beautiful and I admired it for some time. The exhibitions, however, were swamped with a mix of school children, tourist groups, and a smattering of locals. I had a hard time looking at sculptures that towered over us at 10 feet, because there were so many people. I found solace in an exhibition of drawings and watercolor paintings by artists from Australia. The exhibit was free, already a plus, and there were so few people in there that it was a relaxing and peaceful environment to look at new art in. The space concentrated on "The Angry Penguins" (an avant-garde artists group from the 1940s) and then moved into modern Aboriginal art, and contemporary artists in Australia. The works were extremely diverse here are a few examples.
Charles Blackman "Ebb and Flow"
Judy Watson "Saltwater Country"
After the British Museum I walked down Charing Cross Road and ended up in Chinatown where I had dim sum... by myself... for lunch. It wasn't the best of ideas, I would have rather been with friends, so I don't know why I didn't call anyone, but that's just how it all happened. Here are photographs of the things I ate.
Then I pressed along to The Royal Academy of Arts where I was hoping to catch a lecture later that evening, which was unfortunately sold out. Instead I bought a combination ticket and spent about two hour in the Summer Exhibition, telling myself that I cannot afford to buy any of the art on the walls, but everything has a price tag, and then an additional hour in the exhibition "Eyewitness." Eyewitness features the artwork of several Hungarian photographers who I love and respect. I love and respect them so much that I purchased the catalogue (as it was beautifully printed). Instead of taking notes like I sometimes do, I just have a list of names I cannot pronounce in my notebook. Here are some of the works I enjoyed:
Martin Munkacsi
Jozsef Pécsí
Károly Escher
After all of that I decided to walk over to the National Gallery in the hopes of having enough energy to endure the space and the collection. Unfortunately it was swamped with people, walking into the building was a challenge. I sort of wandered in, and then wandered out, not really feeling the need to stay. What's the use of looking at art if you don't have the energy to take it in? I then took the tube home and did some reading for my upcoming essay.
