It's Christmastime in the City

It has been a long time since my last post.  Needless to say things have started to get nice and busy here in London.  The Christmas lights and markets are out in full force.  The Southbank Christmas Market opened a couple of weeks ago, and we went down to the Thames for some mulled wine, roasted chestnuts and cashews, ostrich burgers, and christmas goodies.  It was my first time eating a roasted chestnut.  I was not impressed.  If it has nut in the name, it should taste like a nut, not like a potato.

Islington, my neighborhood, had its own 'Christmas Extravaganza' last weekend.  It was like a block party but with bigger rides, better food, incredible music, a reindeer, and gorgeous lights along the streets.  It wasn't TSO or the Nutcracker, but it had wonderful charm and tons of holiday cheer.

All of the main streets in the city have been lit up beautifully with extravagant light displays.  I'll sometimes just go for late night walks through the streets or ride the bus home just to see the lights flash by.  It's absolutely magical.

We spent a few days in Berlin last month visiting museums, galleries, private collections, and artist studios.  We were constantly moving from one incredible experience to another.  I think I'm still trying to process everything we saw.  It was such a blur.

We turned in our first major (graded) assignment a few weeks ago and received our marks yesterday.  I was very pleased to find out that I did not fail (I actually did really well)!  It was a huge relief to have some evidence that I might be on the right track with this whole Masters thing and getting a really good mark made it so much better.  At the same time, though, we have two major essays coming up for our seminar classes, and now I feel more pressured than before to do well on them.  If only Gadamer were easier to grapple with.

Because we were not able to go home to the states, a group of students from Christie's got together for a nice Thanksgiving meal on Black Friday.  No shopping sales here, but we had a nice meal with a Turkey and stuffing and everything! It was delicious and such a nice reprieve from work and homesickness.

It's absurd that we only have a week of "classes" left before the end of our first term.  It seems like we only just arrived yesterday and we've already survived a third of the program.  It has been busy and tiring and full of frustrations and delight, but I love every minute of it.  Fingers crossed for me writing this next essay.  Aesthetic philosophy is not easy.  We're just going to have to make it enjoyable! Bring it on hermeneutics!

Great day in London! - Art, art, art, and football!

You know when you have those days that are just really wonderful that you know will still stick with your for a while?  I love those.  Wednesday was one of those days. 

We’ve been busy, busy bees here in the land of Christie’s Masters without too much free time and tons of reading and research to do in the off hours.  Between working on our first major graded assignment, the oh so invigorating Object Status Report (where we have to do a full catalog report, historical review, and curatorial proposal for a work of art at Tate Britain) and reading Kant, Longinus, Fried, Clark, et. al. our brains have been in hyperactive overdrive for a while.  Wednesday’s activities provided a much needed and wholly unexpected treat for a weary grad student.

It started with a Pumpkin Spice Latte.  My fabulous mother sent me a Starbucks gift card in the mail, so I treated myself to a Pumpkin Spice Latte!! Not only was it real coffee, as opposed to the 40 pence instant powder that we drink on a daily basis, but it was chocked full of the rich pumpkin and nutmeg flavors that I’d been craving since the leaves began to change colors.  After my minor, but deliciously major, indulgence, I met up with my tutor group from Christie’s and Lizzie, our wildly effervescent professor/advisor, for a trip out of the city to visit the home of a private collector.  He took us into his cute little stereotypical British home with a picket fence and super slim hallways and corridors to see the works he had collected over the years.  His walls were covered with paintings by well-known and well-loved artists of whom the collector had met, known well, or simply admired their work.  

After a bit of chatting about the Polish Expressionists he had collected and hearing a few anecdotes from his collection experience and work acquisitions, we found ourselves piled on his itty bitty staircase with him filtering out stories from work to work up the walls.  Then he got to a piece that I had been eyeing since we walked in the door.  A simple but captivating drawing that turned out to be a self-portrait by none other than Peter de Francia! I have been a fan of the underrated and sadly mostly unknown artist for some time, so much so that I had requested to do my Object Status Report on one of his paintings at the Tate but was turned down due to Lizzie’s worry that there would not be enough research material.

Anyway, as we were moving on, I pulled Matt (the collector) aside and asked him where he had purchased the de Francia works.  First he was amazed that I knew the artist and inquired about my knowledge of him and what I thought about a few of the things I had seen or read.  Then he goes, “Oh and Peter sold me the works.  I knew him well.”  WHAT?!?! 

After bonding a bit more over his painting The Bombing of Sakiet, which is fabulous and everyone should know it, Matt told me that he had something to show me later.  After looking at a few more incredible works, he went to his storage room filled with the paintings that he couldn’t hang for lack of wall space, and pulled out one of Peter de Francia’s studies for the Bombing of Sakiet, a painting I had seen time and again from my research online and at the de Francia exhibition from a few years ago.  The very same painting that I had looked at over and over in photos, and I was holding it! It was a surreal experience. 

After all of my excitement, Matt even allowed me to borrow his police folder of sorts of all of the information he had on de Francia and the letters they had exchanged to help me with my work.   And after seeing all of the amazing things he had been able to collect without going to auction and spending millions of dollars, he specialized in buying artwork for reasonable prices from artists and small auctions rather than collecting the “big names” for big bucks, all I want to do is go out and start buying artwork.  Maybe someday. 

Our group had a delicious, although much more expensive than my taste, Chinese lunch before spending the afternoon at White Cube Bermondsey to see an exhibition that Lizzie had been particularly fond of.  Then I spent a time at UCL getting in a bit of research before talking Chris into going to the Sluice Art Fair.  One of our gallery guides from the week before puts on the fair every year to raise awareness and money for emerging British artists and put us on the guest list to attend the opening. 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay long at the fair, which was very neat, because I had a ticket to see Arsenal play LIVE AT Emirates stadium!!!  I treated myself to an Arsenal scarf to fit in with the crowd and made my way in with my friend Joel who was kind enough to offer the extra ticket.  I bought us both a “lemonade,” which turned out to be 7-up (go figure), and walked out to the bright lights and gorgeous green field.  It was Elysian.  After running the circuit around the stadium for weeks, I finally made it inside and got to watch my first Champions League match in person. 

It was a truly wonderful day in London.

Frieze. Jane. Talk.

To catch up, Frieze Art Fair was unbelievable.  Hundreds of galleries from around the world come together to show off the artists they support and works they offer, and although slightly overwhelming at first, it was a wonderful experience.  Chris, Carrie, Esther, and I spent five hours walking around Frieze London, the contemporary fair, before bolting over the Frieze Masters, where we spent the next two and a half hours seeing works by the great masters from the Renaissance up to Modern that were for sale. 

We took an afternoon last week to visit Lisson Gallery for the Anish Kapoor show that was going on there.  If you want to read about the work, see my art blog, but in short, it was a stellar show.  The work was great, and the company made it that much better.  Going to galleries with people from Christie’s, you never know what will happen.  We had way too much fun testing the pieces, Kapoor makes hemispherical sculptures that amplify sound waves,  and crawling under tables to talk about the how he created some of his more interesting works.

Jane came to visit last weekend.  I spent all morning on Saturday walking around Holborn looking at Street Art (London is one of the best cities in the world for finding Graffiti Art, which I have a strong soft spot for) before meeting up with her and having a lovely day catching up on Europe life.  We had a fabulously “American” Chipotle lunch and walked around a bit before meeting up with some Christie’s people to watch the Arsenal match at a pub.  That night we went out to a bar that has the “best music from movie soundtracks” nights every Saturday night where we danced the night away to everything from Cotton Eye Joe to Ghostbusters.  It was my first time going out with the people from Christie’s, and it was nice to get out to see a bit of London night life that wasn’t an art gallery or a museum, as much as I do love both.

Banksy

Stik

We’ve had our first few seminars at school.  Seminars are semi-brutal 3-4 hour sessions where we talk about art/aesthetic theory and philosophy, debating over issues like aesthetics, sublime, beautiful, autonomy in art, and vulgarity.  We have to prepare readings from philosophers and critics alike and be up to par on our economic, political, and social knowledge for the periods we are discussing and then relate all of these theoretical discourses back to various movements in art.  Mostly they are really very interesting and fun when we have a good discussion rolling, but after the talk dissipates, we come out of them just wanting a hug and a nap.

Mr. Brainwash

Invader

Quite a preview

This morning we were granted the opportunity to visit the preview of the Post-War and Contemporary Art Auction for Christie's that will be taking place tomorrow night and Friday morning.  Not only was the array of art spectacular - with works by artists such as Ai Weiwei, Gerhard Richter, Lucio Fontana, Alexander Calder, and Antony Gormley - but getting to see them displayed as though they were ready to purchase, which they were, was a whole new experience.  The price tags ranged from 20,000 to 2-3.5 million.  KEEP YOUR ARMS, LEGS, BAGS, HAIRS, BREATH IN THE AMY AT ALL TIMES! The pieces were beautiful to look at, but it was a slightly unnerving experience.

Didn't keep us from having a little bit of fun though...

Craig-Martin, Gowrie, Banksy...off to a good start in London.

Well it's been a bit since I last posted, and a lot has already happened.  We started classes last week, and so far everything has been really interesting, though it has been crazy busy.  We had lectures on Modernism, Avant-Garde, and Post-Modernism, visited a few galleries, visited a few museums, and met with an artist, a gallerist, and a resource specialist working for the Tate museums.  Our first writing assignment was due yesterday, and I've already read more than I thought my brain could handle.  What a whirlwind!

A few of the students from my program were allowed to sit in on a panel discussion with Michael Craig-Martin and Lord Grey Gowrie...um...can you say awesome?  Craig-Martin was one of the founding members of the YBA and Gowrie was chairman of Sotheby's and the Arts Council of England.  It was a great discussion about the development of the art market in London, and I may have been a little awestruck.  And Grey Gowrie is an adorable elderly gentleman.

So far the best part has been spending time in the museums with our tutors.  We spend hours walking through museums critiquing curatorial displays, articulating methodologies and art practice, and carrying on dialog about specific works of art until we've stripped a piece apart from every angle.  It's incredible.  We spent two hours at the Courtauld Gallery the other day and only covered four paintings.

London living is going well.  The city is beautiful and full of wonderful opportunities.  I met some of the people from our program at a food festival the last weekend where they had all ranges of cheeses, meat pies, chocolates, and crazy foods to try and purchase.  Two days ago I ran through Hyde Park where Londoners seem to spend their lazy Sundays lounging in the grass, walking with friends, and feeding swans in the ponds.  It's a beautiful oasis in the midst of a bustling city.  Lively, green, and perfect for a sunny afternoon out of the flat.

Today was especially awesome.  After visiting the UCL libraries (oh my gosh books!!), Chris, Misha, and I went to get a couple of £4 pizzas before heading back to Christie's for an afternoon of reading through culture and ideologies essays when we suddenly came across a Banksy graffito!! Unreal! I've never seen a Banksy in person and definitely not one on the streets.  It even had the little mouse tag at the bottom.  For anyone who doesn't know, Banksy is an anonymous graffiti artist who does incredible street art all over the world and is an incredibly talented painter and political activist.  It was a really cool, and totally unexpected, uplift for the afternoon.

This week promises another round of unbelievable adventures.  We get a firsthand look into the Post-War and Contemporary Art sales at Christie's tomorrow, a day at the Frieze art faire on Thursday, and get to attend a panel discussion for the Multiplied art faire put on my Christie's.  Can't wait!

Orientation...and so it begins (pun intended)

First day of orientation went well!! It was so nice to finally be at the school and at least get a glimpse of what to expect for the coming year.  We have a very eclectic group of students, coming from an extremely diverse set of backgrounds in art, art history, business, economics and everything in between.  

After a long day of trading information and introductions, we were even allowed the chance to visit a local gallery showing a sculpture exhibition by Thomas Houseago.  If you want to read my post about the exhibit, you can go to my and Amy A's art blog, http://www.artwithamys.blogspot.co.uk/,  but regardless, it was an incredible experience.  It felt great to be in a gallery with other people talking through ideas and thoughts about the artworks right in front of us.  I have a feeling it's going to be a busy year, but I can't wait to see what is to come!

In other news, I watched my first Arsenal match at a London pub on Sunday afternoon.  I found The Tollington just before kickoff and walked in to find the bar packed with Gunner clad paraphernalia yelling and cheering over pints of brew.  Needless to say, it was absolutely the experience I had imagined it would be, and I'm already excited for the next match.

London living is good so far.  New place, new friends, and new school, but it's starting to feel like I'm supposed to be here.  It takes time to settle in to a place, but routine and experience will come and will make the adventure much more enjoyable.

Also, I found a restaurant that sells cows brains if anyone is interested.

Well day two was much better than my first, although I did sleep half of it away.  Despite catching up on some much needed sleep, I still feel like I finished the day strong.  I made my first trip via the tube to Christie's, although I managed to get lost four times before finally finding it.  Maps are much easier to navigate than streets.

I found yet another grocery store, this one much larger and much cheaper and right down the street.  Hooray!  The saddest part of today was trying British peanut butter.  It's no where near as good as American peanut butter and more expensive.  I practically minored in peanut butter consumption in college, and I'm not really sure how to handle this disappointment.

I still have yet to find a pillow, but c'est la vie.  There's always tomorrow.

My favorite part of day was my attempt to do a British codeword puzzle.  Did I finish? Yes.  Did I know that 'Gymkhana,' 'gazumped,' and 'bunglers' are legitimate options for english language word games?  Not at all.  I guess I can say I learned something today.

So you know, the term 'gazumping' describes a situation where the seller of a property verbally agrees to an offer price from a potential buyer, but then either changes the price at the last minute or agrees to sell to a different purchaser for a higher price.  'Gymkhana' is a form of equestrian sport.  Go figure.

Making the Big Leap

Well today I made the jump across the big pond, a journey I can honestly say was impossible to prepare for. Leaving my family and friends this time was entirely different than when I went to college. Rhodes was a new, exciting adventure, and while I am used to being away from my home base, before I always knew in the back of my mind that everything was just a short drive away.

 Not London. It took me over twelve hours of flying and a lot of cumbersome baggage hauling to get here, all to find out that I would spend the entire day (on less than half an hour's sleep) dealing with unruly assistants, complicated bank issues, and technological malfunctions. What a glorious start to my trip.

 PLUS SIDE: I don't have to sleep on the street tonight! My flat is very quaint and quiet, perfect for studying and working, which I should probably start doing again soon. It would be great if I could just Matrix-style lo-jack all of the art and history that I know is still floating around in the back of my brain somewhere. I have a little bedroom and study area to myself and share a kitchen and common room with other students, whom I have yet to have seen.

 Despite the lackluster start of my London life, however, there have been some fun aspects to my first day. I stopped into a Sainsbury for a few essentials, and if you know me, you know I LOVE grocery stores, especially in other countries. Not only do they have fabulous food assortments, figuring out the British colloquialisms for food products is like trying to decipher a foreign language. I gave up on trying to find crackers and peanut butter, but for all of you unaware, cookies are biscuits, chips are crisps, and there is an entire aisle devoted to tea (thank you VCP peeps for preparing me for those lovely Britishisms).

 All in all, things will be good once the primary things are taken care of. Stay tuned for updates on contact information and my fluctuating sanity. I've been awake for around 30 hours at this point, and it's finally getting dark on my side of the world. After a good night's sleep and a brain/emotions recharge, London will be brighter and more appealing for the adventure that is in store for this year.

 Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive of this journey so far. I wouldn't be here without you, and I love and miss you all so much already. Hugs and kisses from across the waters!

Back again for another exciting summer with the VCP! Three planes, two trains, and 26 hours from now, I'll be stepping onto the platform of the Pompeii Scavi stop off the circumvesuviana with Victoria! Ready, set, go!