Long Time No See

I have been horrible about keep up with this.  We tend to stay pretty busy here, and when we aren't we're thinking about how we should be busy...or watching Game of Thrones.

This has been a whirlwind of a Spring filled with lectures, seminars, essays, reports, cataloging, visiting shows, meeting people, and on and on and on.  We're about three weeks into Term 3 and survived our cataloging exam yesterday.  Essentially this exam consists of walking into a room with six unknown works of art - two paintings, two photographs, and two prints - and we are asked to catalog two of them in an hour.  Sounds easy right? Wrong.  Because we don't know what works we will get, there is no way of studying other than just frantically memorizing 150 years worth of art history and practicing formatting the entry ad nauseum.  There is a specific format for writing the entry which must be exact for the exam and goes something like: sale, lot, artist + birth/death dates, title, inscriptions - signed, initialed, titled, inscribed, annotated, numbered, dated, stamped: copyright credit? copyright credit reproduction limitation? edition? title? date? (plus location), medium/support/process, dimensions, execution (printed if necessary)/edition, estimate, provenance, exhibited, literature...but some lines are capitalized, some have to be in one order when you list the items but in the order of appearance in quotes, some are merely up to your judgment...and that's just the entry.  Then you write the essay, in which you are asked to expound on the artist/artwork context (which is especially difficult when you've never seen the work before), medium/technique, justification for your entry data, condition assessment, and value/appraisal for sale.

Needless to say, it is really nice to have that over and done with.

Our first round of thesis presentations are in a couple of weeks, which means even more time in the library and just when we are finally starting to get some decent weather here again.  After a long, cold, grey winter, sunshine is more than welcome and greatly appreciated, even in small doses.
At the start of the term our class had a bank holiday picnic and spent all day sitting outside in the sun.  It's nice to know that London weather does have a good side.

London Marathon on a lovely sunny Sunday

My family came to visit!!! First my grandparents came for a week and then mom, dad, and Michael for another week.  It's fun to get to show people around now that I know the city a little better, and it was so great getting see and spend time with everyone.  It's hard being so far away from home sometimes and familiar faces are a warm welcome.

Some of the Art Fairs and Auctions this spring have brought out some really cool works and are tons of fun to attend.  The spontaneity is a nice change from the structure of a museum or even a gallery.  You never know what work will pop up or how people will react to it.  

Modern and Impressionist Art Auction

London Art Fair

Lichtenstein Exhibition at Tate 

We have seen some really great exhibitions and art works this spring.  I fell in love with the Duchamp, Cage, Cunningham, Johns and Rauschenberg show at the Barbican center.  If I wasn't already in love with this group from writing my undergrad thesis on their work as influence for Warhol, I am completely sold on them now.  The show was incredible.  The work was incredible.  The experience was unforgettable.  The Lichtenstein show at Tate Modern was equally wonderful.

Also at the Barbican, we endured a two hour wait to go into the Random International Rain Room! The room is literally raining, but as you walk through it, sensors are designed to detect you so you don't get wet.  Possibly one of the cooler works of art and experiences I've ever had.  

Random International:  Rain Room

On Tuesday Martin Creed (YES MARTIN CREED!) came to Christie's for a special talk on his practice and work.

Last night, a few of us attended an Art Wednesday event on the Art of Narrative where we heard Kate Leys and Walter Donahue talk about screenwriting and editing and then a Q&A session with Alfie Allen and Finn Jones (Theon and Loras from Game of Thrones! They may have sat at our table the whole night too...cheers for drinks with the guys I watched on TV the night before.)

All in all, the past couple of months have been hectic, tiring, inspiring, and wonderful.  And we've still managed to have a bit of fun now and then.  :)

A Dramatic Reading of a Culture and Ideology Essay

2013 begins and Fuerzabruta!

2013 has been off to a good start so far.  After a lovely break back in the states with the family, I'm back in London.  We started classes on Monday after turning in our third major assignment, a paper that I was lucky enough to write a large bulk of by candlelight (and headlamp) thanks to the blizzard that hit Little Rock.

This term has been off to a great start so far.  We had a couple of nice lectures and cataloguing sessions and spent the day at Tate Modern today cataloging paintings.

THEN, tonight a group of us went to see a show called Fuerzabruta.  Words can't describe how incredible the show is.  It's a mixture of music, light effects, and incredible stunts that are done right in the middle of the audience, including a giant glass floor filled with water that people dance on that is lowered down over the audience.  The glass was so close, we could touch it and feel the dancers' feet.  Unbelievable.