Yesterday was rather uneventful which is why I don't have a post for it. Was woken up at 11 by housekeeping and then went to class at 3 until 8. Shakespeare was pretty good, and I got to read two of my favorite sonnets aloud (which I'm a total dork and love to do), but the actual content of the discussions about them made me miss my Shakespeare class last semester soooo much. Professor Gless was just so amazing and our teacher this semester is a lovely woman, and clearly very intelligent, but I just miss the way he taught Shakespeare. It is a subject so close to my heart now, I realize I am quite picky about who teaches it. However, WWII class was brilliant (I speak British now ;)), and while the professor tends to ramble a bit, everything he says is enthralling and I took notes furiously the entire time.
Today we met our art professor at the Tate Modern which is on the south bank of the Thames directly in front of the Millennium bridge and across the river from St. Paul's. It used to be a power station, but was converted into an art gallery in 2000. The Tate Modern (as opposed to the Tate Briton) is all modern and contemporary art (so early 1900s to today). The facility is simply enormous with the entry way about 7 stories high. It still looks/feels like an old warehouse in the main section with its concrete floors, rafters with chains hanging from above, and a ramp leading into the building (which was for the machines).
The view from the 7th floor to St. Paul's is really quite stunning, even on a gross rainy day like today. St. Paul's was rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666, but amazingly survived the Blitz during WWII when all the buildings around it were destroyed.
We focused on the surrealist movement (1924 and into the 1950s). This is a movement that is about going beyond dreams. In a dream, very odd things make perfect sense, but when you wake up, they don't seem to make sense at all. This type of art tries to explore that concept. Salvador Dali is a surrealist painter that most people have heard of, as well as Picasso obviously.
Usually I find modern art a bit unsophisticated, but today, my horizons broadened. I can't really explain it, but as I listened to Kathy (the professor) explain the pieces and I really looked at them, I could understand why they were appreciated as art. Aesthetically speaking, I prefer still lifes, but when you really look at something like Picasso's "The Three Dancers," you feel the unbelievable energy and excitement expressed in the dancers. Each one is expressing his/her joy in his/her own way, and as an expression of emotion, it is quite a stunning piece. There was another piece that also struck me quite forcefully called "Black Virtue" by Matta. Something about the abyss like quality of the piece and the unbelievable colors moved me beyond words. Somehow in the two hours we spent there, I felt my former judgements pass away and my mind expand. All of a sudden I thought "wow, this is what college is really all about." I didn't even seriously contemplate it until today, but I have grown so much over the past four years. My views used to be very narrow-minded, but now, even when I don't particularly like something, I can appreciate it for what it is. So in that sense, it was a very fruitful day.
However, all this enlightenment made the rest of the day seem rather boring and I felt quite bad sitting in my room watching Desperate Housewives and Brother's and Sisters. The word "quite" also gives me pause because we learned today that in Britain if you say "I quite like that" you mean "I think that's bloody awful." In America, clearly, it means "I like that very much." I probably need to be careful about that word since I do use it often.
Tonight all the flatmates had a Mexican party and we had tacos and tortilla chips together. I also watched "The Queen" with Ashley on DVD. It was about the royal family and Tony Blair's response to the death of Princess Diana. Very good and interesting - sort of a cross between a documentary and a movie.
Also, the exchange rates have been doing so well lately! Today it was 1.37 to 1. I hope it stays the same or better tomorrow so I can get some money from the ATM.
Im so proud of you! do you see why i am so inspired by and fascinated with modern art? it has so little to do with aesthetics at all. there is an article called art as philosphy by joseph kosuth, its very dense, but really taught me that the idea of something being aesthetically pleasing has nothing to do with art. you should take a look, i think its a good perspective.
ReplyDeleteim so glad you have this opportunity, and I cant wait to hear more about it!
Heather