Today was our first day at a museum- as a group we visited the British Museum, which is just up the road from our hotel. It was very, very large and was laid out much like a maze. There were so many rooms that it was mind-boggling to even try and stay on course with my museum plan I had made a few months ago. There was just too much to see. We started the day off with the group presentations. It was a little awkward because I felt we were kind of in the way of the other patrons and we were all squished together. I also thought it a bit unproductive that everyone would cluster around an object, take a photograph, then leave. I don't think you can really enjoy or appreciate an object if you just take a picture of it and leave...I've been trying to just enjoy my experience here without hiding behind a camera, because I think the experience gets lost in between. Of course, I'm documenting things, but not trying to capture every waking moment. Similarly, I been trying to meditate on pieces and enjoy them for what they are- rather than acting like it's some weird race of who can photograph the most objects by the end. Overall, the presentations were interesting and defiantly supplied some things to note on the pieces discussed. For instance, the markings on the back of the Easter Island sculpture. I don't think I would have noted that otherwise. I have been to several museums in the states and one thing I found so amazing about this museum was how close you could get to the objects. You could really get up close and personal with the objects, many of which were not behind glass, and see the fine details, textures, and materials. This stands in contrast with the Guggenheim museum where they practically scream at you if you lean over to read the labels. While you can't touch the pieces, there are "Touch Tours" for those who are blind. I found this especially intriguing. This is set up for people who are blind to go through and touch a series of designated pieces. Danielle wanted to pretend to be blind so we could touch the pieces...but we didn't think that would go over well. I saw pretty much half of the pieces I had selected for my museum plan such as Hoa Hakananai'a, Marble Metope from the Parthenon, Red-Figure Water Jar, Black-Figure Water Jar, Bronze Figure of Hermes, Neo-Assyrian Stone Lion's Head, the Rosetta Stone, Statue of Ramesses II, Colossal statue of a Winged Human-Headed Bull, and Slabs from the Amazonomachy Frieze from the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos. None of these pieces were overly surprising or disappointing. The sculpture of Hermes was the only one I had grossly underestimated its size (I thought it was a larger sculpture, not a hand-held statue). It was a great experience to see all of these pieces in person- because it makes them more real...not some abstract, foreign object. In fact, the pieces that I didn't put on my plan and just happened to stumble upon were more impressive to me. For instance, all the mosaics that were around several of the rooms were quite beautiful. We had studied one in my Greek and Roman art history course, so in my head they were few and far between...but there were so many and I couldn't even imagine trying to put one of those back together with all of the small pieces that make up elaborate images. Similarly, I know there are not many paintings that survived the ancient world- which made the paintings from Pompeii really a pleasure to see. It gives us a glance into another medium that we don't usually associate with the ancient civilizations. I also was surprised to see the Etruscan mirror that I gave a presentation on while I was a freshman. I didn't realize it was there, and it was exciting to see all the fine details in person. Another piece that I was really affected by was "Cradle to Grave" by Pharmacopoeia. It was a huge display of every pill taken during a daughter and her father's life placed in this netting. Along the edges were photographs from their lives and various objects (wine glass, cigarettes, condoms, etc) that go along with the overall story. It was really raw and powerful how many pills there were on the long table, let alone the ones that were rolled up at the end. It was one of the more powerful pieces I saw the whole day. Danielle and I had made plans to go to the zoo, so we ended up leaving around 2 and had planned to return. Unfortunately, the museum closed early tonight so we didn't get a chance to come back...but we'll make it back before we leave so I can see the rest of my chosen pieces for my museum plan- there's still a lot I want to see. I especially want to see the Durer prints.
After leaving the British Museum, the day was pretty much a failure. We met up with another group of people to head over to the London zoo- but they were running a bit late so after a ride on the Underground, and a long, long walk to the zoo, they were no longer accepting admissions. However, on the plus side, we did locate Camden, which was a crazy cool shopping center Danielle and I had wanted to visit. So we decided we'd come back in the next few days to do some serious shopping. There was one stand that was selling Banksy memorabilia, which I'd like to check out. There were all sorts of things in the shopping center- key chains, clothes, scarves, shoes, anything you could think of. After the zoo we had planned to go to the Sherlock Holmes Museum, which was through the park, but it started to rain- hard. At one point it was hailing. the rain was so bad that despite the umbrellas, we were still drenched. It was ridiculous how fast and hard the rain was coming, and cars were splashing us as the drove by. So after an hour long trip in hopes of seeing some exotic animals and a fictional character's house, all we got was wet.
After we changed our clothes, and dried off, we ended up going out to Waterloo. We crossed the Westminster bridge and saw the London Eye, Parliament, and Big Ben all lit up- it was gorgeous, especially with the water. Again, the weather (aside from the one rain incident) has been splendid. We ended up at Nanco, which was this arcade/restaurant/bowling ally/bar. It was part of London card and we got a free bowling game. So we spent a bit of time playing various arcade games- I was determined to win a teddy bear in one of those claw games but lost probably more money than it was worth doing so. I also played this one game in which I spent five pounds trying to win what I thought was fifty pounds...turns out the prize was only five pounds and I lost all my money. Ah well. Danielle played various ten pence games and ended up winning enough tickets to only get some candy called "Jazzles". It was this white chocolate-snow-cap-like candy. The first time we tried it we both found it disgusting, but the more we ate it, the yummier it got. It was strange. We played our free game of bowling, which was also a strange experience. The lanes were much shorter than they are in the states. We didn't have to wear bowling shoes and the pins are attached to strings- so when they fall, they are pulled up by strings for the second throw. It seemed like more of an arcade game than a sport- like it is in the states. We also noted that their version of "air hockey" was actually "air soccer" (or, more accurately, air football). This made me wonder if they play hockey at all. I'm note sure, I'll have to look into it.
I've been enjoying learning the different names for things- such as crisps (potato chips), chips (fries), adverts (advertisements), lifts (elevators), and trainers (sneakers). I'm also noticing that same brands are called different things. For instance, the brand Pantene Shampoo is pronounced Pan-ten here. Or, Lays potato chips are actually called Walkers here. Danielle told me that she learned in an advertising class that companies may change their name if it means something inappropriate or different in another country. I just thought it was an interesting note.
I also wanted to mention that while we were walking today we passed a little girl and her mom and the girl said, "Mommy, the queen is selfish" and the mother just said "I know, honey." I thought this was so funny and bizarre. I know the royal family is more of a figure head or celebrity as opposed to a ruling force, but it's strange that they still have kings and queens, especially since they seem so similar to the states. I just enjoyed the little anecdote.
Question of the Day: Was your museum plan helpful? In what way?
I actually didn't find my museum plan too helpful. I didn't put my objects in any sort of order, and I had quite a variety of movements that I chose from; therefore, I couldn't create a distinct route. While at the museum I wasn't really focused on my plan, I was more just wandering from room to room, stopping at whatever engaged or interested me. If I stumbled upon something on my plan, I would mark it off. Quite frankly, I'd love to see everything in the museum- so the plan didn't necessarily act as a summary or shortcut through the museum. It was nice to have an idea what was there...but aside from that, I didn't find the plan particularly helpful.
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