TFC: Classes Complete

five [Tues, 8-Dec]

We headed to the Proboscis studio in Farringdon for the final time ready to present our completed City as Material urban interventions.  (Check out mine here.)  We headed back to South Kensington for our final Networked Media Arts guest lecturer.  And then at the stroke of 4:00pm, we were done with classes in London…

John, Avey, and I headed to our local gastropub The Prince Regent.  We’ve actually never been there before and I’m so glad we stopped in–it had precisely what we needed!  We ordered drinks/food (Mediterranean plate, chips–some of the best food I’ve had) secured a couch and took advantage of the free wifi, sending in our finals and officially calling the semester a wrap.  We hung around for a bit more to play a game of Scrabble and eventually headed home to check on our procrastinating program partners…

Lauren finished her paper!  Then the fire alarm went off.  So, instead of standing outside Manson Place the two of us went to our local pub, The Zetland Arms, to celebrate.  John met us there later and we spent the night reminiscing…and talking to a very interesting Romanian physical therapist.  Yup, definitely going to miss the London pub scene…

TFC: Monday Madness

six [Mon, 7-Dec]

The day began with our final day of Monday classes: The Network Metaphor and New Renaissance with Don Foresta and our check-in hour with Fred.  It was very suddenly sad once we realized we would never be seeing Fred again (we would be seeing Don the next day) — he was a great contact to have this semester in terms of exploring London, and his British Cultural Studies course was probably my favorite in terms of aligning with my interest in television and expanding my cultural horizons on it.

The afternoon was work-work-work.  It was time to get down to business in the Vassar world as we all tried to complete our finals.  I can happily say I completed my City as Material project to be presented on Tuesday and the first drafts of my papers for the other courses. Woohoo!  All that was left to do was celebrate while taking a well-deserved breather…

And that’s when I encored Monday Madness at Sticky Fingers!  After first going with Madre and having a great time with great food in a great environment, I decided it was precisely where I needed to be on my final Monday night in London, further facilitated by the fact that I am out of food.  It actually sounded so great that Avey and Mike decided to join me — once again, the company made it so enjoyable.  We strolled through our neighborhood to High Street Kensington while chatting about how soon enough these streets would be a distant memory instead of familiar stomping ground.  Upon arriving, we went British with Pimm’s Cocktails to start, followed by a round of burgers (I went with the classic Sticky Fingers Burger…and remembered how much I love red meat; Avey stayed true to her vegetarian roots with a Veggie Burger; Mike went gourmet with the blue cheese and caramelized onion rendition).  And then dessert happened.  We “dared to share” as the menu suggested and tackled the Sticky Sundae.  We also got festive with a round of shots named after Rolling Stones songs: Brown Sugar for me, Stray Cat Blues for Mike, and Jumpin’ Jack Flash for Avey.  In a nut shell: yum, yum, and yum.  I haven’t gone out to dinner with friends in incredibly long, yet another treat aspect of the outing.

We told ourselves we walked it all off on the way home………………….right.  Basically there was nothing else to do but veg out on the couch and let the phenomenon of digestion run its course.  Avey and Mike did some work while we embarked on a Kill Bill Vol. I and II marathon.  I was in a great place with work which worked out well since I could dedicate my full attention as it was my first viewing.  I absolutely loved the films, and the Monday in general!

Marie biscuits !

I awoke to a dark, damp, blustery, and bitterly cold day in London…..very reluctantly. This, combined with the expected holiday-homesickness was not looking for a promising day.

I decided to accompany Avey and Mike to Sainsbury’s after class in hope os killing some afternoon time, and good thing I did!  Christmas consumerism hit us hard, and we decided (thanks to the help of a £1 coupon) to get festive by investing in Mint Chocolate Bailey’s…naturally biscuits were required to dunk, so we headed to the respective aisle.  I, the inexperienced Sainsbury’s shopper and loyal Tesco frugalista, was highly impressed with the array before me.  Then, I locked eyes with these:

Besides the obvious first name connection, let’s talk about some other freaky connections:

1) Crawford’s — I live in Cranford Court!

2) they expire on 15 May — that’s 2 days past my birthday!

Ok, a bit of a stretch, but hey, I’ll take it.  Also, only 45p so perfectly in-line with my frugalista lifestyle.

The Vassar kids are currently snuggled up in Flat 17, listening to my holiday playlist, baking apple pie, and generally trying to create as much comfort as possible.

And now for a live-blogging taste test……..

thinner than Digestives. a bit more savory I would say…definitely good for cheese or spreads; but still can go sweet.

aka PERFECT!

wooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!

I also want to add how things like this have now become the most new/interesting thing to blog about.  Sorry, readers, but just take it as me truly settling into London life.

Borough Market

What’s a Londoner to do the afternoon of Halloween Eve?  Head to Borough Market, of course, and get on her fall festivity!

Borough is a huge market famously known for specialty everything when it comes to food, located under London Bridge.  Avey, Lauren, and I headed over to capitalize on free samples, enjoy the fall ambiance, and gain some inspiration for our evening dining/drinking.  Although the samples were free, everything else was very not; we decided to enjoy a pint of cider and invested in cinnamon sticks for a homemade batch of mulled wine.

The Relics of St. Thérèse

As luck would have it, the relics of my patron saint, St. Thérèse, are visiting the UK this month!

I originally planned to visit them Sunday evening after 6:30pm mass when they were at a Carmelite Church on Kensington Church Street, about 1.5 miles from Manson Place; however, the priests closing remarks were that he heard the queue was already at 3 hours.  In favor of not feeling rushed nor having to walk home alone close to midnight, I decided to hold off until Tuesday afternoon when they would be at Westminster Cathedral for three nights.  After class and lunch, I headed over…

Westminster Cathedral

Westminster Cathdral

Jumbo tron!

After queuing for about a half hour, which I spent reading a St. Thérèse prayer book I got after mass Sunday evening, I finally made it up to the stand selling roses and candles for just £1 each — sure, it equaled a pint (my main source of comparison), but I couldn’t think of a better thing to spend £2 on (not even laundry).  I got the perfect rose, my favorite mix of pink with hints of green on the outer petals, which I later arranged in the wine bottle I saved from my first night here and the pink St. Thérèse rosary I purchased Sunday evening after mass.

Mini-shrine to St. Thérèse

The queue continued inside, but I was too preoccupied with the magnificent design of the Cathedral to notice…

Inside Westminster Cathedral

and then there they were…

St. Thérèse Relics

The area was surrounded by candles that people had lit, but I decided to take mine with me instead as a souvenir and reminder in my room.

Leading up to the relics

I was definitely not ready to immediately emerge back into the outside world, so I snagged a seat in one of the side chapel areas that had a pretty decent view of the relics.  I ended up praying/meditating for an hour, and the only reason I stopped was because a mass began.  Tickets were required, but because I was in a side chapel I got to stay without one!  It worked out perfectly.  Eventually, though, my hungry tummy was calling; on my way out I stopped into the gift shop and picked up a postcard for Gramcracker, the Marie Thérèse I inherited my name and patron saint from.

If only every afternoon could be so centering…

Finsbury Frolicking

Tuesday’s MALMATE class met at Furtherfield’s HTTP Gallery, also home to Solar Associates and the workplace of Lauren, Mike, and myself.  We led the group out to the edge of zone 2 and on the walk into zone 3.  After discussing many examples of media art happening in London and having lunch at the gallery, Mike and I decided to stroll through Finsbury Park instead of heading hoe with the rest of the group; we pass it every day, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity (not after a long day of interning) to meander through.  It was bustling with families and young children, and we enjoyed exploring the suburban areas of London.  I was most impressed with the play areas in the park, and, if Mike wasn’t with me, I probably would’ve indulged in a swing session….not going to lie.

broadwalk

playground/tree house

gardens

lake

lake

swings

sand park

skate ramp

train track overpass

train tracks

train tracks

Victoria & Albert Museum, Round 1

Instead of our usual meeting at FIE on Mondays at 6pm to discuss our internships, we met with Fred after class in the courtyard of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

V&A Courtyard

V&A Courtyard

After conducting our usual catch-ups on each other’s internships and exchanging events we have been to or heard of for the future, I decided to continue my afternoon at the V&A knowing full well that I would only begin to scratch the surface of the museum’s vast collection.

V&A Grand Entrance

First I visited the Telling Tales exhibition that is ending in October, a special installation based on fairy tales.  The Disney Dugo in me was elated.

Next, I hopped on the 2:30pm British Galleries Tour guided by a true British lady who obviously loved being a volunteer at the V&A, discussing the history of her country.  The tour focused on industrialization and the Great Exhibition, and I loved getting the historical background on the museum’s beginnings and the collection–it’s pretty overwhelming on its own.

I quickly ran back down to the ground level and met up with the 3:30pm Introductory Tour, guided by yet another cute old British lately who had such spunk thanks to her genuine love of her volunteer job.  As an introductory tour, I was expecting to walk the entirety of the museum with brief stops and descriptions of the generalities.  Instead, we spent a great deal of time discuss the intricate details of the cartone and tapestry collections as well as the India section.  It was great, but I just wish it was longer than an hour!

The tour conveniently ended next to the Theatre and Performance Galleries!  I headed in, taking the time to read every single description card and watch all of the special videos……..until a security guard kicked me out for closing time.  Oh how time flies when you’re engulfed in an exhibit of your favorite hobbies!  Highlights included on of Mick Jagger’s 70s tour costumes and original librettos of everything from Shakespeare to Wicked.

Needless to say, I see myself getting sucked into the V&A vortex many times in the future.

Recess: Tate Modern

After class and lunch at home, Lauren, Sarah, Mike, John and I headed down to the Thames and into the Tate Modern for an artistically stimulating afternoon.  I’ve always loved going to museums, but this experience was particularly enriching; I easily connected many academic topics to the pieces on display and enjoyed reaching a deeper level of understanding and connection with modern art.

I made it through three divisions of the permanent collection and hope to return to tackle the last one.  My Moleskine City File was out and turned to the art section.  I wrote down the names of the pieces that struck and stuck with me the most:

Poetry and Dream

Pablo Picasso – Nude Woman in a Red Armchair (modeled after a Marie Therese!); The Kiss

Maya Deren – Meshes of the Afternoon – I enjoyed tapping into my film studies skills and knowledge of experimental cinema.

Meredith Frampton – Marguerite Kelsey; Portrait of a Young Woman

Cornelia Parker – 30 Pieces of Silver

Joseph Beuys – the pack – Loved that it featured a VW bus!

Robert Thernen – Red Room

Zoe Leonard – Wax Anatomical Model

Cy Twombly – Natural History Part 1, Mushrooms

Max Ernst – The Entire City – Obviously connected me to Urban Studies

Marcel Duchamp – Objet-dard – I admire the title’s play on words.

Robert Therrien – No Title (Table and Four Chairs) - Walking into this room was unexpected and surreal — I could barely see Mike over the chair’s bottom!

René Magritte – The Annunciation

No Ghost Just a Shell project – One of the most experimental exhibits I have ever experienced. Such an interesting way to explore contemporary consumerism and its effects on the individual and society.

Material Gestures

Anish Kapoor – Ishi’s Light – A great piece to place at the beginning of the Material Gestures rooms — spectators are first confronted by their own materiality in their reflection before experiencing artists’ varied interpretations of it.

Jean Dubuffet – The Busy Life – I could easily connect with the emotions and state of being trying to be conveyed; life is busy!

Arnuf Rainer – Wine Crucifix – I loved unlocking the multiple layered meanings.

Valie Export – Action Pants: Genital Panic

Paul McCarthy – Projection Room

Claude Monet – Water-Lilies – It reminded me of my day at Kew Gardens.

Gerhard Richter – Cage

Henri Matisse – The Snail – Reminiscent of construction paper…like a glorified Kindergarten craft made by the artistic prodigy.

Wassily Kandinsky – Lake Stamberg

André Derain – The Pool of London – Obviously caught my eye as its subject was my new city.

States of Flux: Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism

Marcel Duchamp – The Large Glass

Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson – A Star Shell

Robert Delaunay - Study for ‘The City’ – Another connection to Urban Studies.

Artist Room of Jeff Koons – Many of the materials reminded me of childhood.

Eduardo Paolozzi – History of Nothing

Robert Frank – Memory of the Children – Such an interesting use of photography.

Pablo Picasso – Girl in a Chemise

Auguste Rodin – The Kiss – The amount of passion conveyed in a stone sculpture was impressive and captivating.

Henri Matisse – Trivaux Pond; Nude Study in Blue

Pierre Bonnard – The Window – A view I long to have.

Fluxextravaganzas – This was probably my favorite my overall since it connected with me and was stimulating on so many levels.  Aesthetically intricate and academically provocative, the movement’s utilization of media to explore and confront society was particularly relevant for me/us.

All in all, an excellent afternoon of constructive leisure

Recess

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good game of dodgeball and a solid sidewalk chalk session, but going to the Natural History Museum in-between classes brings recess to a whole new level.  Located down the block and housed in a phenomenal building, the NHM was the perfect Monday afternoon activity break.  Once again, one of the highlights was observing British families in their natural habitat — I am officially convinced that all British children are beautiful, cute, and perfectly groomed…good job Brit parents!

Here are some angles and things that caught my eye: