The program alternates classes every other week. The internships are always Wednesday through Friday.
Week A
Monday, 9:45am – 12:45pm: The Network Metaphor and the New Renaissance – Don Foresta @ FIE
Our first class was a comforting one — very Vassar, very manageable, but very interesting. I was lucky to have done the reading on the plane since it wasn’t looming over my London head yet still fresh in my brain. Don is a fountain of knowledge, spewing phrases that streamline what I’ve been studying at Vassar into phrases I couldn’t help but furiously type into my Word Notebook document. I am greatly looking forward to drawing from past knowledge and applying new experiences to the material we cover.
Monday, 6 – 7pm: Internship Meeting – Frederik Lesage @ FIE
This meeting will occur every Monday night as a way to reflect on our internships and share London happenings we hear of and experience. For the first session we shared our expectations and goals, and decided to set up an email chain where we can all share relevant event info. Fred already sent us some, and I can’t wait to get out there!
Tuesday, 10am – ?: London: City as Material – Giles Lane @ Proboscis
The word class doesn’t even begin to give justice to Tuesday. We decided to officially refer to it as a session.
On the Tube we went for our first commute to Clerkenwell; Giles requested that we meet with him at the Proboscis office, a.k.a. the most awesome studio work space ever–full of creativity and the necessary tools, as well as a full kitchen and a circle of floor cushions where we sat and chatted about the course. After an hour and a half of conversation and a plan to head out on a walking excursion through the local area, it was quite clear that we were in for the greatest learning experience of our lives this semester.
Exciting excerpts from the syllabus:
“The focus for this class willl be in considering the role of the city as material for artistic experimentation and creation…In addition to contemporary practice the course will consider the rish histories of urban intervention by artists in London and elsewhere.”
“The class will be co-creative”
“Things we can do: Observation/guerilla ethnography; seedbombing/guerilla gardening; stencilling/drawing/sketching; street performance; urban play/games; urban sensing; temporary installation and contraptions; posters/postcards/eBooks/flyers”
Sections entitled “Some Films We Can Watch”; “Some Boks We Can Read/Refer To”; “Some Places We Might Visit”; “Tools We Can Use”; “Some Links.”
I can successfully that this course will help me fulfill my goal of absorbing and being absorbed into London. The prospect of participating in it artistically is invigorating, but I am most excited for seeing how the city affects me. Physically representing that seems to be my main goal at this juncture, and knowing I have the resources of Proboscis to utilize is unbelievable.
After returning from our walk with Giles through the surrounding (phenomenal) area, we returned to the studio for lunch (he was kind enough to prepare pasta and salad–not only delicious, but totally budget friendly!). He invited us to stick around and hang out, an invitation extended to every time we meet, but we decided to seize the sunshine and head out on another excursion. Giles stayed in the office but was kind enough to prepare a route for us on Google Maps. Complete with a stop for refreshments at his favorite pub and patisserie, the walk was the perfect end to a perfect day, a day already a perfect beginning to an amazing semester.
We even made it onto the Proboscis website! http://proboscis.org.uk/1369/city-as-material/
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- Smithfield Market
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- Cattle drive –> car park
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- Smithfield Market
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- history-festive
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- St. Paul’s looming…
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- St. Bartholomew’s
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- St. Bartholomew’s
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- St. Bartholomew’s
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- St. Bartholomew’s
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- St. Bartholomew’s
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- St. Bartholomew’s
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- St. Paul’s Tube Station
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- Hello St. Paul!
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- Great Area
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- St. Paul’s
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- St. Paul’s
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- The Milennium Bridge
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- Thames Banks
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- Milennium Bridge — St. Paul’s
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- Milennium Bridge — Tate Modern
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- Alley
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- Historic meets Modern
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- The Barbican
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- Museum of London
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- The Barbican
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- Cittie of York Pub
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- Lincoln Inn Fields
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- Maison Bertaux
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- Airing my feet out after a long day…
