Academics (oh right) – Week A

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/

Smithfield Market

Cattle drive –> car park

Smithfield Market

history-festive

St. Paul’s looming…

St. Bartholomew’s

St. Bartholomew’s

St. Bartholomew’s

St. Bartholomew’s

St. Bartholomew’s

St. Bartholomew’s

St. Paul’s Tube Station

Hello St. Paul!

Great Area

St. Paul’s

St. Paul’s

The Milennium Bridge

Thames Banks

Milennium Bridge — St. Paul’s

Milennium Bridge — Tate Modern

Alley

Historic meets Modern

The Barbican

Museum of London

The Barbican

Cittie of York Pub

Lincoln Inn Fields

Maison Bertaux

Airing my feet out after a long day…

Getting Aquainted & Situated

The beauty of a new city is that every errand you have to run is an excuse for a brand new adventure!  There are three “hubs” near me, all located around the tube stations: Gloucester Road, South Kensington, and High Street Kensington.  The latter is where the bigger, more major stores are, such as my first two stops on Thursday:

1) Argos -”Helping You Live For Less”

Think Bed, Bath & Beyond but by catalogue.  The store floor has some featured items out, but it is mainly full of counters with a catalogue, a light, pens, and order cards.  You flip through, select the items you want, fill out the order card, hand it to the cashier who goes over everything with you (some of mine were out-of-stock so she helped me select others), pay, and wait for your number to be called.  Once it is, you go up the counter, hand over your receipt, and pick up all of your items.  In a word: magical!  I basically imagined little shopping elves in the back picking out all of my stuff for me.  I got towels, a hair dryer, and a hamper.

2) Tescos

In the land of UK grocery stores, Tescos is the equivalent of a Stop & Shop, contrasted by Sainsbury’s and Waitrose (a bit more upscale), and the first-ever UK Whole Foods.  The main Tescos in my area is at High Street Kensington, but there are smaller Tesco Expresses closer to my flat.  In the spirit of embracing British culture, I decided to rock the generic items (a nice excuse for me being as thrifty as possible…I love prices that are followed with a p for pence).  I also got a Tesco Club Card!  My first purchase came to £36.45…I was content with that considering I purchased bare necessities in the realms of toiletries, household items, and groceries!

I want to see how far I can go on what amount, and was also told that food here goes bad quicker (I suppose that’s the trade-off for being preservative-free…are we really that lazy, America?).  No buying in bulk for me!  Just what I need to get by, which is definitely made easier thanks to my central location — running around the corner for something is super easy and quick, and another reason to get out!

Walking home with all of my loot was definitely an endeavor, but also definitely better than the 100 pounds in luggage I toted a few hours before.

London Loot!

Finished up my errands on Friday, such as getting a pay & go phone (thanks to Lee, the manager at O2, for all of his nice British help!) and some other little things from Boots, the UK pharmacy of choice (what a cuter name than Duane Reade).  The highlight of this run, though was THE TUBE!!!!!!  First ride: Circle Line from Gloucester Road to High Street Kensington (only one stop, could’ve walked, but wanted the experience).

We ran into some slow service, but I was most extremely impressed with the design of the system.  The architecture coupled with the natural light pouring in from above made waiting a few longer minutes much more bearable than the stuffy MTA stations I’m used to (plus, I’m in the honeymoon stage!).  Not all are like this, but the Circle Line is partially above ground.

The Oyster Card system is great too.  You don’t need to take it out to swipe, just leave it in your wallet/holder and tap it against the pad.  The system is divided into 6 zones and kind of works like a turnpike, so you need to tap out as well.  My program provides us with an unlimited Oyster from zones 1 & 2 (central London) and the buses; fares apply if traveling to the outer zones.

I’ve always loved city life, but this experience is bringing that to the fore!!