Modern Art

May 4, 2010

What I nice leisurely morning we had this morning. Janice made us a wonderful delicacy from Scotland called kippers. They are smoked fillets of haddock. They are typically eaten with bread and butter. It wasn’t the sort of breakfast I’m used to, but it was nice to try. (I don’t think Michelle was very fond of it, but then, she doesn’t care much for any kind of fish.) Michelle and I set off for the Tate Museum of Modern Art. On our ride in the tube this morning we met a really nice woman, we never even learned her name, but she came and sat by us with her darling 11 month old daughter. She was asking us all about our stay in London and the places we’ve visited. She was also giving a bit of advice on where we should visit before we leave. I’ve always heard how unfriendly Londoners are. We’ve had some run-ins with a few that haven’t been the friendliest, but by and large they’re very nice people. All you really have to do is talk with them. Once they open their mouths, it’s easy to see how nice they can be. But then, I think that’s the way it is no matter where you go. They have a lot of well known modern artists on display, or rather, their works. I know that my brother-in-law Jeff will probably keel over reading this, but I rather enjoyed quite a few of the pieces there. There is a lot of modern art that I don’t really understand and therefore don’t particularly enjoy. The pieces that can demonstrate a clear, understandable thought I can really enjoy. Some of the favorites were Naked Man with Knife by Pollock, Metamorphosis of Narcissus by Dali, Mountain Lake by Dali, The Snack Bar by Edward Burra, White Field by Gunther Eucker, Untitled by Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Pay Nothing Until April by Ed Ruscha and The Kiss by Rodin. The untitled piece by Peter Fischli and David Weiss was really interesting. When we first walked into the room where it was exhibited, it simply looked like a construction zone. There was wood, paint, tools, garbage, pallets, and all kinds of junk lying around. It didn’t seem interesting at all. Upon further investigation, we learned that everything, including the wood and pallets was made from foam and painted with acrylic paint. The artists had painstakingly formed and painted every item in the room to look exactly like an item that is normally mass-produced. It was really interesting. We spent quite a bit of time in the museum really. After we finished there, we went toward Holland Park (partly at the suggestion of the women we met in the tube). On the way there, we stopped at Pret a Manger again for sandwiches and soup (so reasonably priced!) and took them with us to the park. The park was so incredible! It was everything a park should be. There were wooded areas, beautiful gardens, wildlife preserve areas, incredible playgrounds, sport fields, outdoor opera theater, and café. Seriously, you name it, it was there. Hopefully none of the other study-abroaders read our blog because Michelle and I sort of want to keep that park a secret to ourselves. We spent a long time walking around enjoying the park and spent a bit of time in the playground as well, which was really fantastic. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cooler park. There were all kinds of things that would never be installed in the United States for being too dangerous, but were really safe, so long as you weren’t being stupid. We had fun acting like little kids for a while. We watched the sun go down for a while and decided to go home a little earlier than normal so that we could enjoy Janice and Albert’s company a little more, get all the blogging done and get to bed early. Besides, we promised Albert that we’d help him install his new webcam. He became very intrigued when he saw us video chatting with Michelle’s parents on Skype. So, he went out and bought one with our promise that we’d set it up for him. So, we’ve spent some time getting that sorted out. We also brought a few packages of biscuits home as an offering to Janice and Albert since we’ve been burning through them since we got here.