April has been a month of exploration, of finding new sources of inspiration, of cherishing the art. So I went off in search of what London has to offer! I visited a world-acclaimed art gallery, a tourist-favourite museum, an up-and-coming art museum and an immersive digital art pop-up. To say that I was overwhelmed, would be an understatement, it felt as if I have opened the door to a new realm.
To be in the same room as the pieces of art that has made culture, what it is today - was an experience, to say the least.
Somewhere in the Victoria & Albert Museum
#Art is a powerful tool that can be used to create #culture and shape the world around us. It expresses emotions, communicates ideas, and challenges the status quo yet again art educates, entertains, and inspires. I believe one of the most important ways that art creates us is by helping us to understand ourselves and others around us. It helps us connect with others who share our interests and values and thus, I went out with two of my friends who are both very different from me but we share something special and appreciate our differences. and of course, to have a lovely time together, walking around #London and talking about creativity, pretentiously, haha! No, well, yes, but we really do enjoy it! Now let's dive into the locations:
The National Gallery
My first stop is the National Gallery, housed in the centre of the city, in one of the most touristy places, Trafalgar Square. This was my solo day out on a beautiful April sunny morning. The National Gallery, established in 1824, is one of the world's most famous art museums, housing a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. I have always been interested in art history and how paintings portray social, economic, cultural and political history around us. The beautiful collection includes works by some of the most famous artists in history, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Picasso, Raphael, Rembrandt, and Van Gogh. However, I was interested in some of the lesser-known, rather less talked-about artists, Claude Monet, Édouard Manet and Paul Cezanne. Alongside the big names, I was pleasantly surprised by two special collections and exhibits, The Ugly Duchess by Quinten Massys and My Reality Is Different by Nalini Malani.
Slide to see more images of #TheNationalGallery
It is truly fascinating how the museum is divided into 17 rooms, each of which is dedicated to a different period in art history. The rooms are arranged chronologically so that visitors can trace the development of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present day. I came to learn some random facts about names I have heard for years. For example, I never knew that Picasso used sand with his colours so that it adds texture to the paintings and what's more interesting is, I could actually see the rugged uneven texture in one of his works. I came across 'Impressionists' - a movement, a period of history or rather a school of thought, something I had studied briefly in my 2nd year. However, I never imagined that I would be moved by their style: Monet's larger-than-life artwork stood out to me - the unusual emphasis on the ordinary and the abundance of light in them as if there is nothing but optimism in the mundane.
Just some paintings and art pieces that caught my attention.
... the sunflowers are drying and revealing rotten bits of nature; each petal and stem standing out in its flawed beauty.
I cannot leave out van Gogh in my ode to artists; it was probably his art that I am most familiar with but to know the meaning behind his famous sunflower painting was incredible. A small little note beside the frame explains that from far, it is just a vase with sunflowers in various shades of yellow; however, as you come close to it, the work reveals the layers of meaning, differences and importance. I might have seen that painting 100 times till now yet I never noticed that the sunflowers are drying and revealing rotten bits of nature; each petal and stem standing out in its flawed beauty.
Moving on from familiar names and traditional formats to more modern and newer names in the world of art. I came across a special audio-visual immersive exhibit. It is a poetic visualisation of the practice of othering; all the sections of society who are marginalised and viewed in a slightly skewed point of view. I realised after spending a few minutes in the room that the videos of hand-drawn animations are not synced to create meaning; there is no beginning or end. it is a never-ending loop of history and the viewers create their own meaning, thus, giving more agency to the viewer. I absolutely loved her art style and the compilation of striking and harrowing imagery.
As I moved around the high-world art pieces, I came across a small corner with the most interesting titles I have ever read - the Ugly Duchess. It raised my curiosity and I went in to find this single room featuring an idea that never thought about earlier - satirical beauty standards in the Renaissance times and how older women were demonised in the texts. This raised numerous questions about age and gender and made the experience feel so much more contemporary. The exhibition talks about the past where the body of an older woman is one of a witch, a demon, a figure of decay and disgust, I believe some elements of this school of thought are still relevant in this day and age.
#TheUglyDuchess by Quinten Massys
Victoria and Albert Museum (V & A)
Now let us talk about the famous V&A! I am sure that if you are a Londoner, you have heard so much about this already. Yet let me tell you this again, one more time, please. It's a treasure trove of design, fashion, performance and everything that makes society. It's a place one would go to feel the power of art and creativity. However I realised this museum wouldn’t be for everyone, it doesn’t tell you war stories or other gruesome generic details of history; instead focused on how arts change the world or how the world itself changed art forms throughout the passage of time. We started off with Medieval and Renaissance romantic paintings, moving on to the rich cultural art of China, Japan and Korea.
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I was with my fave, @tchaikovsky, on this beautiful April day with the sun shining on our faces and hands cold with a freshly brewed iced coffee. Somehow we both gravitated towards the South Asian section and were pleasantly surprised to see a bronze sculpture of Nataraja, the cosmic dancer in Hindu mythology. Well, not somehow; she is a brilliant dancer and I love history so of course, we chose the familiar sections over the others. It was interesting that this walk through the museum was striking up conversations we had never had earlier. We questioned our belief systems and slightly revealed our philosophies of viewing the world around us.
As we kept going around this never-ending maze of different cultures, different religions, and different parts of the world - I kept thinking about the little girls in me who wanted to be a librarian and go on adventures just like Eve in Mummy (1999). I am glad I did not get too inspired by her because it doesn’t end well for her in the sequels haha. iykyk!
Some more gorgeous shots of #V&AMuseum
I am insignificant, yet I am... I am a culture of appreciation, a culture of recognition and retrospection.
Art has influenced the world that I am in today. Art has contributed to my ideas, values, and thoughts; to be in the presence of such brilliance is truly humbling. I felt insignificant standing in the tall rooms and felt myself being lost in the chatter of other art connoisseurs. I realised that I might be just a pebble in a landslide, but I am still a pebble, adding velocity to the landslide of culture. I realised that there is the art that makes us ... the ones in the museums of our past, long corridors which remind us of what has passed, passed onto newer times and thus, the art which we create. Art which is now, the now we live in, the now which is less glamourous, yet now, which is here. I talk about the other two places I visited in my next edition, focussing on modern art.
Hope you enjoyed this account of #ArtthatCreatesUs and you will be awaiting the next section, #ArtthatWeCreate.
Lots of love,
~ K.