London - Museums and Theatre

While the conference ended in late morning, I had booked that night at the conference hotel, so the afternoon was a good time to do things in the South Bank area of London. Me being me, I chose to have a bit of meander and ended up at the Tate Modern, which I don’t think I had actually been to before. (I had been to the Tate Britain.) Much of the museum is free and there was enough to keep me occupied without shelling out for the exhibits that weren’t. If I’d had all day, I might have sprung for the exhibit on contemporary African photography. Having seen exhibits reasonably recently of work by Yayoi Kusama and by Hilma af Klint, those were not a high priority.

So what did I see? There was an interesting room full of artwork that included words. Here, for example, is a piece by Douglas Gordon.



I was amused by this collaged piece, titled “Fire! Fire!” by Enrico Baj, which incorporates things like pieces from Meccano construction toys.



Here are two works by Jannis Kounelis. One of them is a rather striking wall of coal and glass, while the other incorporates stuffed birds and a charcoal drawing that is remade each time to work is exhibited.





This work, titled “River Bath” by Beatriz Milhazes, is a collage that highlights how different colors and shapes interact with one another.



That’s only a small sampling of the art at the Tate Modern. If you like modern art, it’s worth at least a few hours.

When I’d walked to the museum, I had followed the river. I decided to take a different route back and, having walked the High Line in New York many times, I was amused to find these signs.



The next morning, after breakfast, I changed hotels for one that was significantly less expensive and somewhat more conveniently located for things I wanted to do, as well as being in a more familiar neighborhood. After doing that, I set off to the British Library, which I hadn’t been to for several years. Er, yes, books and manuscripts are something I’m interested in.

Here’s a ketubah (a Jewish marriage contract) from India.



On a rather different historical note, nobody expects the Spanish inquisition!



This is a brilliant example of an artist’s book. It’s about Dolly, the first cloned sheep.



That’s only a small sampling of what they have on display, which includes historical letters, Shakespearean folios, and the Magna Carta.

After I’d had my fill at the British Library, I went shopping, which is far from my favorite thing to do. Remember that I’d lost my wristwatch, which I now assumed had fallen off somewhere. I spent a couple of hours shopping and learned that there is not a single cheap wristwatch for sale in London. I relied on my phone to know the time for the rest of the trip.

I had one more museum visit in London. Saturday was a dreary, rainy day, which made it perfect for the Victoria and Albert, which is nominally a museum of decorative arts. Really, there’s a little bit of everything. The Cast Court has casts of various odds and ends (tombs, sculptures, doors, etc.) so that people who are unable to travel to see them in their own places can get a look.



There are plenty of sculptures in other parts of the museum. There was what I believe was a special exhibit of works by Thomas J. Price.



The tapestry room is fairly small but it does have a tapestry with a unicorn, which automatically makes it a great tapestry.



There’s an excellent section on design from 1990 to now, but what I was particularly eager to see was the new photography gallery. I can never resist a good antenna photo.



I was quite amused by Libido Uprising by Jo Spence, which has an amusing take on women’s traditional roles.



This is only a small sampling of what the V&A has. Seeing as it’s free to visit, it’s the sort of place you can stop into for just a short visit.

I can’t really go to London without going to the theatre. I’d looked at several options, but, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big fan of Martin McDonagh, so I couldn’t resist going to see The Pillowman, which I’d never made it to when it was on Broadway. Lily Allen was brilliant as Katurian, a role usually played by a man, but there’s really no reason for the character to be of any particular gender. The plot involves Katurian, who is being questioned about a series of murders that seem to be based on short stories (kind of twisted fairy tales) that she wrote. This is set in an unnamed dictatorship and part of the action involves the policemen who are interrogating (and torturing) her. She confesses to the murders, but the police figure out that her brother actually committed them. This doesn’t sound like it would be a comedy, but the fairy tales and the background on the characters are so absurd that, despite the violence,, the whole thing is very funny. This is decidedly not everybody’s cup of tea, but it’s definitely worth seeing for fans of McDonagh’s dark humor.

I also did a couple of day trips from London, but in the interests of not making this excessively long, I’ll put those in a separate post.