Research: London Day 2 - The Serpentine, The V & A, Natural History Museum, The Photographers
Hyde Park
We started the second day by going to Hyde Park which gave me a chance to see people in a more rural environment than just in more urban areas. After a short walk we came to the Serpentine Gallery, located in the center of the park, the gallery is small and featured an exhibition by Ian Chen entitled 'BOB'. 'BOB' stands for 'bag of belief' and is the name of the installation. Maybe it was sleep deprivation or general morning grouchiness but I just didn't understand what was being shown to me. 'BOB' is a 'sentient artwork' that apparently learns from those watching, to me this means an advanced tamigotchi and brought back painful memories of failed ownership (all of mine died). Though the concept of a piece of art learning from its viewers is interesting and this relationship would be like no other, I thought the animation and actual design of BOB wasn't, to me, gallery standard. Like Meireles yesterday, because BOB is interactive no two experiences will be the same as they constantly learn and grow - this is very interesting and sort of links to how no two relationships are the same, everyone is different.
In the Victoria and Albert Museum
After the disappointing exhibition at the Serpentine, we split off into little groups and mine walked over to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Honestly, the V and A is a maze and I'm unashamed to admit I got lost more than once, though no artwork particularly inspired me I enjoyed seeing the history of fashion and how style has changed with societal attitudes. I also enjoyed watching people reacting to pieces and seeing their relationships affected by art.
The Whale Skeleton At The Natural History Museum
We then went to the Natural History Museum across Exhibition Road and though completely unrelated to my project, it was necessary for the other people in my little group. Though due to the family-friendly quality of the museum a lot of parents and small children were around so I got some conversation recorded. One particular exchanged happened between a father and his son as they chased through pillars laughing all the way. The child's mother following behind, looking a little exasperated as she maneuvered the pushchair. It was quite sweet.
Photos in Grayson Perry's Photo Album
We then made our way on the tube to Soho, where the Photographers' Gallery is located. I was very excited for two exhibitions here 'Grayson Perry's Photo Album' and 'Under Cover: A Secret History Of Cross-Dressers'. Even though these seem unrelated to my theme, I wanted to look at the photos to see if I could find how people either reacted to the people cross-dressing or if relationships were weakened or strengthened by the pushing of gender boundaries. Most of the photos show in both collections were positive, though in Perry's there was a vulnerability and sensitivity to his sense of dress that isn't so prominent in Claire nowadays. This created a sense of privacy and made the photos all the more intimate whilst showing how far both Claire and Perry have become within themselves. This shows how Perry's relationship with himself and with Claire has changed over time by being true and pushing preconceptions.
Photo from Under Cover: History of Cross-Dressing
Alternatively, most people in the Under Cover: A Secret History of Cross-Dressing seemed very proud and confident in who they are and it was just as nice to see. There are a lot of prejudiced attitudes towards people who cross-dress but the people in these photos seemed not to care about that and I think that's so beautiful and admirable and amazing. Maybe it is because these people know who they are so strongly, or because almost everyone around them appears loving and supportive, maybe they're just happy expressing themselves, regardless it made me happy. There's still a long way to go, especially with gender, I know some of my own friends' families have turned them away because they don't conform to society's expectation, but this exhibition showed me it doesn't always have to be like that and for that I'm grateful. Perhaps, if my friends were willing I could interview them about their own families and incorporate their responses into my project. I want my project to be relevant and modern and this is definitely that.
Chalk Art By @spiritsoflondon
We then went back to the Hostel for check in and went back out to Trafalgar Square after we'd eaten. Here we met a London-based street artist who does huge chalk drawings outside the National Gallery, his Instagram is @spiritsoflondon if anyone wanted to check his work out. I recorded forty minutes of audio of the conversation we had about art and getting our work shown. It was very inspirational and gave us the idea of potentially doing street art as a fundraiser for our end of year exhibition. Not only would it be amazing experimentation, it would allow me to record conversations of passersby and get feedback from people as I'm working. Who knows.
After this we headed back to the hostel, completely exhausted from walking so much but inspired and ready for the next day.