User:Osgibbs

Olivia Gibbs

Overview

The paragraph should give a three to five sentence abstract about your entire London HUA experience including 1) a summary of the aims of your project, 2) your prior experience with humanities and arts courses and disciplines, and 3) your major takeaways from the experience.

Milestone 1

London Architecture
Objective: A descriptive timeline of the change in architecture throughout the city through photographs including comparing different churches, buildings, bridges, museums and even unsung architectures accomplishments such as parking garages (aka car parks).

Below the objective statement, Insert a one or two paragraph summary of your findings from having reached this milestone. Edit the link below to link to your milestone page.
Read More

Milestone 2

London Street Art
Objective: To what extent does London's street art differ throughout the city via location, subject, and techniques?

Below the objective statement, Insert a one or two paragraph summary of your findings from having reached this milestone. Edit the link below to link to your milestone page.
Read More

Milestone 3

Art Within, Holding and Around
Objective: To fulfill the art capstone requirement the objective is to compare, reflect and perhaps find a link to, the famous works of art hung in galleries to the building's architecture holding them and then to the graffiti sprinkled around the vicinity. Inside is art, outside is art and around is art.

Below the objective statement, Insert a one or two paragraph summary of your findings from having reached this milestone. If this milestone, for you, represents a humanities and arts capstone, please indicate so. Edit the link below to link to your milestone page.
Read More

Activity Journal

My activity journal represents my ongoing log of reflections gained through each and every project activity including relations to my milestones and fun facts! The very first activity was the team scavenger hunts to let us explore the city and learn the lingo! Check out my team's page : Scavenger Hunt 2017 Team 1.

Westminster Abbey

   Monday May 8th
   Group Tour Westminster Abbey

Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone
As you walk into the church, your automatically look up- this was done on purpose. The church is built in a gothic style so all the lines and architecture point up. The architecture aligns with the function of the building, because by looking up automatically you think of the almighty aka God. Also, another gothic style was the use of the arch, stones can be placed with a keystone so the weight is held up by the pillars on the sides.

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. The choral boys attend the elite choral school starting at seven years old until thirteen years old. They work everyday in the church singing and perform the Evensong 3pm on the weekend and 5pm everyday of the week. It consists of a few bible verses and then forty- five minutes of singing outside of the church. Anyone is more than welcome to join and listen for free. The choral boys are the most elite singers in the UK, so after age thirteen they have no problem finding another program to join. I enjoyed hearing the boys, even though at an elite school, are still boys; read about The Coronation Chair and the boys mischief 100+ years ago here Westminster Abbey.
2. When you leave the Westminster Abbey, make sure to turn around to see over ten statues carved out of different figures each with different stories and faith. One story was of a man who was in Auschwitz concentration camp and was going to be killed but pleaded not to be because he has a family and children. The one in charge didn't care but another man stepped up and sacrificed himself instead since he had no wife and no children. Fortunately, the man survived the camp and was reunited with her wife and children. So one of the statues was of the man who scarified himself. Again, all of them have different faiths showing that all are welcomed into the church.
3. The phrase Bloody Mary we all know today comes from Mary, a step sister, while in power tried really hard to convert priests to Catholicism by giving them the ultimatum; either convert or burn at the stake. And 300 decided to die with their faith and were burn at the stake, creating blood aka Bloody Mary.

"Work": Emily (x2), Trinity, Ben, Andrew, Justine and I all worked on creating the Westminster Abbey page.

Tower of London

   Monday May 8th 
   Group Tour Tower of London
   

Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone
As we walked into the courtyard on all four sides you could see stone towers all filled with different exhibits. Each one varied in shape, including rounding buildings, square towers, walk ways on top, gates in between and arches. Again, with the purpose of the function in mind, the whole estate was surrounded by a wall to keep it private.

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. Throughout the entire estate there were animals, aka Royal Beasts, made out of chain wire from monkeys on top of the wall after you exist the Crown Jewels to the Elephant's head sticking out by the gate. They were unexpected and cool elements of art that have been added after the fact.
2. We also so the beginning of a performance which was a reenactment of the time period demonstrating one who might be exiled by disagreeing. It was fun because the audience was involved, unexpected and the actors/works were very much into character making it fun to watch. They must enjoy their jobs!
3. We waited in the short line for the Crown Jewels and saw all the crowns, swords and scepters bedecked in jewels that cost a fortune. My favorite was Queen Victoria's small crown since it was different and little.
4. Also I learned about different techniques for torture where the rack technique of simply pulling apart someone's joints really gave me the chills with the thought of it. 5. Home to the ravens, a guard was petting one with it's comb which was an odd but cool thing to walk by. He was doing it so nonchalantly but it is so not normal for me.

• 

  "Tower of London Cottages"
  

• OG 05:08 Raven.jpg

  "Raven and Guard"
  

• 

  "Sunset on Tower Bridge with Tower of London"
  

Work: Emily (x2), Trinity, Ben, Andrew, Justine and I all worked on creating Tower of London page.

The British Library

   Monday May 8th 
   Group Tour The British Library

Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone
First and foremost I loved the gates as you go in that read British Library from top to bottom made out of the thick metal for gates. It was creative and clever instead of a boring regular gate. Also as you walk in the layout is different with angled rooftops which hands itself for a set of stairs as you walk in. The building is more modern than most we have seen, where it is a more clean cut design with little detail or sculptures.

Fun Facts/Stories/Tips to Remember:
1.Bags need to be searched before going in but food and drinks are allowed to be brought in!!
2. While there are many different floors, it can be difficult to find a seat so that is why my group ended up taking a seat outside after walking a lap around each floor.

Work: Emily (x2), Trinity, Ben, Andrew, Justine and I all worked on creating/editing The British Library page.

British Museum

   Tuesday May 9th 
   Group 2 British Museum

First official day working with Group 2, we walked to the British Museum, we were able to get right in with no wait and no purchase tickets necessary.

Connections to Milestones:
Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone: As you walk in there are the South staircase to your left to go up to a gallery but if you walk straight through the entry way you are in Queen Elizabeth II Great Court, which is the big white rounded structure in front of you. This is a great architecture landmark, being the largest covered square in Europe. When you are in this center location all the white and glass cover lets in the light and the entire area is very bright. Also, every wing has a different building design, with different ceilings, pillars and door frames. With each variation, it allows the viewer to realize they have entered a different gallery which often means a different region of the world is on display too.

Indirect: On the bottom floor is a gallery for Greek and Roman architecture where parts of different temples are on display. They still are intact because of the sturdy stone that it is made out of. The remains are huge, and standing next to them just makes me realize how big the entire temple would have been. This is a relation to my architecture milestone showing me different types of architecture from the past.

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. Come back in a few weeks to see the The Great Wave off Kanagawa who's gallery will be opening soon and check out the pop to modern american art gallery too!! 2. Drinks/food/coffee are allowed in! But no painting supplies. 3. I liked how the museum was set up by different country so it was like you were traveling around the world as you moved through different galleries. 4. My little trumpet guys I found to be so cute! There were two bronze figurines of trumpeters wearing pointed caps from the 8th-6th century BC, Carian or Phrygian West or central Turkey.

Work: Emily Wilson, Natalie, Cole, Peter and I all worked on creating British Museum page.

• 

  "Coins"

• 

  "Egypt Exhibit"

• 

  " Inside a Gallery"

• 

  "Famous Great Court"

• 

  "Greek Pillars"

• 

  "The Rosetta Stone"

• 

  "Trumpeters from Turkey"

Evensong

   Tuesday May 9th 5pm
   Concert

I attended the concert with a few other students and sat along the side so one of the large pillars blocked my view of the choir directly, so I watched through the TV screen. However I could see the priest reading the bible verses and prayers. It still blows my mind they are just young boys performing the songs, it both english and latin. I thought it was a soothing sound, but difficult to make out the words so I was thankful to have them printed in the booklet along with the bible verses.

Connections to Milestones:
The music and performance does not directly fit into our milestone, but it gave me another chance to sit and admire all the gothic style architecture within the Westminster Abbey. However, afterwards a few of us took a stroll across the bridge and walked along the water to the Bridge of London to capture more pictures for our milestone. We also discovered some street art for my second milestone and a bonus bubble ice cream and sunset!!

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. Get there early so you can been seated literally next to the choir!! 2. And it only lasts about 30 minutes.

Work: I just added a few sentences to Westminster Abbey.

St. Paul's Cathedral

   Wednesday May 10th
   Group 2 Activity St. Paul's Cathedral

Connections to Milestones:
Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone: First by the steps the pillars and stone work supporting the front entrance is huge and grand. The building was built in the baroque style. Then the minute I walked in and my back was to the Front (just the bowl for baptism water), I was in awe- looking down The Naval at the High Alter is breathtaking. The arches, all leading up to the Dome are tall and regal decorated with gold and mosaics paintings above them. Then directly below the Dome I stood looking up to see the no color painting which covers the Dome. I learned that similar to the building itself being inspired by Italian buildings, the mosaic artwork was done too by an Italian artist. The bottom floor is The Crypt, where it is more modern and I can clearly see the inspiration of Italy. All the ceilings and walls are white, reminding me of the terraces in Italy. It was more simple both in decoration and architecture than above.

Direct Connection to Street Art Milestone: One of CBloxx's work of art was on display. She is a top female street artist. It is a twist of the iconic women, Mary. "CBloxx has taken as her starting point Mary's situation as a refugee and has juxtaposed past and present to create a poignant piece that has real resonance at a time when the media is saturated with scenes of pregnant mothers, babies and young children fleeing violent oppression and abject poverty."

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. The Whispering Gallery (the gallery above the Cathedral Floor) was a little hike up the narrow spiraling staircase but sooo worth it. It allowed me to literally walk around the entire Dome. I even saw the tops of the domes leading up to higher alter, including where a 500 pound bomb fell in World War II destroying the alter. Also it is true; if someone whisper on one side of the gallery you can hear it through the wall on the other side! This was my favorite part of the Cathedral. Breathtaking views. 2. It was interesting to see the street art on display by CBloxx- one of the world's top ten female street artists. and the fact that it was in the Cathedral, very unexpected. 3. Come back in three weeks to climb the steps again to the higher galleries when they reopen!!

Work: I added to the St. Paul's Cathedral page, focusing on the Crypt.

The National Gallery

   Thursday May 11th 
   Group 2 Activity The National Gallery

Connections to Milestones:
Indirect Connection to Architecture Milestone: While The National Gallery is not one of our Top 20 buildings, it was still stunning to admire not only the artwork being hung, but also realizing the amazing building it was in. Each gallery was different and helps shape the mood for the artwork being displayed. For example the 13th and 14th century gallery was all white walls and basic ceilings, but then the next gallery was high ceilings with dark wallpaper with designs on it which was bold matching the big bold gold framed artwork which took up more space on the wall. Also, seeing artwork from the 13th and 14th century which included arches and pillars, relates to the buildings were are looking at know that still too have arches and large pillars.
Indirect Connection to Street Art Milestone: This was my second time outside of the National Gallery and there was again more and different street art done in chalk which was very interesting to see. I think they were both done by the same artist, but again contribute to my milestone. And the one I saw the other day had started to deteriorate with everyone stepping on it.

Fun Facts/Stories/Tips to Remember:
1.I saw multiple artwork that I have used in my classes, wrote papers about, and been lectured on from a young age so I was able to admire and really appreciate the artwork including Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin, Tuner, Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Seurat and Monet!
2. 'The Dream of Human Life' by Michelangelo grabbed my attention as I walked by because of all the human faces/masks that were on the bottom of the page tossed into a box. My gut reaction was appauling and then I saw all the different worries of actions of humans going around the painting and is why the man man is blocking the world as if trying to protect it.
3. Also, 'The Allegory of Prudence' by Titian (1565-1570) also grabbed my attention because it was different- with the mix of animal (wolf, lion, dog) and human heads. So after reading the description I learned the combo of those animals represent prudence and the entire painting is showing the past, present and future through the man in youth, maturity, and old age.
4. 'The Old Women' by Quinten Massys (1513) also caught my attention for being different- and the description said the artist was making fun of an older women trying/thinking they are young and it is true that picture is spot on which made me think it was funny a little since you can still see that today with some people.

Work: I added to the Van Gough section on The National Gallery page.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Natural History Museum

   Friday May 11th 
   Group 2 Natural History Museum

Connections to Milestones:
Direct Connect to Architecture Milestone: The bottom of the museum were a cafe was had gorgeous arch ways and stain glass window art which was great to admire. More directly though, there was a corner of an exhibit taking about all different types of materials, some of which are the materials in our Top 20 buildings, including concrete, red brick, and glass. I was able to see and read up on real examples of each material. Also, after I walked over to the V&A Museum and checked out their sixth floor architecture exhibit where I learned about the basic categories of how architecture is defined, used an interactive screen to learn about a few different styles of architecture such as Revival gothic Style (like the St Pancras Hotel and Station). I have been using their online sources and hope to visit one of their library locations soon.

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. It was very kid friendly, with hands on interactive exhibits where I too enjoyed being a kid and learnt a lot, including the earthquake simulator which was interesting how they tried to literally recreate the feeling within a Japanese shopping market during the 90s. Also many of the exhibits kept reminding me of my sixth grade science teacher when we learned about the different layers of the earth, human evolution, rocks, earthquakes etc.
2. I also was blown away by how big some of the fish fossils were, they were just fish, not whales, not sharks, fish. And seeing literally all different types of animals stuffed was a little freaky but cool at the same time including platypuses, ostrich (huge!), many many different type of birds, polar bear, penguin...etc.
3. I also went inside the cocoon, the big egg shape dome that is seven floors high and holds the Charles Darwin Exhibit. It talked about collecting different species, and how right now there are 1.5 million but will only continue to grow.
4. Right as you walk in there is a huge dinosaur model and stairs leading to this huge planet like figure that you took the elevator through and on either side of you were constellations. Really cool entrance.
5. I hope to go back and buy a ticket for the sensational butterfly exhibit with real butterflies!!

Work: I contributed to the earthquake and safety of them on the Natural History Museum page.

Tate Britain

   Monday May 15th
   Group 2 Tate Britain

Quick swap of tube lines and a five minute walk to get to Tate, wasn't bad at all! After exploring the exhibits I filled for a library reader card and worked the rest of the afternoon in their library. Connections to Milestones: Indirect Connection to Architecture Milestone
I was able to admire yet again another beautiful building with the front dome above the staircase and see how each gallery space had different ceilings, columns, design to go along with the artwork it contained.

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. There is a whole gallery on Turner, and I learned that he requested to have one of his paintings, the Rise of Carthaginian Empire, to be alongside Monet's in the National Gallery. Which means I want to go back to check it out!
2. The 3-D installations of artwork were very different and interesting, including the Cerith Wyn Evans' Forms in Space...by Light (in Time).
3. The gallery room dedicated to British artwork in the sixties was very thought provoking and emotional, especially Go West Young Man by Keith Piper. It was a series of 14 eye opening photographs about slave trade. There was also The Carrot Piece again showing the white men tempting to get black women, luckily in this depiction the man was failing since the women already had everything she needs. In the same gallery was Fashion-Plate by Richard Hamiliton which was really cool to me since it was a college of fashion magazines and actually used cosmetics to enhance the final piece. Perhaps inspiring a change in my capstone?!

• 

  "Concord Plane"

• 

  "Fashion-Plate"

• 

  "Forms in Space...by Light (in Time)"

• 

  "Tate Britain Front Stairs"

• 

  " Gallery"

• 

  "Go West Young Man"

• 

  "One of the pictures from Go West Young Man Exhibit"

• 

  "The Chlomobdeley Ladies"

• 

  "The Moment"

"Work": I wrote an article for JMW Turner.

Klyne

   Monday May 15th 8pm
   Concert

I attended the concert with a Justine, Emily and Andrew. We took one of London's famous double decker buses (Bus 55) to get to The Pickle Factory (no, not the Gherkin!). It is a small club in Zone 2 off a side street full of brick buildings. I had no clue what to expect but turned out liking it. We got there for eight and saw the opening act, the band Oleka which only had like twenty people tops in the audience. And then 9pm rolled around and Klyne, a dance electronic band performed. It was something I have never listened to but I liked the beat and shortly found myself swaying with the crowd to the beat. It was interesting watching the crowd that it did bring in, lots of hipsters, young maybe mid-twenty couples and guys. It looked like many people just came from work still with their bags. This created just a casual place to just chill and listen to the music. Also, the place is just one small room with a quaint outdoor area for smokers or to step outside for a fresh of breath air. Highly recommend and looking forward to going again, perhaps on the weekend to when it might be more busy. Also interested to see what else might be performing.

Connections to Milestones:
The music and performance does not directly fit into my milestone, but I did observe some street art from the bus on our way back, so perhaps I'll be back!

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
The link to the Pickle Factory! And the band add them to spotfiy!

• 

  "The Pickle Factory Venue"

• 

  "Klyne"

Victoria and Albert Museum

   Tuesday May 16th
   Group 2 Victoria and Albert Museum

Since we had already went to V&A to conduct some research, I focused my trip today on exploring the other galleries and now too still have interest in coming back to explore more of the 150 rooms ( wowza!) and buy a ticket to see the Pink Floyd Exhibit.

Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone
We had visited the V&A Museum last week to check out their architecture gallery and had taken notes on different styles and tips for a few of our buildings including The Gherkin which had on display the volumetric models which were used by Fosters and Partners to take into account bulk, visual impact and aerodynamic qualities of the building. They also had an interactive computer activity which had information on modern, high-tech, gothic, and classical styles buildings. And a little indirect, they had models and more information on many other famous buildings across the globe which gave me insight on a variety of architecture.

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. In The Paul and Jill Ruddock Gallery (part of Medieval & Renaissance Europe 1350-1600) St Margaret and The Dragon statue caught my attention because of the dragon which was an odd animal, one I have yet to see in a statue during all my visits to museums. After reading the description, I learned the dragons protects her during pregnancy since she once escaped from a belly of a dragon!?
2. During the Korea Gallery I was first grabbed by the light colored ceramic balls called From Circle by Ro Hae-Sin because of the playful vibes the colors were radiating. It was also nothing like what surrounded it which was full of grays and brown. This was created in 2006 and breaks normal Korean traditions through different colors and layers. I was also intrigued by yet again a more recent piece of work Aggregation-SE032RED. It grabbed my attention for the sculpture in between cases of ceramics, because of it's large but detailed piece. And after reading the description it was cool to find out the pieces are made from an everyday Korean paper called hanji but have a bigger meaning showing the struggles Koreans face but the resilience they have too.
3. Walking down the hallway through all the Buddha's, Victory to the Spiritcalled my attention because of the bright bold colors unlike what is around it..again very recent (2015) and actually the artist was inspired by V&A's Tibetan exhibit. 4. I saw the fashion exhibit too which showed clothes, both male and female, from varying time periods which was interesting and different. They also had an exhibit on furniture which is like everyday items and not typical when you first think of a museum. As I walked by the fashion gift shop I over heard the employees saying today was much slower than yesterday, which was when they made 30,000 pounds!!!
5. I really love the Oak Staircase from Morlaix which was a spiral staircase out of wood. I found it interesting because usually at castle and such which have these spiral staircases they are made of stone.
6.The jewelry gallery is amazing but I sadly couldn't take pictures. It reminded me of the gem exhibit at the Natural History Museum. The Townsshed Gems were like a huge color ...spectacular.
7. After, Emily, Natalie and I walked over to Albert Hall and Kensington Palace to take pictures and we walked through the gardens which was a great place to grab a seat and people watch, relax, nap, eat lunch. I hope I can come back to enjoy it!

• 

  "V&A Museum Front Desk"

• 

  "From Circle"

• 

  "Aggregation-SE032RED"

• 

  "Aggregation-SE032RED
  close up"

• 

  "Aggregation-SE032RED
  close up"

• 

  "Victory to the Spirit"

• 

  "Oak Staircase"

• 

  "Fashion 1870-1910 vs Me Today"

• 

  "Kensington Palace"

• 

  "Kensington Palace Gardens"

• 

  "Kensington Palace"

• 

  "Albert Hall"

"Work": I added to the Victoria and Albert Museum and created the article The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Galleries Of Buddhist Art.

Tate Modern

   Wednesday May 17th
   Group 2 Tate Modern

We took the bus this morning to save money (cheaper than the tube!) and time (direct route!) in the London rain this morning!
Connections to Milestones: Indirect Connection to Architecture Milestone
While the main exhibits were not on our buildings for our project, I was able to connect with Tate Modern because of the research I have done. As soon as I walked in I thought of the Barbican Center with its brutalism style building full of concrete. The main room as you enter is huge with no floors above it so it is wide open, but you need to go down a flight of stairs first to buy tickets and get into the galleries which was odd. The first gallery I went to on the ground floor is called TANKS and it is art exhibits within their own sections between the concrete pillars and walls, which felt just like I was in a Divergent movie. Also all the concrete made the gallery dark and set the mood to be more serious and ominous. I also found it interesting in the TANKS there were a set of steps above each door frame leading no where, which again added to the creepy mood. But overall, it was brutalism with the major concrete material!

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1.The fourth floor, the top floor for free exhibits had Artist Rooms and one was for Louise Bourgeois which I found interesting since all of her artwork and sculptures were nothing I was expecting/random a little including the spider over head, the 10 am is Where You Will Find Me, the head atop the juicer and the beater on top of the chest.
2. In the Living Cities Exhibit I was admiring Mark Bradford "Los Mascos" artwork which was created in 2004 and made entirely out of paper from where he was and the way he displays them hints at the resemblance of San Francisco Bay Area streets, which he has always found an interest in the inner city. I think it is clever how he is telling a story but also found it funny that Sofia came over and pointed out the school group of elementary school age kids matched the artwork in front of them with their black jackets and neon yellow vests.
3.Walking throughout I was able to spot and appreciate some works of art that I have learned about in class including the replica of Duchamp's "Fountain" and Miro's "Painting" 1927 and Kadinsky's "Cossacks"1910-1911. It was cool to be able to recognize them even from afar and able to really appreciate them, as I had explained to Emily about the "Fountain", it may seem strange to you but it was a radical change and made a difference.
4.In the last room in a exhibit was Jane Alexander's "African Adventure" (1999-2002) which was so bizarre for me to walk into and the last thing I expected and as I walked all the way around the perimeter it just kept getting weirder as I saw more details. There are little human figures with animal faces, a life size human body naked but with shoes on and a mouse like face, and in the back is another naked life size human with a cloth over his head and pulling other animals. And to top it off there is orange soil and three gorgeous chandeliers lightening the whole display. Just weird.
5.The three coke bottles appear normal at first but actually are like messages in a bottle but for land instead of the sea, which I have never heard of or thought of and was intrigued. Cildo Meireles is from Brazil and was the one to alter the bottles adding slogans like 'Yankees go home' and instructions on bottles before circulating them back into the system as an act of subversive 'mobile graffiti' which went against the Brazilian military dictatorship. His way of sending a political message. Very unique and clever. His three piece bottle set is called "Insertions into Ideological Circuits: Coca-Cola Project 1970".
6.Cildo Meireles's "Babel" 1970 is a tower (literally to the top of the ceiling) of radios all playing different stations at once constantly which demonstrates an overload of information and issues creates miscommunication. Oh so very true, which made this piece resonate with me. No two experiences are ever the same since something different is always being played.
7.After the visit, Emily and I walked on Queen's Way (again but this time in the rain) over to the Borough's Market to grab some lunch. I enjoyed Soul Food's bbq chicken box! We then took the tube over to Royal Institute of British Architect Library (aka RIBA) to settle down for the rest of the day finding solid sources to supplement our background research.
"Work": I contributed to the Tate Modern and started the Louise Bourgeois page.

• 

  Borough Market

• 

  Borough Market Food!!!

• 

  Borough Market was full of plants

• 

  Jane Alexander's African Adventure

• 

  Jane Alexander's African Adventure

• 

  Tate Modern Bottom Floor, aka TANKS- Brutalism

• 

  Insertions into Ideological Circuits: Coca-Cola Project 1970 by Meireles

• 

  Tate Modern

• 

  Cossacks by Kadinsky

• 

  Los Mascos by Bradford

• 

  Liquid Crystal Environment by Metzger

• 

  Louise Bourgeois' Work

• 

  10 am is Where You Will Find Meby Louise Bourgeois

• 

  Louise Bourgeois' Work

• 

  Louise Bourgeois Gallery

• 

  Louise Bourgeois' Work

• 

  Louise Bourgeois' Work

• 

  Monument by Hiller

• 

  Painting by Joan Miro

• 

  Forty Part Motet by Cardiff

• 

  Babel by Meireles

• 

  Fountain by Duchamp

Museum of London

   Thursday May 18th
   Group 2 Museum of London

Connections to Milestones: Direct Connection to Architecture Milestone
I saw a model of the first St Paul's Cathedral, which was actually quite different than the one which stands today and what we toured last week. The original building was much taller and made of rick bricks before it was destroyed in a fire. Natalie walked by me when I was looking at it and said yes many people were upset that the new model didn't reach the same height as the original one. I also learned a little more about the Globe theater, I was able to see a model of the Rose theater which was the direct competitor of the Globe in the early 1600s. I also learned the timber which was used to build the Globe in 1599 came from the Theater which was across the river of Thames and was taken down after the lease was up. The Theater was the first playhouse designed and constructor for outdoor performances.

Fun Facts/Stories to Remember:
1. The Museum of London is attached to the Barbican center so we knew where we were!
2. The first exhibit, London Before London (450,000 BC –AD50), displays what was here before the city existed. I took a photo of some adult male and female skulls surrounded by tools too. Also I photographed a replica of a horned helmet that was found in the Thames River in 1860 along with a shield.
3. I found it interesting and intriguing seeing the Roman and the River comic strip as a way to portray the message. It was completely different than the previous gallery which was cool.
4. I saw the London Stone, which was funny to learn it has it owns twitter; follow it here! Turns out this stone marks the center of London and is can usually be found at 111 Cannon Street (have to visit!) but is being stored here while construction is going on. Below it reads, “So long as the stone of Brutus is safe. So long will London flourish…”
5. In the expanding city exhibit (1870s-1850s) one glass case was full of empire wear. Another room titled Pleasure Gardens had black models wearing ornate dresses at the time, but with the dark lighting and setting it appeared a little creepy in my opinion. I walked through Victorian Way which was cool to see all different types of shops as if they were during that time including toy shops and the grocer (aka grocery store).
6. In the People City’s exhibit I saw the Unic Taxi, which was the first London petroleum taxi appearing in 1903.
7. I spent the most time at the remembrance wall, where I read a book of all the 52 innocent people killed in the July 5th, 2007 four bombing attack in London’s transport system during morning rush hour. The book had individual pages about each person and their lives to remember them. I didn’t know about this bombing since I was only eight at the time, so I was surprised but appreciative this permanent memorial is available. The writings were done by loved ones within a week or so of their deaths so it was all raw, real and very much emotional. Very powerful.
8. It was nice weather so coming back I walked through the Pastman's Park which is a little park in the middle of the city. There were many workers so I continued my walk and took pictures of the Farrington station which is the tube station closest to our flats (and use almost daily) and took a picture of the neighboring buildings on the street.
"Work": I have edited and contributed a section to the War, Plague & Fire page.

• 

  Farrington Station

• 

  Museum of London

• 

  Empire Display Case

• 

  Pleasure Gardens Clothing

• 

  London Remembrance

• 

  Comic Display

• 

  Model of the Rose theater

• 

  Battersea Shield from 300-100BC and Horned Helmet from 150-50BC

• 

  Male and Female Skulls from before the City

• 

  London Stone

• 

  Model of the original St Paul's Cathedrial

• 

  Unix Taxi

• 

  Victorian Groccer

• 

  At the Top of Our Street

• 

  Pastman's Park

• 

  Pastman's Park

"Work": I have edited and contributed a section to the War, Plague & Fire page.