East End Gallery Hunt

The Approach Gallery: this gallery was very small and I wasn't too attracted to Gary Web's work. The Miami Poo Pipe was pretty cool and had a surrealistic influence. The resin material was interesting as well.

IBID Projects: this gallery was peculiar. It was an old dilapidated building with no gallery attendants or assistants (which I really enjoyed) and the work was kind of meshed in with the decay. The space was kind of creepy. I wasn't particularly fond of the work, I didn't really understand it.

White Cube: Rachel Kneebone's work was awesome. I really enjoyed her porcelain sculptures. They were quite phallic and sexual but so intricate and beautiful. It was interesting to see the drawings of her sculptures. Also, I thought the pieces that were hung on the wall were more successful than those on the pedestals. I wonder what they would look they if she utilized color in her work.

Parasol Unit: Nathan Cash Davidson was born in 1988, meaning he is the same age as me, which is pretty inspiring and gives me much hope that my work can be exhibited too. His paintings seemed somewhat elementary at first, but as I walked through the second room his styled seems to change drastically. The piece, I told you a thousand times they go around in white sheets and carry chains, was particularly eye catching because of the dramatic lighting.

Victoria Miro: this space was truly beautiful. There were huge windows, ceiling to floor. Tom Lubbock collage work was interesting..he has just died so as a tribute to him the gallery reopened his show.

Francesca Woodman's work was so inspiring to me. I'm glad I was able to see this exhibition. Her work made me want to work with film again. All her photographs are extremely well printed and composed. She deals with time, space, the body and personal environment. The natural lighting is stunning and impressive. This show was on the top floor of the gallery and the space was wonderful, like an old warehouse but still that pristine feeling of a gallery.

The Borough Market

The Borough Market was so freaking cool. I love food so this was right down my alley. Now looking back I wish I had gotten that grilled cheese Emily was raving about. I got a bacon, egg, and cheese and a coffee. The bacon is very different from American bacon, not that big of a fan. I wish I was more hungry so I could have tried more/different foods. I could have spent hours there.

The National Portrait Gallery

As soon as we entered the National Portrait Gallery we headed straight for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Prize. I was extremely excited to see this work and which photographs were thought to be the best. There were 60 featured photographers. As I looked at each piece I began to get more and more frustrated and disturbed. I was not impressed at all. I know, personally, that a good and dynamic portrait that can stand alone without a description or artist statement is very difficult to achieve, but most of the images were just not well done. The lighting was sub par in some of them, in others the color balance was noticeably off, and a few were just down right boring. Some of the portraits were so similar to many I've seen before of African children, dancers, Middle Eastern women, etc. A lot of the stories behind the images were compelling, but the actual portraits did not speak for themselves or evoked much emotion. It was kind of a let down. Pate Meinzer's Cowboy, Benjamin Texas was successful in my eyes because it showed the beauty of a dynamic personality and portrait. The image is of a rugged looking cowboy sitting on a bed in a frilly decorated room. It shows the rough exterior of being a hard working cowboy but reveals the private, more contemplative side as it is the room he shares with his wife. I thought that the winners' work was better than most of the other work. The 2nd place winner Panayiotis Camprou was quite daring as his work was an environmental portrait of his wife that was originally not for public display. But now her vagina is on display for everyone to see.

The Gallery at OXO "the art of the album" (Gallery 3)

I was sooo stoked for this gallery! I saw it on one of the first days we were exploring London and I knew I wanted to check it out when we had free time. The gallery was kind of small but it was such a great space. The exhibition was all album art and included that of musical artists Spoon, The Verve, Peter Gabriel, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Oasis, Led Zeppelin, and Louis Armstrong. Album art is something that I have always been greatly interested in and hope to become involved with someday (soon). It would be awesome to make art for different bands. I was attracted to the work of Storm Thorgerson, Michael Spencer Jones, and Hipgnosis. I especially liked the piece for Peter Gabriel that was comprised of 32 hand manipulated polaroids that showed how the artist selected the final one for the album. This was one of my top favorite things I experienced in London.

The Royal Observatory

The Royal Observatory in Greenwich was interesting. I didn't know what to expect but I thought the experience would be bigger and grander. It was awesome to get out of the city and be a bit more in the country. I felt like there was more to see than we actually got to see. The camera obscura was awesome. At first I didn't realize it was one and then I looked up and saw that the light entered from the top of the dome...very cool. We got lunch at a cafe by the Observatory and then went to explore Greenwich and the market in town.

River Boat Cruise

I enjoyed this experience because it allowed me to see the layout of the city. I wish we had done this earlier in the trip as it would have helped me get a better sense of direction and the different neighborhoods, etc. It was really chilly up top but it was great to photograph the sites. I didn't particularly enjoy the trip back from Greenwich to London, would have liked to take the boat back as well.

Gallery SO (Gallery 2)

This was a great find on Brick Lane. The gallery is one year old and the space is truly amazing and unique. It mainly showcases jewellery. This show was called Multiples and included artists Christian Gonzenbach, Manon Van Kouswijk, David Bielander, and Lisa Walker. The front space was small and had white walls and showcases. The back space, which was through a door and across a small patio, was bigger and had brick walls with small white panels to display work. There was also table cases to display other works. I loved how most of the work was minuscule. I especially like Kouswijk's pieces which were earring studs that looked like tiny ears and necklaces made out of archive stickers and entitled Paper Pearls. David Bielander's work was also impressive. I almost didn't notice his Ladybird Brooch, which was a tiny gold ladybug brooch.