London: Art on and off the street

So, I got the obligatory (as I see it) HEYO LONDON post out of the way. There's a pattern that has developed over the years. I've been to London a handful of times now and every time I go, the first day always includes a beeline to Trafalgar Square, a walk down to Westminster Abbey and Parliament, across the bridge and along the Southbank, and then at some point back north of the river, catching the tube to whatever part of town I'm staying in that time. This time I was just north of Hyde Park in a nice little hotel, just far enough out of the central insanity of the Christmas shopping mecca, but still very close to it.

The first full I day in the city was spent walking around a bit, but the weather dissolved into steady rain so it was indoors entertainment for most of the afternoon. This included a major high point: Tate Modern. A little while ago they did a major rehang of their permanent collection (I'm not sure I'm 100% on board with it, but let's not go there), but I was particularly interested in seeing the Paul Klee exhibition (through 9 March 2014). Klee is one of the big guns of European modern art, involved closely with the Bauhaus, where he taught for ten years. He was meticulous about cataloguing his work and also note-taking about the artistic process, creating sketchbooks and notepads of diagrams and notes for use in his classes. A couple of these took the form of books, such as The Thinking Eye and Pedagogical Sketchbook (which I have an early edition of, which I'll unabashedly boast!)... it was a good show. Klee was the focus of much of my senior year as an undergraduate student, so it was cool to go back and revisit some of his work.

But I was surprised to find that I actually liked another show better. The Klee ticket could be bought in conjunction with the retrospective of Brazilian modern artist Mira Schendel for a pretty deep discount, so I decided, what the hell. I'd never heard of her, but for an extra £2 I could handle checking it out! And I have to say, it was love at first sight. Her work is totally rad, and yes, that is the technical term for it. The Tate Modern exhibition is only on for another month, through 19 January, but I would highly recommend it if you're interested in abstract art and sculpture with a firm connection to philosophy and language. I spent probably twice as much time in the Schendel show than in the Klee one, so it just goes to show... you never know.
Just some random shots outside those exhibitions at the Tate, and of course, one of the best places to snap colorful photos, the skate park with an ever-changing and encouraged array of spray art.

Cheers! Kate x

The art museum... and Vincent Price

Have I mentioned that I work part time at an art museum? Very part time, as it happens, but enough that for the last year or so, I have been working to create (from scratch!) the small museum's permanent catalogue and inventory.

The museum was "begun" only about three years ago, but it was an organization/co-op/gallery space/group since the 50s, possibly before. Some of the early involvees are still around, but the museum as it is now, is the way it is because a particular gift was made to what was previously just an art center, and the gift of a collection, along with $1m, turned it into a small museum. Suddenly, where there used to be decades' worth of lithos and paintings and drawings and tapestries that had been donated throughout the years to the art center, there was now an official "permanent collection" to go with it. And very little documentation about what was actually in the museum.

This is where I came in. Whatever was stowed in boxes, bags, storage rooms, on the wall, on the floor, in closets, in offices, etc -- I made a list. I cross-checked a big, whopping list of some 500-600 pieces, and there are still many loose ends. For about 200 of those pieces, I measured, photographed, described and catalogued every one. For the rest, I just checked to make sure they were present. But I came across some surprises -- like today. Perhaps you've never heard of Bill Forsche, but you've probably heard of the likes of Vincent Price and Kirk Douglas. Today in the storage room, I stumbled across this:



Creepy, right? Bill Forsche is a Hollywood makeup artist who was originally from Wisconsin. Hence the museum having some of his plaster casts used for films -- somewhere hidden in a box is Kiefer Sutherland, and I was a little disturbed to uncover a plaster cast of Freddy Krueger. Interesting, nonetheless!

On a totally separate note, I dug out a real trove of Native American items, and even an African spear. Excuse the kind of poor photo quality; I took these with my iPod. ;) I was totally enamored with this exceptional turtle shell pouch. It would be just big enough to hold my iPod, for scale. It was gorgeously crafted, and it was all I could do to resist putting it on.



It's days like this, and finds such as these, that remind me why working at a museum can be so awesome -- and why I'm pursuing that path academically. Whether I end up being a curator or a professor or whatever... being involved with art and artifacts can be just plain cool.


Days to Edinburgh move-in: 48

Life is just...

In addition to my full-time job as a bookseller (gotta pay those bills!), I've been working part-time at a local art museum (get that experience!), and let me just say... my days can get long.

At the museum, for the last seven months or so, I have been cataloguing every piece of work the museum owns, which means photographing, describing, measuring, storing, labeling, etc. every. single. piece. I'm only now getting to the wrapping-up stage of the project, but there are days, such as yesterday, when I put in four or more hours at the museum and then dip over to the bookstore (with a snack or an extra coffee in between) for a late eight hour shift. By the time I get home, I'm beat. Often my day off from the bookstore is spent working at the museum, so I have to plan for real days off.

So... it's mornings or evenings after a shift at the bookstore, when I have some time to myself, that I try to relish that free time and think of it like a day off. Kind of pathetic, I know, but such is the adult life of a student loan-paying, practical experience-wanting, about-to-head-to-grad-school sort of gal!

It's easy to feel stressed and pulled in too many directions, but I also think of all the ways that being busy is good:

1. Where the bookstore has given me a huge knowledge base about literature and practical leadership skills, the art museum is providing experience and knowledge in my chosen field -- both of these things lend themselves well to my future career aspirations.

2. Being busy makes me feel productive. I can get home at the end of the day, totally wiped out, and feel like I accomplished something, even if it was only a matter of shelving some books or photographing twenty paintings.

3. Staying busy makes the time fly!

That last point is my favorite of them all.

I received word from Edinburgh admissions that I will be receiving my CAS number in the next few days. The Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies number (CAS) is assigned to students in the UK to qualify them for a student visa -- to show the UK Border Agency that the student is qualified to attend the university and the university has in fact accepted them into a legit program. It's all very exciting stuff, I know, but the CAS is the necessary remaining ingredient for my visa application, and that, at least to me, is very exciting! Because then that means... AIRFARE. ;)

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Tuesday morning. I'm enjoying the spring rain outside, of the gentle, steady variety... sipping my coffee, and snacking on the best cherries ever. They're in season -- go get some! YUM.

Days to Edinburgh move-in: 95