Winter Travel: London Part I
For this winter holiday, I have been lucky to be visiting Europe again, and my first stop this time is one of my favorite places in the world: London!
I love London because not only are people so educated and refined, but this wonderful city has two of my favorite museums. The first one is the Victoria and Albert Museum, which houses the most complete and impressive jewelry collection I have ever seen. It has pieces dating from the time of the Etruscans to pieces from contemporary designer today. It really is breathtaking and complete historically speaking.
Some of the most impressive and inspirational pieces I saw this year are:
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| Brooch, designed and engraved by Malcolm Appleby, made by Roger Doyle, 1975. |
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| Bracelet, Kazumi Nagano, 2006 |
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| Tiara, Henry Wilson (1864 - 1934), about 1908 |
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| Spray ornament, maker unknown, about 1850 |
My second favorite museum is the Tate Modern, with its collection of art ranging from 1900 to today. This museums is very special in an expensive city like London because admission is always free, except for special exhibitions, making art accessible to everyone who has the desire to learn about it. And at the Tate there is just so much to take in.
This years' special exhibition really took my breath away. It was titled "I Decided Not to Save the World," and contained works from artists such as Mounira Al Solh, Yto Barrada, Mircea Cantor and the collective Slavs and Tatars. These talented people devised playful interventions into their everyday environment, combining social comment and investigation with humour or irony to throw off our habits of thinking. Emerging from the specific contexts in which they are working, the light-hearted approach of these works belies the artists’ acute socio-political insights. Here are some of my favorites.
It's not just the art that keeps me coming back for more. London is very modern and complex city, with many many streets to get lost in, museums to visit, and interesting people to meet. Today I highlighted my two favorite museums, but next time I will go more in depth into the culture of this amazing English city. Don't forget...
Happy New Year to all of my friends and followers!
Dani K
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