When I stepped off the plane, something was different in the air...then I realized it was the smell of fresh, green grass! Amazing, being somewhere where not everything is completely iced over and grey. The weather was so much better than Berlin. It really lifted my spirits.
I spent the first few days in London and then continued on to Oxford.
On Thursday I had some business meetings (fancy!) in London in the morning, then spent the afternoon at the V&A. They have an awesome and much-publicized show on right now called "Decode: Digital Design Sensations." The show was small, but awesome. It "showcases the latest developments in digital and interactive design, from small, screen-based, graphics to large-scale interactive installations." The first piece fills a small dark hallway leading into the exhibition and consists of patches of long and thin flexible plastic sticks with LED lights on the end. The overall effect is a kind of futuristic marsh grass. The lights turn on and off based on movement and touch and make a cute little beeping noise as they do so. I took a video:
And several photos:
Pretty neat, eh?
My favorite pieces, predictably, were the interactive ones. There was one with a big screen which, if you stood in front of it, registered your body's movement as if it was a brush moving across the page. So every flick of the wrist or turn of the head turned into a burst of color on the screen. I also spent ages playing with a piece that consisted of a bunch of black sand over a screen. If you cleared a space in the sand, multiple images of moving microorganisms would appear on the clear patch of screen. They would multiply over time and you could lead them around by creating passages through the sand. Another piece was a screen broken up into small boxes, each of which held a very brief video recording of visitors. You could stand in front of it and press the button, do something wacky or meaningful or whatever, and it would add your image to the bigger one.
I was also very taken with a piece that showed a map of the US made up of flight patterns.
Pieces from the show were scattered around the museum, and as I went to check out the smaller partner show, "Digital Pioneers," I encountered one that delighted me: a field of small mirrors standing on legs that would find the face of a visitor and turn to "look" at it! So I could stand in front of all these mirrors and as soon as one of them "noticed" me, the rest would all turn to me too.
"Digital Pioneers" was fascinating, showcasing the first artists who used computers to make art. The very first artists who worked this way wrote their own algorithms to get the computer to make images. Later when imaging software was introduced, those who continued to write their own algorithms were known as "algorists." One man, Desmond Paul Henry, adapted a military bombsight computer with a swinging component to hold a paintbrush and produced beautiful, ethereal paintings with it. It was a really interesting show, and I found myself wondering why it wasn't more prominently advertised.
I also wandered into their jewelry room, which was amazing and inspiring, and managed to see most of a show on recent fashion grads at the RCA before the museum closed and kicked me out.
The next day I went to Tate Modern with my Dad and cousin. The permanent collection was inspiring as always. I also took a peek at the just-opened show "Van Doesburg and the Internationl Avant-Garde," which was a dizzingly extensive look at the many fingers Van Doesburg had in the early 20th century avant-garde pie.
The next day...SATURDAY'S A RUGBY DAY!
After lunch with relatives, Dad and I went to see the England/Wales rugby match at Twickenham! It was my first time seeing an international match there--the only other time I'd been was for the Oxford/Cambridge varsity match in 07. I saw Prince Harry not too far from our seats! The game was close enough to be exciting and the stadium was packed with yelling, singing fans.
Sunday we had a lovely roast lunch (mmm...Yorkshire pud) with friends including Dad's adorable godson, Merlin, and then I hopped on a bus to head to Oxford!
I hadn't been since Fall 07 but it felt as if I never left. Everything's the same.
Cole and I went to the Pitt Rivers on Monday and it was my first time there. Cole rightly describes it as "like a flea market." Very visually overwhelming! It's attached to a wonderful little natural history museum, too, and I enjoyed looking at all the weird and wonderful animals. And learning that the Latin name for a gorilla is Gorilla gorilla. Haha.
I also managed to make it to the recently renovated Ashmolean (it was under construction when I was last in Oxford) and it was really lovely--light and airy and open, which it certainly wasn't the last time I went!
I sighed inwardly as my return flight landed on a field of snow. As my brother said, you know it's bad when you envy English weather. All in all a great little trip with good company & good art.
Tomorrow I head back to Leverkusen for Karneval...that should be an experience.
Bis bald,
D.
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