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UCLA Travel Study Contemporary Art in a Global City
AN INTRODUCTION to the
GLOBAL CITY
For an effort to become more acquainted with the world of contemporary art and the context from which it emerges, London provides an incredible cultural landscape to begin exploring. Possibly as a result of its history as a dominant industrial force, or possibly because of its rich diversity of people that make up the city today, London is undeniably the center of the global contemporary art world. During the four weeks of the UCLA Travel Study Program abroad in London, British art history is examined with an emphasis on the consequences of Imperialism and colonialism on the formation of a national aesthetic, and on the curatorial paradigm that would dominate during the 19th century. After visiting many of the city’s major art institutions and learning about the 1851 international Great Exhibition, whose legacy would spark a tradition of spectacular display and cultural appropriation, the idea of what Tony Bennet calls London’s “exhibitionary complex,” becomes clear. After linking the birth of the modern museum to colonial culture, the course expands on the ways in which contemporary art history has subverted its Eurocentric underpinnings, however whilst remaining faithful to the tradition of spectacular display tactics. Thankfully, the course not only focuses heavily on museum visits, but also on the inevitable insight gained from navigating London’s city streets and the various micro-cultures occupying its boroughs. Understanding a city necessitates lived experience, meeting the people who give the city its vitality, and that is exactly what we were able to enjoy.
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STROLL THOUGH WINDING STREETS
London, unlike many other European cities, never unerwent a redesign and reconstruction during modernization, and therefore it maintains street ways reminiscent of twisting cobbled roads and horse-drawn carrages. In other words, London is as far away from a grid-system as you can get, which makes for incredible exploration territory.
LOOK BOTH WAYS... AND LOOK AGAIN... Never underestimate the power of London’s characteristicly opposite street system in conjunction with the anti-grid construction of the city. Between the left-side driving and winding street ways, finding your way is basically supposed to be impossible. I happen to not mind getting lost, however I do mind almost getting hit by cars. If you didn’t learn to drive on the left hand side of the road, which the vast majority of us did not, it is obviously recomended to stay far away from getting behind the wheel. However, the simple act of walking isn’t exactly exempt from the confusion either, as it is still necessary to navigate the London drivers shooting around corners from the absolute last place you would expect them to. Simply put, just make sure to look left, right, up, right again, backwards, and yes right again before crossing the street.
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REGENTS PARK
Regent’s park, one of the Royal Parks located in Northwest London, made for a beautiful home for the duration of the program. While much of the course incorporated ventures out into London’s museums and cultural institutions, Regent’s University provided us with both classroom space and of course a place to sleep, when we occasionally did so. The University is situated at the southern edge of the park right next to Queen Mary’s Gardens, and right alongside a pathway that winds around and leads to the London Zoo. Naturally, a garden so large and with so many snaking pathways makes for an incredible setting for exploring, and I’m quite sure all of the students eventually found their own secret study spot. My favorite place for reading was on a bench in Queen Mary’s Rose garden right next to a very peculiar statue of a baby and a buzzard. The gardens also provided some of the most relaxing territory to wander and people watch in the early mornings or evenings. However one very important tip to keep in mind: although it can be hard to get yourself to leave, unless you want to be locked in the gardens all night long, you have to head back to the University at 9:30. I learned this the hard way, and had to climb the fence one evening along with some other park goers who didn’t know the lock up time. So although there will be no camping in the garden, you should have no problem getting in as much daytime park time as you could possibly ever need.
If UCLA happens to be your home base, I guarantee you will feel exceptionally at home in regards to the wildlife roaming around Regents Park. Simply replace the inordinate amount of UCLA squirrels running around with bits of sandwich wedged in their mouths with various flocks of ducks and geese parading in and out of the lake. If this sounds terrifying—as it would have to me—don’t worry. Coming from someone with an enormous bird phobia, these little guys were quite tame, and added some amusing energy to a stroll around the park.
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It’s pretty hard to not to get struck by an overwhelming fascination with London’s aptitude for parks, regardless of whether you decide to explore Regents Park, Hyde Park, the ever-allusive Primrose Hill (I never actually managed to locate the famous hilltop despite many visits to the park), or any of London’s other beautifully designed gardens. I by no means have visited the majority of the worlds big cities, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and name London as the city with the most inspiring public gathering spaces. With such lovely—and not to mention, enormous— public parks, you just want to be outside all the time. No wonder London is a city of runners. If you are the ambition type, like my comendable roomate was, you’ll surely embark on a daily run too. Regardless, when in London, and especially during the summer time, pack a picnic, bring a book, or simply go on a stroll and get lost in the gardens.
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TUBE
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While this might sound a little strange, one of the things I’ll surely miss most about London is the Tube. Maybe it has to do with the lack of reliable public transportation in LA, but there is something so lovely to me about the London Tube system. Whichever tube stop is closest to your London home eventually becomes an extension of what feels like home, as you pass through the gates with your oyster transportation card in hand multiple times daily. I arrived in London with minimal metro experience, save for brief stints with the New York and Paris metro systems, but I never had felt fully comfortable navigating on my own. Obviously a bit nervous, I embarked on my first tube journey clutching my iPhone, on which I had taken notes on the specific lines and stops I would need to get from point A to point B. Before my very first tube adventure, a kind young man, detecting my apparently obvious confusion as I stared at the tube map blankly, actually led me to the train I was looking for. Admittedly, I probably wouldn’t have been able to find it without asking for help, but in a new city, asking for help is to be expected. By the end of the month, Tube travel had transitioned from being a carefully planned effort to being an almost relaxing daily characteristic of London life.
TRAVELING 12
THE
MUSEUM VISITS
Naturally, an Art History course focusing on museology involves many a trip to the museum. During our stay in London, we visited The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, The British Museum, The Courtauld Institute, The Tate Modern, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Kenwood Heritage house, Sir John Soane’s Museum as well as a few art galleries, all in an attempt to examine the various ways London has scripted its art history. Because the course generally progressed from looking at older institutions to newer ones, it became apparent how certain traditions of display remain integrated in the current curatorial paradigm and others have been subverted entirely. Also, after becoming familiar with London’s Institutions, it becomes very clear how the British aesthetic has always been reliant on the curation of artworks from different countries, an aspect that places British Imperialism and colonialism as a central point of discussion.
NATIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM
TOP: ROYAL ALBERT CONCERT HALL LEFT: KING ALBERT’S MEMORIAL
SOUTH
KENSINGTON 15
During a cultural inquiry into London’s historical background, which characteristically shaped its contemporary culture of display, it is absolutely necessary to take a tour of South Kensington, part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. South Kensington’s history, particularly during the time of King Albert and Queen Victoria’s rule in the mid 19th century, laid fundamental groundwork for what would become a culture of collection, spectacular exhibition, and Eurocentric mentality during the time of coloni-
-alism and imperialism. The cornerstone event was The Great Exhibition of 1851, commonly referred to as the Crystal Palace. The Crystal Palace, organized by Prince Albert and Henry Cole, was an international exhibition built in Hyde Park that celebrated modern industrial design and technology from all over the world. Implicitly, the event also celebrated Britain as an industrial leader and for its ability to host such a grand affair of display.
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KING ALBERT’S MEMORIAL
King Albert’s memorial is situated in London’s Kensington Gardens across the street from the Royal Albert Concert Hall. Clearly, upon a visit to South Kensington, it’s hard to miss the authority of King Albert’s presence in history. The monument alone is hard to take your eyes off of, partly because of its somewhat discontinuous aesthetic with the rest of the surrounding borough, and partly because of its sheer impressiveness. It unapologetically asserts authority at a towering height of 176 feet and with a gilt bronze King Albert seated under an ornate, gothic style canopy. Particularly interesting to our class were the four allegorical statues situated at the corners of King Albert’s throne representing “Asia,”“Africa,”“America,” and “Europe.” Pictured above is the “Asia” statue, featuring a woman atop an elephant: figures that personify Europe’s apparent conception of Asia at the time. Similar to the Great Exhibition positioning Britain as a metaphorical center of the universe, here, King Albert occupies the key position in the center of the world’s continents.
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Visiting the Courtauld Institute was one of the most memorable museum visits of the program, mainly because standing a mere two inches away from the surface of Manet’s “Bar at the Folies-Bergère” will go down as the most star struck moment of my life thus far, especially with the slew of Gauguin, Seurat, and Van Gogh paintings hanging casually at all sides. I don’t think I’ve ever actually been asked to move out of the way by another museum goer while viewing a painting because I’ve been standing there too long (and I don’t care to be again), however after burning a substantial whole in my memory for the experience of the painting, I feel like I got everything I could have asked for from the visit. The Courtauld occupies the space of the Central London Somerset House, the Neoclassical manor originally designated for the site of a Tudor Palace. Now the gallery, which of course has the stunning ambiance of a beautifully decorated English manor, houses collections of sculpture and decorative arts, Baroque, Gothic, and Medieval paintings, 18th century portraiture, as well as some of the most prized impressionist and post-impressionist works of the 19th century.
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COURTAULD INSTITUTE
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MANET’S “BAR AT THE FOLIES-BERGERE” COURTAULD INSTITUTE COLLECTION
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WHAT IS BRITISH?
KENWOOD HERITAGE HOUSE A course dedicated to London’s art history understandably had to incorporate the questionable idea of heritage, as a large aspect of heritage lies in a cultures self-proclaimed aesthetics. To get a better look at how London imagines their cultural aesthetic, we headed to the Kenwood Heritage house. To me, the idea of a certain British-ness or American-ness or Indian-ness or Jamaican-ness has always seemed decidedly quite silly. Resounding essential characteristics of any culture are generally hard to pin down, and often wind up being mere institutionally concocted stereotypes. However there is no denying the fact that the Kenwood House, the former villa of Lord Mansfield as well as the Guinness family that houses a priceless art collection, is undoubtedly an arena for British spectacle. Notting Hill was partially filmed there after all, and because the English Heritage Commission took hold of the house as a symbol of national “British-ness,” I really doubt you could find a more perfect location to think about staging some high tea. Sipping english breakfast and eating a petite sandwich would be absolutely unparalleled whilst sitting next to the brilliant Rembrandt self portrait. Just pretend not to think about how tea comes from India…
LEFT: J.M.W. TURNER PAINTING, KENWOOD HOUSE ART COLLECTION
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TATE MODERN Aesthetically chaotic, massive in size, and exhaustive in content, the Tate Modern is a Museum like nothing you’ve ever witnessed. Born out of a somewhat violent postmodernist urge to subvert conventional ways of viewing modern and contemporary art, the enormous gallery space houses a labyrinth of cultural disorientation. To be slightly more specific, unlike the common curatorial program that groups artworks by time period, artist, or art movement, the Tate Modern has a tendency to arrange galleries by formal similarity, or sometimes without any recognizable correlation whatsoever. Therefore it is quite normal to happen upon a room with one of Monet’s impressionist water lilies hung adjacent to one of Turner’s realist masterpieces, or to see a room of colossal Rothko canvases after emerging from a gallery of surrealist landscapes. Didacticism is not the point of the Tate modern, and chronology is thrown out the window. To me, the most baffling curatorial assertion was the placement of an Andrea Fraser video instillation ten feet away from a small Picasso portrait. If Britain began a convention of spectacular display with Great Exhibition in 1851, the contemporary culture of display is clearly maintaining its traditional characteristic grandeur, despite the shifting paradigms.
THE MILLENNIUM FOOTBRIDGE ACROSS THE RIVER THAMES
FAVORITE FINDS
When in a new city, it is always best to do as much expoloring as you can, whether by yourself or with an adventurous companion, as you really never know what you might stumble upon. When you find a great coffee shop or art gallery without consulting yelp beforehand, the experience is almost always more memorable. However, for some inspiration, here are my favorite London finds.
HIGH TEA IN SOUTH KENSINGTON (a find by our lovely professor) FOR ENJOYING A characteristically british Afternoon passtime Location: the kensington hotel Tip: High tea includes absurdly delicious food items, so go light on lunch!
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FALA AND MOCAER: BEST COFFEE AND PASTRY SHOP PERFECT FOR RELAXED READING AND SCOPING WORK BY LOCAL ARTISTS, WHICH CHANGES EVERY FEW WEEKS. LOCATED IN CAMDEN TOWN MUST TRY: DOUBLE CHOCOLATE HOMEMADE BROWNIE
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MARyLeBONE HIGH STREET PERFECT FOR WANDERING BOUTIQUE FOOD SHOPS AND WINDOW SHOPPING LOCATED JUST SOUTH OF REGENTS PARK OFF MARYLEBONE ROAD MUST TRY: THE MARYLEBONE LYCHEE CHILI
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CAMDEN
Camden Town, which proudly asserts its cultural pride not dissimilar to Venice Beach, LA or the Mission District of San Francisco, is charged with the energy of street performers, humming crowds, open-air street markets, as well as endless possibilities for a quick bite to eat. Apart from the food, of which I gained great appreciation for due to the lack of outstanding options in other areas of the city, there is absolutely no shortage of promising music venue pit-stops. Some favorites were The Worlds End, Lock Tavern, Bar Vinyl, The Underworld, and the Electric Ballroom, but you couldn’t walk more than about a block without happening upon an incredible setting for a night out. Camden Town quickly gained notoriety amongst the group as a destination not to be missed out on. After all, it is where Any Winehouse and Russell Brand hung out. After a few experiences wandering the market place and the nightlife, I would definitely assert Camden Town as the best find for people watching, and meeting exceptionally unique characters, hands down. When in London, a visit is practically a necessity.
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CAMDEN LOCK LIVE
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One day while wandering around Camden Town, I was lucky enough to literally stumble upon the annual Camden Lock Live music and food festival. Just goes to show where exploring will get you in big cities. Equipped with multiple stages for both dance and music performances, as well as endless pop-up food stands and artisan stalls where you could find anything from antique cameras to healing gemstones, the festival quickly established itself as one of the most unique and exciting festivals I’ve been to. Not to mention it was free, and along the lovely canal. After a few hours of perusing the stalls and taking pictures, the evening slowly devolved into a relaxed hang out at the Lockside Lounge, which continued the festivities with open-mic performances by local musicians. Needless to say, Camden Lock Live was my favorite suprise find of the time in London.
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THE
London
EYE
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To finish off the month of exploring London’s “exhibitionary complex” and culture of spectacular display, the class went as a group to the London Eye—definitely fitting. The enormous Ferris wheel, situated along the River Thames, offers the tallest view of the city as well as maintains the status of the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe. After four weeks of living in London, slowing gaining an understanding of its dynamic cultural flux, its puzzling background of art historical and museological progression, and its formation of a national aesthetic, viewing the city from such a height offered a somewhat resolved sentiment to the mystified reaction I think many of us were grappling with in regard to the city. I guess anything will seem easier to wrap your head around when looked at from such an elevated perspective, as if comparable to toy models you played with as a kid. London is not a city you visit once, and I think we’ll all be back again for another look.
LONDON EYE OVERLOOKING THE RIVER THAMES AND BIG BEN
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