Honing In

Well, my dissertation topic has been decided. Originally, I was hoping to write on the work of the Pre-Raphaelites, a group who, if you regularly visit my little corner of cyberspace, you know quite well that I am a tad infatuated with. In fact, the PRB was the main reason I chose to earn my Masters degree in Manchester. It seems, however, that they will not be the focus of my research, as the professor who would have been ideal supervising my project with be out of the country until next September...

NEVERTHELESS, I will remain a true Pre-Raphaelite enthusiast, perhaps even incorporating them into my second semester essays. Yet, they will be sadly absent from my dissertation. Le sigh. Anyways, there is no future for a PRB specialist in the US... (this is how I am consoling myself, anyways).

So, instead I will be exploring the images of Robert Mapplethorpe!! Yayyyy! Well, kind of. At least he is deliciously controversial, which I love. It should be an interesting topic which will coincide nicely with my second semester coursework. Mostly, I am excited to be working under the tutelage of one Carol Mavor, whom I adore and worked very well with this past semester on my infamous Proust / Boltanski project. With Carol as my supervisor, I am quite confident in my subject and am actually kind of looking forward to it, in a sick sado-masochistic sort of way. Oh, here's a sampling of my new main man :

Robert Mapplethorpe, Thomas, 1987

My ideas for my project are quite broad at the moment, as they ought to be, I suppose. Anyways, my dissertation will end up being something brilliant about ol' Rob's photographs explored through a discussion of queerness and the male gaze. Good fun, right? I hope so...

Adventures in Manchester

I went on a plethora of art adventures yesterday... Manchester really does offer a great deal in the realm of visual arts and, best of all, museums are free in this part of the world. The US really ought to adopt this phenomenon. It's very helpful for poor Uni students such as myself.

So, Sippel and I took the day yesterday to adventure around Salford, which is a town just a bit outside of Manchester. It's quite a pretty little corner, as the canal runs directly through the Salford Quays, allowing for lots of picturesque little footbridges and such.

Our first stop was at the Lowry, which holds two theatres and three gallery spaces. They have a permanent exhibit with the works of LS Lowry, an Mancunian artist with a penchant for industrial scenes and "matchstick men".

LS Lowry, Coming from the Mill, 1930

In addition to the Lowry permanent collection, there were two other exhibits on view, both of which were quite entertaining. The curators at the Lowry really strive to bring eclectic, family-friendly exhibits to the space, and their current exhibit on pop-up book art is no exception. Pop-Up Around the World presents popular monuments from around the globe in pop-up form, as well as a corner for gallery goers to create their own pop-ups. Good fun.

(My apologies for the low-quality photos. My camera has nearly reached its end...)

In addition to the kid-oriented exhibits (which are always my favorite), the Lowry also puts on some brilliant photo exhibitions. The current one presents photographs from the Guardian over the last century. A Long Exposure: 100 Years of Guardian Photography offers press photos in an art context, really allowing viewers to consider the skill and artistic eye of these images. It was quite interesting seeing the photograph in a gallery setting and then viewing it within the context of the newspaper. Indeed, the setting of an art piece has the ability to change its meaning.

After the Lowry, Kristy and I headed over to the Imperial War Museum. It was certainly a different experience from the war museums in the states, which are much more sterile. Upon entering the space, we found ourselves immersed in darkness with sounds of bombs and gunfire echoing throughout the hall. It was pretty intense, but makes clear the completely different attitude that most Brits have towards the world wars. Certainly, having these wars occur so close to home makes the British perspective inherently different than the American one. That aside, the museum housed some interesting relics, devoted a good deal of space to women in war, and ended with a pretty political message on modern-day warfare and the myth of peace.

I would have liked to explore the war museum more, but Kristy and I had to jet off back to Manchester for an exhibition opening at the Cornerhouse. We met Larissa and Zara there and took in the new exhibition, Interspecies, which included films on monkeys, a fish one could communicate with through electromagnetic impulses, and a performance piece of a woman living with a pig named Deliah for 36 hours. The exhibit was a tad incongruous, but was still interesting, particularly a film by Rachel Mayeri which explored the similarities between human and primate social interactions. Quite amusing, actually. 

So, all in all, the day was pretty much brilliant. Moral of the story, Manchester has some interesting cultural offerings which are good fun to explore. Yet, the Manchester Art Gallery will still always be my favorite because it houses my Pre-Raphaelite loves. Le sigh.

Note: This didn't actually happen yesterday, but a few days ago. I am just lazy and didn't finish the post until this point. Between now and then... Kristy has left us to head back to Wisconsin-land. Tis a sad story, but it gave us the excuse we needed to have a kick ass going away party weekend. We will miss you, Sippel!

"The rest is silence..."

--For Anch--

John Everett Millais, Ophelia, 1882

When down her weedy trophies and herself

Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide,

And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up;

Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes,

As one incapable of her own distress,

Or like a creature native and indu'd

Unto that element; but long it could not be

Till that her garments, heavy with their drink,

Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay

To muddy death.

--Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1601

Waterhouse does have a few of her (the Pre-Raphaelites did love their tragic women), although they depict scenes before and after her drowning, not whilst it is occurring like Millais.  I do like the Millais best, but this one by Waterhouse is lovely as well:

John William Waterhouse, Ophelia, 1894

It looks almost as if it could be an extension of his Hylas and the nymphs, no? As though Hylas is being pulled to his watery grave just behind her. It's all very tragic, but so very, very pretty. As Claudius says:

Are you like the painting of a sorrow,

A face without a heart?

"I am half sick of shadows..."

John William Waterhouse, The Lady of Shallot, 1888

And down the river's dim expanse

Like some bold seer in a trance,

Seeing all his own mischance --

With a glassy countenance

Did she look to Camelot.

And at the closing of the day

She loosed the chain, and down she lay;

The broad stream bore her far away,

The Lady of Shalott.

Lying, robed in snowy white

That loosely flew to left and right --

The leaves upon her falling light --

Thro' the noises of the night,

She floated down to Camelot:

And as the boat-head wound along

The willowy hills and fields among,

They heard her singing her last song,

The Lady of Shalott.

~Tennyson, The Lady of Shallot, 1842

Just... tired.

I wish I could sleep at night. I've developed a recurring case of insomnia since arriving in the UK and it's maddening. 4:15 am, eyes fixated on the ceiling, no respite in sight. Bollocks.

I really loathe the night. Being alone in the dark with nothing for my brain to distract itself with, this leads to nothing but trouble. My thoughts inevitably circle around some pseudo-profound life philosophy and I find myself in the throes of an existential mini-crisis. I always convince myself that I've reached some point of enlightenment, that the next day life is going to be spectacularly different because I've worked out a new life for myself in my mind. Of course, the next morning life continues in the same mundane fashion as the day before. 

Anyways, it's taxing, going through a new identity crisis every night. I wish I could just... sleep. Or, better yet, I wish I didn't need to sleep at all. Overrated, right? Right. Ahem.

Fuseli, The Nightmare, 1781

Cry, Baby, Cry

I have a sliver. In the palm of my hand. It plagues me.

In other, much more important news : CEASE FIRE!

"Israel announced a unilateral cease-fire on Saturday evening in the three-week-old war in Gaza that has killed at least 1,200 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Israelis in a televised address: 'The conditions have been created that our aims, as declared, were attained fully, and beyond.'"

1,200 Palestinians ... 13 Israelis 

Glad your goals were attained, and beyond, Olmert.

A Garden of Internet Delights

As much as I hate Google Earth for its Big-Brother-esque tampering with the spheres of privacy, this is pretty much amazing.

The Museo del Prado in Madrid is opening its collections to the eyes of Google Earth, allowing people to navigate through its galleries from home. They are offering fourteen paintings (nay, masterpieces) in insanely high-resolution, allowing crazies like me to get up close and personal with the likes of Fra Angelico, Velazquez, Goya... without getting yelled at by up-tight museum guards in Spanish. In addition to this (YES, there IS more...) we get to listen to the audio guides whilst indulging our eyes in pure bliss. 

Ah, we also get to look at this guy: 

Hieronymous Bosch, Garden of Earthly Delights, 1503/4

I've always loved Bosch for his intricacies... and now I get to see all of his debaucherous details. Brilliant. I'm not sure if I am nerding out about this a little too much... but, well, I am kind of an art nerd... and it's AWESOME.

I wonder what Benjamin (who, to explain it very basically, claimed that art in the modern age has lost its inherent visual 'aura'  due to photographic reproductions) would have to say about this development. In any case, I find it to be absolutely brilliant (if you hadn't gathered...). I can't wait to go play!

Update: Check out the Museo del Prado homepage if you are having trouble with the direct link. They will lead you to this wonderfulness!