Saturday 14th May 2016
Following "Punk London" this was the next event and luckily it was right next to the Barbican with me being there. Similar to the "Rocharchive's A Chunk of Punk" it was a small, free exhibition with a few display cases.
Having studied history at university it was interesting to find out that tattooing had been around for centuries (spanning back to the Romans and probably even before that). Sutherland Macdonald was the first professional tattooist in the capital in the 1880's. He claimed that he started the term 'tattooist' as 'tattoer' made him think of 'plumber.'
The exhibition focused on four main artists within London - Lal Hardy, Alex Binnie, Claudia de Sabe and Mo Coppoletta. Some of their personal items were on show - such as tattoo guns, religious memorabilia, paints, etc. Also, they had all created an original piece for the exhibition itself which showed the variety in styles, something I found fascinating. Alongside these were photographs and oral histories from the artists.
Art pieces ranged from religious icons to cockney rhyming slang - something I found fun to look at to see how many terms I knew. I would say that Claudia de Sabe's self portrait was my favourite piece.
Saturday, 14 May 2016
Journal Entry #4 - Barbican - "Rockarchive's A Chunk of Punk" (Punk London)
Saturday 14th May 2016
"Rockarchive's A Chunk of Punk" is a music library exhibition at the Barbican.
It seems that over the summer London is participating in a Punk event and I am going to try and follow it the best I can. I missed the first three events due to being at university, but now I am free I am going to try and attend each event. The event itself is called "Punk London" and it has been created to celebrate 40 years of Punk heritage and the influence it has had over London.
I must admit I had a bit more expectation for this exhibition at the Barbican. The exhibition was in the library and it was just a few show cases of pictures, vinyls and magazines which were all Punk related. It was quite small, but, for a free event I am still grateful for it. I found it very interesting and very informative. I have never been a big fan of Punk music, but I am interested in the cultural and political history/reasoning for the movement. The idea of anarchistic, young adults stomping around in their Dr. Martens whilst shouting and spitting is quite intriguing.
However, I feel that this 40 year celebration has romanticised the entire punk generation. They never wanted to conform and they certainly did not want to be popular and fashionable. Can I even go as far to say that they did not want to be respected, either?
Punk enthusiasts and Punk followers are still around today. I do not understand that why 40 years has influenced the Punk movement to now 'become a part of history' as it is still a movement today. Granted, it has probably dwindled throughout those forty years, but that is less than a lifetime and it is still part of the lives of some people today. Thus, I do not think it is a brilliant idea to be treating the movement like a unearthed dinosaur.
Nonetheless, this celebration of a once disrespected culture (often looked down upon by many conformers) is still in place and I find it fascinating. I think Punk is an iconic movement from England and just because I do not think it should be put on the dusty shelf just yet, does not mean that I feel a boycott for all of these events is necessary. I shall attend the events in the future as many of these bands influenced the bands that I enjoy listening to.
"Rockarchive's A Chunk of Punk" is a music library exhibition at the Barbican.
It seems that over the summer London is participating in a Punk event and I am going to try and follow it the best I can. I missed the first three events due to being at university, but now I am free I am going to try and attend each event. The event itself is called "Punk London" and it has been created to celebrate 40 years of Punk heritage and the influence it has had over London.
I must admit I had a bit more expectation for this exhibition at the Barbican. The exhibition was in the library and it was just a few show cases of pictures, vinyls and magazines which were all Punk related. It was quite small, but, for a free event I am still grateful for it. I found it very interesting and very informative. I have never been a big fan of Punk music, but I am interested in the cultural and political history/reasoning for the movement. The idea of anarchistic, young adults stomping around in their Dr. Martens whilst shouting and spitting is quite intriguing.
However, I feel that this 40 year celebration has romanticised the entire punk generation. They never wanted to conform and they certainly did not want to be popular and fashionable. Can I even go as far to say that they did not want to be respected, either?
Punk enthusiasts and Punk followers are still around today. I do not understand that why 40 years has influenced the Punk movement to now 'become a part of history' as it is still a movement today. Granted, it has probably dwindled throughout those forty years, but that is less than a lifetime and it is still part of the lives of some people today. Thus, I do not think it is a brilliant idea to be treating the movement like a unearthed dinosaur.
Nonetheless, this celebration of a once disrespected culture (often looked down upon by many conformers) is still in place and I find it fascinating. I think Punk is an iconic movement from England and just because I do not think it should be put on the dusty shelf just yet, does not mean that I feel a boycott for all of these events is necessary. I shall attend the events in the future as many of these bands influenced the bands that I enjoy listening to.
Friday, 13 May 2016
Journal Entry #3 - The Natural History Museum - "Otherworlds: Visions of our Solar System"
Friday 13th May 2016
I went to this exhibition after the "Exploring Space" talk so I did have a bit of a space themed day.
This exhibition is a photographic gallery by Michael Benson, containing music by Brian Eno. The gallery is absolutely breathtaking. Benson has managed to make the photographs so clear and so pristine, and the detail is just unimaginable. The photographs ranged from planets, moons, asteroids and stars and I must say the experience was phenomenal. There is something quite therapeutic about these images as you could just stare at them for hours in order to talk in the detail. My favourite pieces were probably those containing the Sun as the images were so striking and the colours so vivid.
Thank you Michael Benson and Brian Eno for bringing a calming environment to such a chaotic place such as the universe - one that brings more questions than it answers.
I went to this exhibition after the "Exploring Space" talk so I did have a bit of a space themed day.
This exhibition is a photographic gallery by Michael Benson, containing music by Brian Eno. The gallery is absolutely breathtaking. Benson has managed to make the photographs so clear and so pristine, and the detail is just unimaginable. The photographs ranged from planets, moons, asteroids and stars and I must say the experience was phenomenal. There is something quite therapeutic about these images as you could just stare at them for hours in order to talk in the detail. My favourite pieces were probably those containing the Sun as the images were so striking and the colours so vivid.
Thank you Michael Benson and Brian Eno for bringing a calming environment to such a chaotic place such as the universe - one that brings more questions than it answers.
Journal Entry #2 - The Natural History Museum - "Exploring Space"
Friday 13th May 2016
Today was not a typical Friday 13th and it certainly was not an unlucky one. I went to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London, as I heard they have space themed events going on. I absolutely love anything to do with space and the universe, and have many books and documentaries on this topic. Luckily for me in the Attenborough Studio from 15:45 to 16:30 there was a space talk called "Exploring Space."
The Natural History Museum is prided on its collection of meteorites (rocks that have traveled through space and landed on Earth) and the collection is often studied by scientists around the world. The curator of this collection is Dr Caroline Smith and she was one the people taking part in this talk. She is a remarkable woman and the way she explained meteorites, where to find them, how to find them, and so on was so easy to follow and she did this in such a well presented, educated (yet humorous) manner.
Even more luckily for me on a typically unlucky day was the fact that we had Dr Ryan Zeigler in the country to join Dr Caroline Smith with this talk/interview. Zeigler has a very impressive job. He works for NASA, in their Johnson Space Center (Texas) as their Apollo Sample Curator, thus, his expertise sits with lunar samples. The center holds the samples brought back from the Apollo lunar explorations, which are all held in a facility that cannot be contaminated.
This talk/interview was so insightful and for a free event it was magnificent. I learnt so much in those 45 minutes and I am so glad that I went. The guests were funny and approachable and spoke in a way that anyone could understand. They did not use a ton of technical space jargon that would have left the viewers confused. I know some information on space, yet no where near as much as these great people, yet I followed their conversation with ease and was able to learn a great deal.
If another opportunity like this pops up, I will definitely go and I highly recommend it.
Today was not a typical Friday 13th and it certainly was not an unlucky one. I went to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London, as I heard they have space themed events going on. I absolutely love anything to do with space and the universe, and have many books and documentaries on this topic. Luckily for me in the Attenborough Studio from 15:45 to 16:30 there was a space talk called "Exploring Space."
The Natural History Museum is prided on its collection of meteorites (rocks that have traveled through space and landed on Earth) and the collection is often studied by scientists around the world. The curator of this collection is Dr Caroline Smith and she was one the people taking part in this talk. She is a remarkable woman and the way she explained meteorites, where to find them, how to find them, and so on was so easy to follow and she did this in such a well presented, educated (yet humorous) manner.
Even more luckily for me on a typically unlucky day was the fact that we had Dr Ryan Zeigler in the country to join Dr Caroline Smith with this talk/interview. Zeigler has a very impressive job. He works for NASA, in their Johnson Space Center (Texas) as their Apollo Sample Curator, thus, his expertise sits with lunar samples. The center holds the samples brought back from the Apollo lunar explorations, which are all held in a facility that cannot be contaminated.
This talk/interview was so insightful and for a free event it was magnificent. I learnt so much in those 45 minutes and I am so glad that I went. The guests were funny and approachable and spoke in a way that anyone could understand. They did not use a ton of technical space jargon that would have left the viewers confused. I know some information on space, yet no where near as much as these great people, yet I followed their conversation with ease and was able to learn a great deal.
If another opportunity like this pops up, I will definitely go and I highly recommend it.
Sunday, 8 May 2016
Journal Entry #1
My name is Sarah and I'm studying BA History (final year) so I have a natural interest in the past. I am coming up to my last exam, so my degree will be finished shortly.
The reasons behind this blog are both personal and interesting. I decided that because my time at university was not the culture driven, architecture seeing, art admiring, theatre watching, museum visiting experience that I expected it to be, I have dedicated my summer to a discovery of culture, hence writing a 'Journal of Cultural Discovery.' Cultural discovery? Self discovery? Both can be applied as long as the end goal is widening my knowledge. I have found in life that you will miss out on doing things that you want to do if you are too busy waiting around on someone else to come with you. Thus, my journey will be predominantly limited to just me. However, this is not a journey of sadness or pity - it is one of independence. This is a journey aimed to open one's mind and becoming more educated in culture and the unusual. To become one with the world and reach some type of inner-peace, containing calmness and mindfulness. I seek to explore the minds' of others and see the beauty that they see, because, how often do we look but not see? I wish to inspire other young, like-minded people like myself to engage with their surroundings and acknowledge how beautiful the world can actually be.
I will do this through a series of (mostly) reviews of activities I have participated in. I live in London so most of my days will be spent in town. I have started by joining 'Young Barbican' which I highly recommend to anyone between the ages of 14-25 and it's for the Barbican on the South Bank. They mostly have free events, however, some events only allow entrance with the purchase of a ticket. By joining this group you get well discounted tickets and do not have to pay a booking fee. They have a range of events ranging from theatre, dance, art, film and music.
I have also joined 'Student Standby' which is in association with the Royal Opera House, and they, too, offer discounted tickets to ballet performances etc.
I look forward to starting my journey after May 10 (my final exam) and I look forward to posting reviews and updates. I hope I attend somewhere that sparks an interest for any reader and entices you to go and explore.
The reasons behind this blog are both personal and interesting. I decided that because my time at university was not the culture driven, architecture seeing, art admiring, theatre watching, museum visiting experience that I expected it to be, I have dedicated my summer to a discovery of culture, hence writing a 'Journal of Cultural Discovery.' Cultural discovery? Self discovery? Both can be applied as long as the end goal is widening my knowledge. I have found in life that you will miss out on doing things that you want to do if you are too busy waiting around on someone else to come with you. Thus, my journey will be predominantly limited to just me. However, this is not a journey of sadness or pity - it is one of independence. This is a journey aimed to open one's mind and becoming more educated in culture and the unusual. To become one with the world and reach some type of inner-peace, containing calmness and mindfulness. I seek to explore the minds' of others and see the beauty that they see, because, how often do we look but not see? I wish to inspire other young, like-minded people like myself to engage with their surroundings and acknowledge how beautiful the world can actually be.
I will do this through a series of (mostly) reviews of activities I have participated in. I live in London so most of my days will be spent in town. I have started by joining 'Young Barbican' which I highly recommend to anyone between the ages of 14-25 and it's for the Barbican on the South Bank. They mostly have free events, however, some events only allow entrance with the purchase of a ticket. By joining this group you get well discounted tickets and do not have to pay a booking fee. They have a range of events ranging from theatre, dance, art, film and music.
I have also joined 'Student Standby' which is in association with the Royal Opera House, and they, too, offer discounted tickets to ballet performances etc.
I look forward to starting my journey after May 10 (my final exam) and I look forward to posting reviews and updates. I hope I attend somewhere that sparks an interest for any reader and entices you to go and explore.
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