I absolutely love the Natural History Museum... its crammed full of everything! its art, nature, science, beauty, gore, history, past, present, future and everything all combined under one amazingly beautiful building - always a joy to visit!
I traveled to London with a fellow student and we did manage to see and do an awful lot of things in the three days and two nights we had there. We went to New Designers in the Business Centre Islington, The Royal Academy, -I went to Chelsea Harbour to look at Designers stuff, we took a boat ride down the Thames and saw Tower Bridge opening to let a big boat through. And as an aside we learnt that Waterloo Bridge was built entirely by women during the war!!!
We had a curry on Brick Lane and on our last day we spent it at the Natural History Museum in my continued search for the right concept to concentrate on in my final year at college.
This concept is an issue for me - I really want to get it right - I'm hopelessly conscious that this is a one off opportunity to have the guidance, the facilities and the support to work through my own ideas and concept and produce work to a standard I will be proud of and which will inspire me to continue once out of an academic setting. I'm aware that I'm over thinking it and I should let what is natural just happen - for me that usually works but I'm also aware that what I start has to be something I want to finish and not lose focus over the year... and lets face it I'm good at totally unrelated tangent thinking so I need to allow for this!!!!
Anyway back the the Natural History Museum FULL of inspiration - interesting objects, colour texture and its impossible to decide which bit is the best bit.
The building itself is a high contender there - designed by Alfred Waterhouse (same chap as Manchester Town Hall) opened in 1881 as part of the British museum it is a highly decorated stunningly beautiful building inside and out. the main entrance opening onto the Hintze Hall is breathtaking and never fails to amaze me.
There was an exhibit on called the Museum of the Moon - held to celebrate the 50 anniversary of the first man on the moon. It consisted of an art work by Luke Jerram and was indeed a very interesting 6 meter model of the moon featuring meticulously detailed NASA imagery of the moons surface and accompanied by ambient music and lighting - there were apparently other things happening to support it but no programme of events anywhere to be seen and so it was a tad disappointing - a beautiful model and well presented but a little lacking in surrounding dynamics.... (not that the moon really need much to sell it - its fairly wonderful just in its own right!!) Below is close up of the model for full picture visit the website as my pictures had too many people in to look any good...https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/museum-of-the-moon.html
The rest of the museum did not disappoint and I wandered freely taking hundreds of photographs - finding myself drawn again an again to the natural textures the earth can make and how these are used for inspiration in art - I feel a concept evolving.
My not very well hidden inner and outer child comes out as I head up the escalator into the centre or the earth - its an adventure - its also an interesting piece of sculpture evoking lots of fiery, earthy, deep images, the layers trap light and sounds and its a good introduction to the inner workings of our planet.
It is here I start taking photographs of texture - texture caused by the treasury of our very own earth, some of the fossils are millions of years old, natural evolution of plant and animal life to minerals leaving fascinating lines and history. I'm looking at this entirely as an artist - searching for marks and patterns I can use to fashion beautiful designs from. I'm not the first (nor will I be the last) but its a good path to start following... there are amazing rocks, fossils, corals, everywhere you look... some thing of beauty in all objects on display.
I go next to the creepy crawlies house - again beautiful patterns often in miniature just waiting to be cultivated into lovely patterns... there's more in the Darwin Centre - enough bugs and plant life pattern to go on forever... I, however, cant go on much longer and after about 5 hours museum leg sets in - even with cake to help energy levels- also we have a train to catch home and I have too many photographs and ideas are bouncing round my head - I've got creepy crawlies patterned with ruined rocks, skeleton overload and that's without taking into account the birds and mammals I've been entranced with.... time to leave and reflect.
We only just made the train, it was a mad dash we had both got caught up in past times and completely got out of kilter with the present so it was a complete relief to finally sit back on the train and peruse each others photographs and exchange stories and ideas.
I'm home now and my photographs feel a little bit dull and insipid next the real thing...I'm a bit disappointed but also excited as I realise these patterns can be found everywhere, the NHM will be there for another visit and I can look forward to some fun down time looking for these hidden and some more obvious patterns over the summer...
I traveled to London with a fellow student and we did manage to see and do an awful lot of things in the three days and two nights we had there. We went to New Designers in the Business Centre Islington, The Royal Academy, -I went to Chelsea Harbour to look at Designers stuff, we took a boat ride down the Thames and saw Tower Bridge opening to let a big boat through. And as an aside we learnt that Waterloo Bridge was built entirely by women during the war!!!
We had a curry on Brick Lane and on our last day we spent it at the Natural History Museum in my continued search for the right concept to concentrate on in my final year at college.
This concept is an issue for me - I really want to get it right - I'm hopelessly conscious that this is a one off opportunity to have the guidance, the facilities and the support to work through my own ideas and concept and produce work to a standard I will be proud of and which will inspire me to continue once out of an academic setting. I'm aware that I'm over thinking it and I should let what is natural just happen - for me that usually works but I'm also aware that what I start has to be something I want to finish and not lose focus over the year... and lets face it I'm good at totally unrelated tangent thinking so I need to allow for this!!!!
Anyway back the the Natural History Museum FULL of inspiration - interesting objects, colour texture and its impossible to decide which bit is the best bit.
The building itself is a high contender there - designed by Alfred Waterhouse (same chap as Manchester Town Hall) opened in 1881 as part of the British museum it is a highly decorated stunningly beautiful building inside and out. the main entrance opening onto the Hintze Hall is breathtaking and never fails to amaze me.
There was an exhibit on called the Museum of the Moon - held to celebrate the 50 anniversary of the first man on the moon. It consisted of an art work by Luke Jerram and was indeed a very interesting 6 meter model of the moon featuring meticulously detailed NASA imagery of the moons surface and accompanied by ambient music and lighting - there were apparently other things happening to support it but no programme of events anywhere to be seen and so it was a tad disappointing - a beautiful model and well presented but a little lacking in surrounding dynamics.... (not that the moon really need much to sell it - its fairly wonderful just in its own right!!) Below is close up of the model for full picture visit the website as my pictures had too many people in to look any good...https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/museum-of-the-moon.html
The rest of the museum did not disappoint and I wandered freely taking hundreds of photographs - finding myself drawn again an again to the natural textures the earth can make and how these are used for inspiration in art - I feel a concept evolving.
My not very well hidden inner and outer child comes out as I head up the escalator into the centre or the earth - its an adventure - its also an interesting piece of sculpture evoking lots of fiery, earthy, deep images, the layers trap light and sounds and its a good introduction to the inner workings of our planet.
It is here I start taking photographs of texture - texture caused by the treasury of our very own earth, some of the fossils are millions of years old, natural evolution of plant and animal life to minerals leaving fascinating lines and history. I'm looking at this entirely as an artist - searching for marks and patterns I can use to fashion beautiful designs from. I'm not the first (nor will I be the last) but its a good path to start following... there are amazing rocks, fossils, corals, everywhere you look... some thing of beauty in all objects on display.
I go next to the creepy crawlies house - again beautiful patterns often in miniature just waiting to be cultivated into lovely patterns... there's more in the Darwin Centre - enough bugs and plant life pattern to go on forever... I, however, cant go on much longer and after about 5 hours museum leg sets in - even with cake to help energy levels- also we have a train to catch home and I have too many photographs and ideas are bouncing round my head - I've got creepy crawlies patterned with ruined rocks, skeleton overload and that's without taking into account the birds and mammals I've been entranced with.... time to leave and reflect.
We only just made the train, it was a mad dash we had both got caught up in past times and completely got out of kilter with the present so it was a complete relief to finally sit back on the train and peruse each others photographs and exchange stories and ideas.
I'm home now and my photographs feel a little bit dull and insipid next the real thing...I'm a bit disappointed but also excited as I realise these patterns can be found everywhere, the NHM will be there for another visit and I can look forward to some fun down time looking for these hidden and some more obvious patterns over the summer...
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