Burlington Gardens Festival 2015

The Burlington Gardens Festival is part of Brown’s London Art Weekend with a series of events held at the entrance on Burlington Gardens to the Royal Academy of Arts. The festival was held on Saturday 4 July 2015.

Outside on Burlington Gardens, the road had become a car-free zone with activities and food stalls with a picnic table. A drawing workshop is set up outside which encourages participants to draw the movements of acrobats make as they enact the movements of the Unexpected Hill art installation. There are colouring in activities for the children to get stuck in to.

 

 

 

 

There is also the Raze Bloom by Rachael Champion which explores landscapes and architecture, which is a look at how real estate developments bring down the natural landscapes in order to build properties.

On the inside, there are other art installations to set the eyes on such as Unexpected Hill by SO? Architecture and Ideas, which is a wall of ceramic tiles which are all in different shapes and sizes and are able to position them to form different structures.

 

An Interactive T-shit printing area has touch screens with preloaded print designs which can be adjourned to the materials creating a customisable T-shirt. It is brought together by Epson and YR-STORE with designs by the Royal Academy Schools students, tutors and associated artists.

There are performances with one which I absolutely loved was HERD by Richard Wilson RA + Breathing Space which were the use of voice, metal and cello playing on the acoustics of the architectural structure of the building.

#BLAW2015

London's Roman Amphitheatre

London’s Roman Amphitheatre is housed underneath Guildhall Art Gallery. The Roman Amphitheatre was open to the public in 2002 after 2,000 years of when it was first erected.

It was a complete mystery to Historians as to where the Roman Amphitheatre was or if there even was one, especially the fact that London was known to the Romans as “Londinium”. It was not until 1988 that the Amphitheatre was found after it was dug up following the plans to expand the Art Gallery, with excavations finally completed in 1996.

It was originally built in AD 70 as a timber structure, raised by wooden bench seating, with a calculation of the size round about 100m by 85m. It was improved in the 2nd century with rebuilt walls and the surfaces of the arena were laid soft sand on a bed of gravel mixed together with mortar. It is estimated that the arena can hold up to 6,000 spectators.

The arena was used for public entertainment, gladiatorial battles and public executions. There was a chamber with an altar, so that gladiators were able to pray before the battle for the lives began. In the chamber running opposite them held the ferocious animal, usually a lion, that they would be pit against. Gladiatorial combat came to end at the end of the 4th century possibly due to the rise of the religion of Christianity.

Public executions were done and the timber drains can still be found at the structure. The timber drains washed away the blood with heavier items dropping into a crevice. Coins adorned with the face of the Emperor were found in the pit as well, which could be viewed at the Museum of London.

The Roman Amphitheatre along with the Art Gallery is free to visit and a 360 degrees tour can also be viewed online as part of visitlondon’s series of virtual tours.

#RomanAmphitheatre

Guildhall Art Gallery

Guildhall Art Gallery is home to some of City of London’s corporation’s 4,000 artwork with the some others held at the Old Bailey and Mansion House. The art gallery has recently undergone many changes which sees new displays with state-of-the-art lighting system as a way of celebrating its 15th Anniversary Re-hang. London’s Roman Amphitheatre can be found within the Art Gallery. In 1886, the surrounding buildings in Guildhall were turned into the Art Gallery and only bought pictures of London which came to market.

Views from outside the balcony window are in sight of St Lawrence Jewry, City Business Library (sporting the Coat of Arms) and the Guildhall. Looking at Guildhall Yard, you can find a curve on the tiled grounds, which is the exact location of the outline of where the Roman Theatre is on that level and underneath.

The gallery is split into different sections: Home, Imagination, Work, Love, Leisure, Faith and London. The balcony level of the gallery are all of the Victorian period with the exclusion of one image. The following are paintings of paintings that were given a background history on a tour provided by the Gallery staff:

William Shakespeare Burton is known for his work The Wounded Cavalier (1855) which shows a Puritan woman comforting a Cavalier Courier after he is wounded. Behind them stands a member of the parliamentary army who may be looking in disdain or jealousy at her care for their enemy.

John Collier’s Clytemnestra (1882) tells a story of Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon. Menelaus had asked Agamemnon for help when his wife Helen was taken from Sparta to Troy. Agamemnon seeking advice from the religious leaders told him to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to the gods in order for the winds to turn as it was working against them. Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter in order for his troops to set sail to Troy.

Agamemnon fought the Trojan War for 10 years and during this time, Clytemnestra having believed that her husband was dead, took in a lover. However, Agamemnon returned from the war with a mistress. Clytemnestra discovered that her daughter was murdered, becoming severely angered, she begun to plot against him. Having ran a bath for both Agamemnon and his mistress, she called for both to come in which she then beheaded the both. The depiction shows what had happened “after the murder”.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s La Ghirlandata (1873) is full of imagery of love from the garlands to the harp, yet it is punctuated with flowers of Monkshood at the painting of the painting. The artist Rossetti founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood with two other artists as a way to rebel against the teachings of Royal Academy of Art as they encouraged their students to follow in the likes of artists like Leonardo da Vinci. These artists started a second wave of artists that didn’t follow on from using old paint, which required a second coating, hence changing the form of the original art. The prices of art during this era increased as a doing of Andrew Lloyd Webber, who bought up many for his collection.

John Everett Millais’s My First Sermon (1863), the one on the right, shows a portrait of his daughter who was made to sit down as her father drew her on the canvas. He was requested to come up with an artwork for an exhibition for the year after, thus creating My Second Sermon (1863), which was a humorous take on his first portrait when he had his daughter fall asleep after being sat through the paintwork. People were worried as the Archbishop of Canterbury was to give a speech at the exhibition on his new art of a girl having fallen asleep. In the end, they were relieved to find that the Archbishop took it lightly and made a joke that he was to keep an eye on the sermon in case they - like the girl - had fallen asleep.

John Singleton Copley’s Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar (1782) shows the moment of the siege of Gibraltar in 1782 which is held in the Copley Room of the Art Gallery. The painting itself took months for Copley to paint and he ended up with no money, so he set up a tent in Green Park for people to view the artwork for 4 shillings. During World War II, they feared that the artworks could be destroyed in the onslaught of the war and as the artwork was massive in size, they rolled it up. Even better for doing so as the gallery was completed destroyed following a bomb being dropped within the vicinity. The gallery was reopened again in 1999 by the Queen with the painting re-hung in 2010.

James Tissot’s Too Early (1873) is a literal take on the title itself, which I find to play on its own humour. The organiser (the lady on the far left) is engulfed in chatter about the music arrangements for the evening’s party, unbeknownst to her that there is a guest present in the hall. Appearing by the door some feet away from the organiser has two maids peering, having heard a guest has arrived early, as they share a giggle among themselves. The guest herself seems embarrassed by the situation as she looks down slightly while she brings her fan up to herself. It will only be a matter of time before the organiser is caught off guard having behold the sight of one of her guest arriving early. Her shock will only be monetary though, as by the doorway you’ll find that there are other guests appearing.

James Tissot’s The Last Evening (1873) is a work of ambiguity with different interpretations taken from the picture of the French naval. Some critics have pointed out that it could be the lady in the armchair’s “last evening” as she seems quite sickly with a blanket drawn up to her. There are other interpretations that show that it could be the last journey of the people on the boat as they are surrounded by a somewhat gloomy sky and lifeboats which is a representation of a disaster that is imminent. Even the riggings which spun like webs seem to entrap them to their fate.

William Logsdail’s The Ninth of November, 1888 (1890) shows the Lord Mayor’s procession taking place. The tradition started off by King John who sought a Mayor chosen by the people and had the Mayor travel to swear loyalty to the Crown, which was set up then by the London County Council. The event is now held on the second Saturday of November. In this image, there are many things that are occurring and encouraged to be look at such as the boy in the bottom right as he warns of an impending doom of the carriage running over a gentleman’s hat if he does not pay him a ransom for it.

John Michael Wright’s Sir Hugh Wyndham, Judge of the Common Pleas (1670) shows 1 of 22 fire judges, appointed with this title following the Great Fire of London in 1666. They made legal decisions on whether people’s home were actually where they stated it to be in which they will give authorisation for them to rebuild their homes. Not only were homes lost but workshops as well, so they some would be left without any source of income until they had rebuilt their homes. The Lord Mayor felt that a great debt was owed to the fire judges.

William Miller’s The Ceremony of Administering the Mayoralty Oath to Nathaniel Newnham, 8 November 1782 (date unknown) shows the handover of the from the previous to the new mayor where  you can find all the fire judges in this image. Richard Paton and Francis Wheatley’s The Lord Mayor’s Procession by Water to Westminster London, 9 November 1789 (1789 - 1792) shows the Lord Mayor’s procession taking place down the river.

Moving more on to the modern times, you can find Leadenhall Market (1968) done by Jaqueline Stanley (top left) which was the location used to film a scene from Harry Potter. On the top right, you can see Smithfield Market (1969) showcasing the carcasses which was also painted by Stanley.

The Guildhall Art Gallery is free to go and you can do their highlights tour on the Friday with different tour guides at different times giving background history and their views on their selections of painting. You can also view the London’s Roman Amphitheatre which is just at the bottom of the Art Gallery.

#GuildhallArtGallery

View Tube and Greenway

View Tube is located in the Greenway of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the southern regions. What View Tube has to offer are a raised balcony, plant beds for growing food, café exhibitions and a café. The concept of is to bring green living into our day-to-day life. It is open every day between 09:00 to 17:00.

The balcony offers views of the Stadium, the ArcelorMittal Orbit and the London Aquatics Stadium. There are bike hires for individuals, families of four and groups of ten. View Tube runs every Friday morning maintenance of their plant beds which grow fruits, vegetables and herbs, which can be found outside on the grounds of View Tube and dotted along the Greenway. There are exhibitions on show at all times of the year showcasing works of different artists. The café run by Moka Café offers fresh, homemade food to settle down.

The Greenway itself runs through a 7km sewage system which is maintained by Thames Water. Greenway is a footpath that is used with many runners and cyclists due to its scenic and long route.

#ViewTube #Greenway

Chinese New Year Celebrations 2015

Kung Hei Fat Choi! It’s Chinese New Year! Chinese New Year was on 12 February 2015 celebrating Year of the Sheep which happens to be my zodiac. Celebrations for the London event took place on Sunday 22 February 2015.

The event started with a parade down Shaftesbury Avenue showcasing different styles of Chinese culture. Taking centre stage at the Shaftesbury Avenue Stage were performances of dramatization, martial arts and dance with music which included strangely K-Pop.

With events taking full swing, Trafalgar Square Stage opened up with fireworks and speeches of different representatives of the events and the Chinese community. In the surrounding areas, there were stalls with freebies galore, Chinese food and drinks. Met Police were there at hand to offer advice on staying safe at the event near their double decker bus. Next door to them were the Royal Air Force giving experiences of taking flight into the air. The design on it is reminiscent of the Chinese flag of the 5 stars in the corner.

On Charing Cross road, you’ll be able to find the Leicester Square and Charing Cross Performance Hub with performances of different kinds which includes martial arts. Just nearby, there were small rides adorned with Chinese decorations and lanterns.

In Chinatown, there were many things to do such as enjoying the views of the Chinese lanterns of all different colours on display, watching and following the lions as they dance their way around Chinatown. There were many food stalls placed outside their respective restaurants. There was also a pop up exhibition in the Q Car Park.

#CNY2015LDN