Living and Dying, British Museum

In room 24 i found the 'Living and Dying' exhibition. On entering the room the overall mass and variety of objects felt daunting. Only until half an hour after arriving you felt the theme really emerging. The overwhelming feeling of worry seemed to grasp me, this fear of ill-health or death seemed to stem over all diverse cultures. As any hypochondriac would know that the search for putting your mind at rest about ill-health is an exhausting issue, but it seemed belittled by the lengths that some cultures went to to prevent an illness, some practices often pointless or infact causing more damage.

One piece in particular i related to more than others was the 'Cradle to Grave' by Pharmacopoeia. Each length of fabric containing over 14,000 drugs representing the amount the average Britain takes in a lifetime. The shock of the visual aspect really makes you wonder how society today have become almost obsessive with preventing illness. The exhibition made me think that like the previous cultures and civilistions before us could our new modern obsession with medicine also be pointless or damaging?

Tomb of the unknown Craftsman, Grayson Perry

I visted the exhibition at the Bristish Museum and i liked it. The way it had been structured, the initial idea and how it was visually brought together. The idea that it was a 'memorial to unknown craftsmen' hit a sentimental note. I've always wondered as someone who makes things, when im gone (in a few hundered years) if someone found something i made would it be worthy of such presentation, in a world thats so heavily branded.

The exhibition revived pieces that were infact from a time before branding, they were admired in a time when all you judged an item on was purely for what you saw it as. Perry used a combination of skills to some what resolve his need to imput his thoughts alongside these unknown, unalknowledged makers in a respectful manner which i really liked.

Trade. East and West

Trade between East and West, Continually occuring has been for hundereds of years (apparently), Makes my life normal, without it how would i buy my mangos? What i find interesting is how we ever functioned without all these goods that are so readily available, that are so normal- especially to my generation. I mean who cares about a pineapple? i don't. But if i want one and i MAY just want one in the next 20 years, I can pick one up for £2 and i'm reaassured by this fact.

This reassureance is due to how stable i view trade. However this is far from when trade first began and how trading infact destablised existing cultures due to the availability of new goods. Europeans saw the easten world reacted to trading and whether the western world were intimmidated by some of the skills used or how quickly there cultures reacted to trade- the western world lplayed down these existing cultures as primitive. Which is reflected by art work being produced at the time. Pablo Picasso's Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907 was heavily based on African masks- But instead of picking the masks that were made with skill and metal work he based it on the most primative looking masks, in essense downgrading African art on a whole. Picasso and the Western world down played the Eastern world to a point where hundereds of years later many europeans still uphold similar perspectives.

 

Rough Guide

BOND ST. TRAFALGAR SQUARE. OXFORD ST. TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD. PICCADILLY CIRCUS.

For the first part of the ROUGH GUIDE PROJECT i was given a specific area (listed above) within London to study and to establish a 'Rough guide'.

My perspective on this brief was formed by mapping the stated area by following the movements and activities of pigeons. In essence if you saw mating pigeons you were most probably in Trafalgar square. So with a case of romanticism (perhaps not that romantic considering it was based on pigeons) i tried to disintegrate the usual view of London to a more naturalistic view.

The second part of the ROUGH GUIDE project, i looked towards three specific objects in the given area;

•  A POSTACARD from the Museum of Everything of a royal guard fainting by Dominique Theate, Untitled (2010).
• A 'COLLECTABLE' CHINA PLATE of Kate and William from a souvenier stall on Oxford street.
• A HIGH END WEDDING DRESS in a window display near Bond st.

On first reflection you can see an obvious theme emerging, The postcard depicting a line of royal guards- firstly establishing the Royal theme, Then followed with the china plate printed with the image of Prince William and Kate on their wedding day, Combined with the wedding dress, Only compliments and strengthens the Royalist influence.

However once you review these objects in conjuction with the area and initial enviroment they were found in diversities are immediatly exposed. If the china plate from the souvenier stall was placed within the museum compared against all the unique pieces it would become obvious that this 'collectible' plate is purely one of a billion cheaply man-made tat that is so readily often on any tourist spot in London. Also the wedding dress worth thousands becomes cheapened if it was hung up on a tourist stall placed next to the union-jack-over-sized hats. Lastly, If the postcard depicting a fallen guard was placed within the high end wedding dress shop window, The luxury that is established and desired is ironically deminished by the image of a fallen guard breaking the window shop set up of perfection.