The Imperial War Museum: Cabinet War Rooms, Churchill Museum, Peace and Love

There are 5 buildings in total that make up the cabinet Imperial War Museum. These include the IWM London, IWM Duxford, IWM North IWM Belfast, Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms.

The Imperial War Museum London was formerly the Bethlehem Hospital, which was built in 1216. Because of the crowded city, the hospital was moved to Moorfields in 1811. Part of the hospital was then torn down in order to make more space for the Geraldine Mary Harmworth Park. The building that currently stands as the museum was built by James Lewis around 1811. *3

Exhibitions in the Imperial War Museum include works done by contemporary artists, and as well as artists living during various wars. There are also object, news, and description exhibitions on WWI, WWII and the Holocaust. The latter is by far the most emotionally draining.

The most affecting parts of the Holocaust exhibit were the vivid descriptions of mass manslaughter that the Nazi’s performed as well as the meager belongings of the imprisoned Jews, sympathizers, gays, and mentally retarded.

http://london.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.00b005

Most of all, the exhibit made me ask 2 overarching questions:

1. How could humanity get to the point of holocaust? What was it that blinded so many people of the atrocities they were committing?

2. If I was in those circumstances–born in a Nazi German family, indoctrinated at school, was surrounded by Aryan propaganda–would I act similarly.

Churchill Museum at the Cabinet War Rooms was added in 1984 to the exhibit. The Cabinet War Rooms refers to the hidden underground safe-hold where Chiefs of Staff would meet and discuss logistics during the outbreak of war WWII. The size of the rooms were small, the furniture was simple, the walls sparse with a few maps adding “decoration,” and there were ashtrays abounding. However nifty the shelter was, Churchill did not like being in it much. (Go figure.) He would much rather go to the roof of the building and watch the action from a bird’s eye view- much to his advisor’s distress.

http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.4467

After the war (1943), the Transatlantic telephone cable was added to the building. This served as the connector between Churchill and LB Johnson and the Pentagon in the US. The building was not without faults, however. It was overall fairly uncomfortable. The plumbing facilities were sub par. Meaning there was no automatic way of clearing out sewage, windows were absent, rooms were small and morale could be low. *1

Churchill was born at blenheim palace on 30 November 1874 when his family was a party at their relatives’ house. The room in which his presence received on this mortal earth currently has locks from his “ginger hair.” His father was politician Lord Randolph Churchill, his mother Jenie Jerome–an American Heiress. He Fought in Boer War in 1899, as did Gandhi. His marriage with Clementine was a happy one. He was often near her and she was his confident on all sorts of issues, war-related and otherwise. He was appointed as PM in 1940 succeeding Chamberlain. He was also an artist as he painted often. These works were not to be displayed for many years to his demand, but have since been put up in Blenheim Palace.

http://www.churchillsociety.org/churchill-victory.jpg

(I’m not sure if this is the symbol for “peace” or “victory.”)

England rallied around the stalwart Churchill during the war. He would address the country over radio to keep the people informed and to ensure them of their unceasing commitment to victory.*2 Churchill embodies the term great war leader. While he claimed to “not become the King’s First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire,” India, Pakistan, Burma, and several African countries finally gained independence from the colonial rule of Great Britain. *4

Telling quotes of Churchill’s character:

- “Those who can win a war well can rarely make a good peace, and those who could make a good peace would never have won the war.”

- “We are all worms, but I do believe that I am a glow-worm.”

I was taken by the simplicity of his life. For being the PM and leader of a world power during a war, he lived simply and frugally. His room was small and not elaborately decorated (in contrast with his cousins at Blenheim), his dress was simple and not overdone, and his art surprisingly beautiful.

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2007/11/02/churchill460.jpg

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://bp2.blogger.com/_SJP3Lr5NHA4/SBklXfNyWRI/AAAAAAAACgU/bful0C410mU/s400/1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://artsiefartsiez.blogspot.com/2008/04/paintings-of-sir-winston-churchill.html&h=351&w=400&sz=27&hl=en&start=48&um=1&tbnid=d1O6QDbeiKtyZM:&tbnh=109&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwinston%2Bchurchill%2Bpainting%26start%3D40%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN

http://www.artinthepicture.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/churchill.jpg

Sources:

1. Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, The Imperial War Museum booklet, London.

2. Modern Britain; The Cambridge Cultural History, Volume 9, Modern Britain, Boris Ford, Cambridge University Press, 1992.

3. The Buildings of England, London 2: South, Bridget Cherry and Nicolaus Pevsner, Penguin Books, 1983.

4. The Story of England, Christopher Hibbert, Phaidon Press Limited, 1992.

5. http://london.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.00b005

6. http://www.churchillsociety.org/churchill-victory.jpg

7.http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2007/11/02/churchill460.jpg

8. http://www.artinthepicture.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/churchill.jpg

9. http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.4467

Royal Albert Memorial of Colonization and Oppression

Victoria acceded the throne in 1837 following the reign of her uncle, William IV. She was then 29 years old and the mother of 6. She was a, um, strong willed woman during her reign as Queen of England. Victoria had a way of looking at things and that was the only way anyone should look at a situation. She would even threaten to step down if policies did not match her agenda. (Hibbert)

Victoria was very happily married to Albert of Saxe-Coberg. In total, the couple had 9 children- 4 sons and 5 daughters. Victoria loved her husband and thought the world of him. (Interesting fact: it is because of Prince Albert that we have the Christmas tree; he brought the tradition from Germany.) When Albert died of typhoid fever in 1861 after 17 years of marriage, Victoria entered into a deep state of mourning. She wore black for the rest of her life to lament his death. Institutions that came about as a result of the Victorian era are the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum, the Imperial College of Science and Technology, the Royal College of Music and the Royal Albert Hall. P erhaps the most visible, and blatantly colonial, of all memorials of Albert is the Royal Albert Memorial located in Kensington Gardens. (Delderfield)

The Albert Memorial was built between 1863 and 1877. Sir Gilbert Scott was the architect and he is especially known for his use of Gothic traditions in his designs. (Sutcliffe) The building is striking. Its gold luster and intricate carving provides a stark difference from the scene of the vibrant green Hyde Park surrounding the memorial.

The memorial consists of a stone base with figures representing 4 different continents (Asia, Europe, Africa, America). Inside this square is a smaller base with 4 corners with figures of different types of industry (including commerce, manufacturing, trade and agriculture). Underneath all of these is a line of famous scholars and intellects from Britain. Male intellects and scholars.

I sense a trend of colonization, hierarchy, and oppression surrounding the memento. It signifies the country’s belief of its own greatness and its right to take control of areas different from their own and take them out of the darkness of their own traditions and culture. And even though Victoria was on the crown, she did not seem to mind that none of those honored for greatness were women, and that the only women portrayed were in exotic and revealing clothes. I don’t understand how it can be so accepted and revered as being a great monument when it is such a blatant demonstration of inequality and discrimination.

Sources:

1. The Story of England, Christopher Hibbert, Phaidon Press Limited, 1992.

2. Kings and Queens of England and Great Britain, Eric R. Delderfield, Greenwhich Editions, 1996.

3. London: An Architectural History, Anthony Sutcliffe, 2006.

Oxford: Reliving the day of an 11-year old girl

I never really thought about the name Oxford until I looked at a street sign in the city. On most of these street signs there are little pictures in the corner which are literally an ox over a ford (river). Apparently, the name was chosen because the city provided a ideal spot for crossing the river.

The city of Oxford has been through a lot over the years. People have lived in the area for thousands of years and Oxford has been an established town since the 9th c. Plus it was burnt in 1010 by the Danes. *2 The rivers that surround the city are the Cherwell and the Isis

- Punts on the the Cherwell River

http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.4467

What’s in Oxford:

Oxford University was established in 1220’s with Cambridge followed soon thereafter. It began as an Anglican school of practical study of conveyancing, administration, and elementary legal procedure for men. There are 39 colleges in all– the first being Balliol and Merton. Christs’ church (est. 1525) is probably the most famous; it has the Great Hall in the Harry Potter movies and has been the site of many other films. There, grace is still said in Latin. The university is the school of 20,000 students, 7,000 postgraduate of them. The university celebrates a 94% employment rate and the lowest dropout rate (1.4% with 22% being the national average). The education system is based on a tutorial system where each student meets one on one with tutors who guide them individually through research, papers, and guidance on which lectures to attend. 63% of the graduate students are from outside the UK. The endowment is 2.7 billion pounds.

- Dorms at Oxford

Famous “Oxonians” include: John Wycliff, John Donne, Robert, Hooke, John Wesley, Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, JRR Tolkien, Margaret Thatcher, Mylo, CS Lewis, Bobby Jindal, Hugh Grant, Indira Gandhi, TS Elliot, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair.

- JRR Tolkien’s house

Other sites in Oxford include:

- The Ashmolean Museum

- Oxford Museum of Modern Art

- JRR Tolkien’s house

- Botanical gardens

-And now has one of Britain’s largest car factories

I lived in Oxford for almost 8 months while my dad was doing a sabbatical at Oxford studying chemistry. I didn’t appreciate it then, and so I came back. Walking the walk home from school, buying a pastry at the local patisserie, getting biscuit at the local co-op, visiting my flat at 4 Oakthorpe Road, visiting with the same woman that rented the place to us (Joan), finding Luigi (the cat) still alive, and most of all spending the day with my best friend from Oxford High School was possibly the most meaningful day spent in my life thus far. Historic sites may be cool for the moment, but the little things in life and the people you do them with are the only things that matter.

Sources:

1. Portrait of Britain: Landscapes, Treasures, and Traditions, Eyewitness Travel Guides, DK Publishing, New York, 1999.

2. The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, edited by Kenneth O. Morgan, Oxford University Press, 1984.

3. http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/facts_and_figures/index.html

Royal Festival Hall

Royal Festival Hall opened in 1951 and was built by the partnership of Sir Leslie Martin and Sir Robert Matthew. The designing of the hall began in 1951 and it was the first British building in modern architecture. And by modern, they basically mean the first building with really big, plain, stone walls with very little ornaments depicting animals, buildings, flowers, trees, or very muscular and voluptuous men and women. The building was completed in 1965. *1

The auditorium seats 3,000 and resides in the Southbank Centre, located near the Waterloo station, just off of the Thames. There are foyers and restaurants on most of the 6 floors of the building.

All of the internal designs of the concert hall are for acoustics. The slanty aisles, uneven seats, and ceiling of sycamore all contribute to the reverb. The outside architecture is purely massive. there is no intricacies to it, but that’s ok because there is a bust of Nelson Mandella statue by Ian Walters in 1985 in the courtyard. *2

The Southbank center includes Royal Festival Hall, the Percell Room, The Hayward, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and the Poetry Library.

Royal Festival hall is the home of the Philharmonia Orchestra. Past conductors include Otto Klemperer, Riccardo Muti, Giuseppi Sinopoli, and is currently Christoph von Dohnanyi.

- http://www.happynews.com/showImage.aspx?fn=1212007/dudamel-debuts-new-york-bang.jpg

I went to a performance in Royal Festival Hall given by the Philharmonia and conducted by Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel. The program included Bedrich Smetana’s overtureThe Bartered Bride, Antonin Dvorak’s Violin Concerto in A min, and Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony in E minor. The vivacity of the orchestra was amazing. From the front to the back the entire orchestra, there was a single breath of music emitting form the ensemble to the audience. Gil Shaham performed the Dvorak violin concerto and the only word that comes to my mind is happy. He was just glowing with energy and buoyancy as he danced around the stage as he conversed with the conductor and each section. Dudamel (who recently became the director of the LA Phil) was just radiating life throughout the entire hall. He conducted the entire Tchaikovsky without a score and did not miss an entrance. I was engaged the entire performance. Plus you couldn’t help but love him as he leapt into the air, bouncing his curly fro like a mushroom top. I will always remember that performance for its life.

- He unfortunately didn’t wear this jacket at the concert. But his hair was just as big

http://www.venezlon.co.uk/newsletter/new_newsletter/aug07/dudamel.jpg

Sources:

1. The Buildings of England: London 2: South, Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner, Yale University Press, 1983.

2. http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/visiting-us/royal-festival-hall

3. http://www.happynews.com/showImage.aspx?fn=1212007/dudamel-debuts-new-york-bang.jpg

4. http://www.venezlon.co.uk/newsletter/new_newsletter/aug07/dudamel.jpg

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Festival_Hall <–sorry Dr. Hoffmann, had to use it this once..

The National Gallery

England was almost the last in Europe to set up a national gallery. Founded in 1824, the National Gallery London was built in Trafalgar square. Its Neo-classical architecture reflects the trend of the time to embrace grandiose Greek architecture. The Tate was actually part of the National Gallery collection until 1954 when it was separated into. (Chapel, Gere)

The Gallery is a museum of European artists. The collection is separated by date, beginning with the section with art ranging from 1250 to the present.

“Highlights” in the National Gallery include:

-”Sunflowers,” Van Gogh

- “Venus and Mars,” Botticelli

-”Samson and Delilah,” Rubens

-”Self Potrait at Age 34,” Rembrandt

-”The Ambassadors,” Holbein

-”The Entombment,” Michaelangelo

The Gallery also has temporary exhibits occupying several rooms. Currently the Gallery is exhibiting: “Take One Picture: an exhibition of work by primary schools,” which is pretty self descriptive, and “Alison Watt: Phantom.” I hate the phrase, but this exhibit changed my life. Phantom has made a significant impression on the way I look at art and the affect it creates. It has made me appreciate subtleties. And it has encouraged me to take up sketching–something I haven’t done since 7th grade art class with Mr. Winget.

Alison Watt is a Scot and she graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 1988. (http://www.inglebygallery.com/artistsDetail.php?id=24) She the youngest artist to be dubbed “Associate Artist” at the National Gallery. She describes the exhibition as being centered around her “deep fascination with the possibilities of the suggestive power of fabric,” which took off after seeing Ingres’ “Madame Moitessier.” (http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/alisonwatt/default.htm)

I apologize in advance for the next few pictures. Since it is illegal to copy the photos from the internet, or take pictures in the gallery, I am forced to use photos of my sketches with the hope that you will get the gist. (Imagine these are oils and about 20 x 20 feet.)

Now I will revert back to the 3 levels on which this exhibit effected me. I walked into exhibit room to see 4 huge paintings of relatively small configurations of folds of fabric. It was breathtaking. But I had no idea why. After the initial view of the room passed, I began thinking that this lure to the room was a little absurd as it was focusing on something so simple. But then I got to thinking why I was so taken away with the oil paintings. Not only did the paintings bring cloth to mind, but sheets more specifically. The comfort of a bed. The clean smell of spring. The Loneliness of waking up by yourself. The lazy rollover- shut off the alarm clock. The Overwhelming feeling of things that need to get done. The lightness of folds on your skin. The shadow of what you never see. So many associations that are connected with shades of black, gray, and white.

We see cloth so often in sculpture, in paintings, in photos. But I don’t think we pay much attention to it; I certainly don’t. But that must be so hard to portray! I can’t help but think of the intricate and bewitching gown on The Winged Victory of Samothrace. It is so minor, but so enriching.

http://www.sandrashaw.com/images/AH1L21Nike.jpg

In sketching, I have found something very rare where my mind has to shut everything out in order to concentrate on the shades of a work. It provides a meditative rehearsal that helps me break down life into simpler circles, squares, and lines. And I brought it back for the first time in 7 years with Watts’ “Vowel” with a pen in my lined notebook.

I will always remember this exhibition.

And you gotta love the best part of all of the great National galleries:

Sources:

1. The Art Collections of Great Britain and Ireland, Jeannie Chapel and Charloote Gere, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, New York, 1985.

2. http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/collection/glance.htm

3. http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/default.htm

4. http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/alisonwatt/default.htm

5. http://www.inglebygallery.com/artistsDetail.php?id=24

6. http://www.sandrashaw.com/images/AH1L21Nike.jpg

Stonehenge Rocks

Henge: circular banks of earth paralleled by an internal ditch.

Henges were fairly common in the Neolithic age. There are still remnants of several ancient sites throughout Britain. The forms of the stones in Avebury suggests humanistic rituals or memorials through symbolism regarding birth, sexual and death. There are also many monolithic sites in Scotland, Yorkshire…

Stonehenge, dated around 2500 BC, is not a typical henge. Instead of the ditch being on the inside of the circle, it is surrounding the stones, the heaviest of which weighs around 50 tons. Many of these stones were floated, hauled, and dragged from Wales- the closest path to which is 250 miles.  (Alexander)

So why did a group of people with limited resources haul enormous rocks from 250 miles away to a plain? In the words of As[h]a: “No One Knows.”

http://www.myspace.com/asaofficial

Guess as to what the monolithic arrangement include that the structure was a temple to the sun or moon; or that the stones represented gods; or that the rocks marked out a calendar, or that it was a sign of power, but recent discoveries have most pointed towards its being a burial ground. (see footnote #2)

Two Burial sites have been recently discovered around Stonehenge dating to around 4,500 years ago. Because archaeologists are freaking amazing, they can tell a few things from the remains. For instance, it is clear that the people were from Germany, some from Southwest Britain or Wales; they were a traveling people. They were also pastoral. From the good state their teeth, it can be inferred that they did not eat a lot of carbohydrates, go figure. Around 5% of the people had ruptures in their head suggesting brutality.

In contrast with Stonehenge, Durrington Walls-2 miles north of Stonehenge- shows signs of life. Evidence of houses, weapons, household items, are found surrounding the site. Durrington Walls
is a structure consisting of 3 rounds– one of which is called Woodhenge.

Some inferences can be made when comparing the material of two:
Stone: hard, male, endurance, death.
Wood: soft, female, transience, life.  (Alexander)

I visited Stonehenge when I was almost 9 years ago and I enjoyed it very much, even the second time. However, I remember the stones being more…large. Maybe that’s because I’m older; maybe that’s because I’m taller (unlikely), but I think most of it is the anticipation of a historic site. We frequently romanticize something just because we’ve seen it on a postcard or poster. But the visit was great. The weather was beautiful. The sheep were still grazing nearby (favorite part as an 11-year-old), and there were games abounding. There’s nothing like takings pictures jumping/with my Obama pin at Stonehenge, or playing missionary tag in the wake of the view of the Sarsen stones.

Sources:

1. “If the Stones Could Speak,” Caroline Alexander, The Secrets of Stonehenge, The National Geographic, June 2008 issue, New York.

2. http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/

3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/stonehenge/

brit.poli.thought

Britain is technically parliamentary democracy. It is not governed by a single document of British constitution like the United States, but more of a vague set of doctrine and tradition. Mostly developed in the 19th and 20th centuries, the 5 main sources that make up the “British constitution” are: legislative law, EU law, common law, works of authority, convention. The monarchy that Britain is so famous for is now mainly a symbolic role. Within the UK, as Scotland has acquired more power the shift has been toward a quasi-federalism. (Kavanagh, Richards, Smith, Geddes)

http://www.whois.com/Whois-hot/poll/8-Politicians/Queen%20Elizabeth%20II.jpg

After Princess Diana’s death in 1987, the monarchy has seen less and less support as they are seen responsible for Charles and Diana’s failure and therefore inconsequential as the figurehead family as they have been considered in the recent past. The Monarchy today is basically devoid of any political power. Many of predicted that the King/Queen will become extinct, but that is unlikely because of the tourism that it brings into the UK. (The Queen).

http://www.the-forum.com/books/images/diana1.jpg

Although the class system that was a major part of England is less important today, inequality is greater than it was 20 years ago. Ethnicity, finances, and gender all contribute to this.

Since the 1970’s, the government includes parliamentary sovereignty, decisions made through the Cabinet as whole, ministerial accountability, government chosen by the people, and a neutral and permanent Civil Service system. This is commonly known as the Westminster Model. While this model is still somewhat intact, globalization, Europeanization, and internal state reforms have impressed changes onto the Westminster model. (Kavanagh, Richards, Smith, Geddes)

Today, there are two houses in Parliament. The House of Lords and the House of Commons. The debate surrounding the House of Lords is much like the discussion regarding the necessity of the monarchy. With status quo, it is unlikely that the House of Lords will be abolished anytime soon, but as the institution has lost most of its power, most agree that the house is defunct. The House of Commons, on the other hand, is where most of the parliamentary, and therefor legislative, power lie. This has been the case since the Parliament Act of 1911 under King George V. There are about 650 members currently in the House of Commons who are in more specified committees which draft and select bills for the Kingdom.

The first prime minister was Sir Robert Walpole in 1742. Most of the minsters in the 18th century were Whigs. The shift then moved to the Tories until the mid 19th century when the conflict was between conservatives and liberals. The Labor party arrived on the scene in 1929, replacing the liberal party. The job description of the Prime Minister has changed significantly since its onset. The Ministers of the Crown Act of 1937 more or less created the position that we see it as now

During the Prime Ministership of Margaret Thatcher in the 1980’s, Parliament moved towards a market driven economy. She was a Conservative and therefore pushed little legislative reform through. Tony Blair, elected in 1997, was a member of the Labour party. The Labor party had the goal of of constitutional reform and devolution which is seen as social modernization.

Overall, there is a general move away from the nation-state, authority through hierarchy, and public domain while Britain is moving, with the rest of the world, to the market replacing government. (Jones, Kavanagh)

And they frequently have protests outside the Palace at Westminster. This one has been going on for a while….

Sources:

1. British Politics, Fifth Edition, Dennis Kavanagh, David Richards, Martin Smith, Andrew Geddes, Oxford University Press, 2006.

2. British Politics Today, Seventh Edition, Bill Jones, Dennis Kavanagh, Manchester University Press, 2003.

3. The Queen, dir. Steven Shears, DVD, 2007.

4. The Story of England, Christopher Hibbert, Phaidon Press LImited, 1992.

5. http://www.the-forum.com/books/images/diana1.jpg

6. http://www.whois.com/Whois-hot/poll/8-Politicians/Queen%20Elizabeth%20II.jpg

ST. PAUL’S ST. PAuls St. Pauls st. pauls…

Christopher Wren (1632-1723) was son of a clergyman and nephew of of the Bishop of Hereford. He attended Westminster School and later, Oxford. He was intelligent and quick and was appointed professor of Astronomy at Gresham College at the age of 25. All of this background helped lay the groundwork for Wren’s work on the beautiful Cathedral in the heart of London–St. Paul’s. (Burmen)

In 1660, after the Civil War, Charles II had in mind to restore London to the highest architectural design and hired Wren to oversee the redesigning and rebuilding of St. Paul’s Cathedral, along with 52 other churches in the city with help from Robert Hooke and Edward Woodroffe. The cathedral, however, was not to be completed until 1708 due to various circumstances including the destruction caused by the Great Fire of 1666 and the indecisiveness of officials on the design. (Burmen)

Wren is also famous for his work on Hampton Court, Kensington Palace, colleges and churches in both Oxford and Cambridge, the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, and many others. (Burman)

The design of St. Paul’s is Baroque, including a dome that is reminiscent of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Dome has various scenes from Paul’s life–or frescoes–painted by Sir James Thornhill. (Ewin)  St. Paul’s is also famous for its whispering gallery, which is an adequate description of the dome as you can whisper sweet nothings on one side of the dome to your lover on the other side in perfect clarity. (Rick Steves)

http://image.guim.co.uk/Travel/gallery/2007/may/01/uk.scotland/StPauls_Chung1-6623.jpg

The structure of the building is in the form of the cross, with the nave being the longest, and I believe, most important section of the building. This component of the cross represents the nave of a ship. It represents Christ as the vessel that brings us to redemption and salvation.

Being at evensong at St. Paul’s was one of the most angelic and pristine experiences I’ve had in my 19+ years of living. The acoustics were very very wet, but not muddied. The boy choirs’ voices reverberated throughout the entire height of the cathedral as the men’s voices kept a stalwart and strong center and contrast to the liturgical hymns. We even got a special welcome. Over the pulpit at St. Paul’s, the priest announced special guests- the BYU students of Utah (pronounced Oo-Taw). It was very sweet and appreciated.

Sources:

1. St. Paul’s Cathedral, Peter Burman, Bell and Hyman Publishing, London, 1987.

2. The Splendor of St. Paul’s, Floyd Ewin, Jarrold Calour Publications, Norwich, 1973.

3. Rick Steves’ England, 2000-2007, Publishing GRP West, DVD.

4. http://image.guim.co.uk/Travel/gallery/2007/may/01/uk.scotland/StPauls_Chung1-6623.jpg

The Museum of the Brits

The British Museum as we know it is located off of Great Russell Street, not, as I initially thought, in Trafalgar Square- as is the National Gallery. It wasn’t until very recently that I knew the difference. (Stay tuned for a blog on the latter.) The original museum first opened its doors in 1759. The building that we now know as the British Museum was built during the reign of George IV in the 1850’s in the style of Regency which is based on Greek, rather than Roman, architecture. (Hibbert)

The British Museum began from the “gift” from Sir Hans Sloane of 71,000 various objects of history, geography, and art to the government on one condition: The government would receive the artifacts if Sloane’s heirs would receive 20,000 pounds together. The separate building which houses the British Library was added to the same organization in 1973. *see footnote 1

The Museum is a focused on geography and history as it has galleries that highlight each of the major continents and its rich art and culture. Some artifacts that the museum boasts of, and are major tourist draws, are the sculptures of the Parthenon, known as the Elgin Marbles (Cook), which were added to the collection in 1816, and the Rosetta Stone which was first displayed in 1802. While this both have huge cultural significance and they can be seen and appreciated by a wide audience because of their location in the British Museum, it is not like they are part of the British history or culture. The Rosetta stone, for example, was “discovered” by Napoleon’s army in 1799 and then won by the British in 1802 with the Treaty of Alexandria. (*see footnote #4)  The people of Egypt have asked for the stone back, but they have not succeeded. Who does it belong to? Does the British have claim to it as they have the best experts on preservation? Or should it return to the land of its heritage?

I especially like this picture as it represents the tourism that it has attracted.  Who knows how many people actually look at the engravings (which cannot seen in this photo), compared to those who simply go and see it because it is so monumental and famous.  While I recognize what it has done for the translation and understanding of language, I am also guilty for being taken away by its fame.

On another note- I am particularly drawn to the more temporary exhibits. The first exhibition that I saw and enjoyed was that on the Enlightenment and its progression. This depicted the relative progression from the study of botany, to the fascination with other cultures and their religious beliefs. It is strange to think that there was a time that wasn’t so interested in the traditional view of history as we see it. For example, museums are a relatively modern thing. People would live through tradition and evolution instead of research and comparison.

I also liked the temporary exhibit entitled “From the Cradle to the Grave by Pharmacopoeia” which juxtaposed a series of still pictures from people’s progression through life with a huge table filled with all of the drugs that the average Brit takes in their lifetime- 14,000.

-http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aoa/c/cradle_to_grave.aspx

My favorite image from the Museum is from the exhibit: “The American Scene: Prints from Hopper to Pollock.

I think this work captures the American political scene perfectly.

Peace and love-

Sources:

1. http://www.britishmuseum.org/the_museum/history_and_the_building/general_history.aspx

2. The Story of England, Christopher Hibbert, Phaidon Press Limited, 1992, pg. 152.

3. The Elgin Marbles; The British Museum, BF Cook.

4. http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aes/t/the_rosetta_stone.aspx

5. http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/world_cultures/europe/enlightenment_europe.asp

6. http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aoa/c/cradle_to_grave.aspx

Westminster Abbey

Blog for European Studies 336R, I

At the site of what is currently Westminster Abbey, Edward the Confessor commissioned the building of a church in 1065. Henry III then tore down/added onto the church and built a Gothic style abbey church. (Christopher Hibbert)  Since then, additions have been made including the chapel of Henry VII and the western towers. Westminster has become the monumental place of the coronations of Britain’s monarchs and burial place of English men and women that have made major contributions to society. (Encyclopedia Britianica)

Here are the words of the poet Edmund Waller to describe the structure:

Where royal heads receive the sacred gold:

It gives them crowns, and does their ashes keep;

There made like gods, like mortals where they sleep,

Making the circle of their reign complete,

Those suns of empire, where they rise they set. (David Crotchet)

These words are perfect to describe Westminster. It is an impressive building with the earthly remains of a loads of famous dead people. There is a sense of power permeating through it. It is overwhelming. And strangely perplexing.

I remember visiting Westminster as an 11-year old being struck by it’s hugeness. This time around, I was swept over with the feel of awe. But not so much of awesome-ness as much as awful-ness. The building is incredible with its surmounting Gothic architecture and gold intricacies; and it was interesting to see the burial places of kings, queens and royalties; but I had a constant feeling of being constricted. It was as if all the money and power encapsulated in the building was pressing down on me and all the other peons of tourists milling around the aisles. Instead of engendering a feeling of religious piety, the Abbey was full of oppressive power. I remember walking past an open door and seeing the green of the cloisters framed by an aqua sky and I just wanted to jump out of the building to be outside and away from the Ye-Olde-Englishe encrusted tombs.

As much as I didn’t love being in the upper and left part of the nave, the lower and right section captured my fancy. Buried in this “Poet’s Corner” include: Geoffery Chaucer, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Rudyard Kipling, Henry James, T.S. Eliot, Eliza Haywood, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, and George Frederic Handel. Other English musicians buried in the Abbey include Vaughn Williams and Edward Elgar. It’s always nice to see places memorializing artists of their respective trades.

I’m glad I went to re-experience that that is Westminster Abbey. But I don’t feel any particular need to go again any time soon. (Especially if they keep charging the 7 quid, aka $14 admission fee.) I have visited many church/chapel since the Westminster visit and have felt a more contemplatively-conducive spirit and atmosphere in many of them.

Peace and love and until next time-

Sources:

1. Westminster Abbey, Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Academic Edition.

2. The Story of England, Christopher Hibbert, Phaidon Press Limited, 1992.

3. Westminster Abbey, Dotted Crotchet, The Musical Times, Volume 48, Issue 770, p. 221, 1907.