“One might fancy that day, the London day, was just beginning. Like a woman who had slipped off her print dress and white apron to array herself in blue and pearls, the day changed, put off stuff, took gauze, changed to evening, and with the same sigh of exhilaration that a woman breathes, tumbling petticoats on the floor, it too shed dust, heat, colour; the traffic thinned; motor cars, tinkling, darting, succeeded the lumber of vans; and here and there among the thick foliage of the squares an intense light hung. I resign, the evening seemed to say, as it paled and faded above the battlements and prominences, moulded, pointed, of hotel, flat, and block of shops, I fade, she was beginning. I disappear, but London would have none of it..” -Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
Today was a marvelous first day in London! While we spent most of our time out during the day, Virginia’s description of the London night as a woman getting ready to go out made me think of the differences I’m already noticing between London and the U.S.
- Arts are everywhere!
From the ads at the tube station, advertising novels, to the lovely and dominating Barbican Theatre, the arts seem to hold a much larger place of prominence over here. My two favorite examples were Bill Viola’s art installation, Martyrs, at St. Paul’s and the poems of Bernardine Evaristo in the Museum of London which frameded the Paleolithic exhibit. I love how both of these examples really show London’s willingness to use art as a way to appreciate deeper (as in The Museum of London) and to use art to serve contextualize other art (as in the interplay between Viola’s video and the church decoration at St. Paul’s.)
2. Everything is Elegant!
Everywhere I went today, I felt like the space was elegant. What I mean by that is that it is filled with soft edges and curves and design that felt planned yet seemless. Even the Barbican today was softened by a well laid-out water feature and green space. I feel like everything seems more up front in your face in America, but here my eye was always captured rather than demanded.
I cannot not wait to see what tomorrow brings and what else I will learn about the differences between London and the U.S!