Graffiti

I never really thought that much about graffiti being a positive aspect of a landscape or even an art form until we watched Exit Through the Gift Shop.  Since we watched the film I have definitely noticed graffiti more when I travel through London.  I now try to view it as art before I automatically categorize it as vandalism.

 I think this image enhances the landscape.  Construction is always very ugly and depressing, especially before whatever is being built begins to resemble a building.  I think this drawing is really cute.  It spices up the white wall around the construction site and uses bright colors.  Although there isn’t anything extremely special about this drawing, it is playful and happy.  It looks almost like a child drew it.  It definitely caught my eye and made me smile.  This drawing is located near King’s Cross Station.

 This building is located a few blocks from King’s Cross.  I think the drawing of the monkey and the pink mouse enhances the building.  The bright colors add some vibrancy to the otherwise dull tower on top of an ugly building.  The monkey is slightly larger and has funny ears and eyes.  The pink mouse is really cute with huge ears and a tiny nose.  Again, this made me laugh when I saw it.  But I assume it probably detracts from the property value of the building.

 This is what I used to think of when I thought about graffiti.  I am sure that this represents the initials of someone's name or a gang sign, but I don't think it enhances the building.  It is quite ugly and only means something to the person who put it there and maybe a few others.  I think this would constitute vandalism and should be removed or painted over.  To the people who know what the symbols mean, it may even be offensive.  It doesn't make the building any prettier or more interesting.

Again, I would consider this vandalism.  Not that a KFC billboard is any great type of fine art.  But the company did pay to put their advertisement in this place and it is being defaced.  The symbol does not add any color or thought-provoking imagery to the advertisement and could detract from the ad.  The only interesting thing about the drawing is that to someone who doesn't know what a KFC advertisements look like, the drawing looks as though it could be a part of the ad.  The black marker matches the black color in the actual advertisement.

Sir John Soane's Museum

As we exited the tube, we realized we recognized the area.  It was like most areas initially appear in London: crowded with businessmen and businesswomen, quaint houses and parks for children and dogs to play in.  Anna, Alaura and I made a wrong turn and ran into a woman smoking her cigarette.  "Excuse me, but do you know where Sir John Soane's Museum is?" I asked.  "Oh, I've heard of that," she said. "I think it's over in that direction."

As we walked up to the museum, we didn't know what to think.  There was a line out the door, curved around the gate.  It was like a mix of an amusement park ride and airport security.  The line, headed by a gruff woman, was anxious and silent.  It felt as though we were waiting in an airport security line to get our bags checked.  Everyone around us was frustrated and confused as to what was taking so long.  By the time we got to the front of the line, we had been instructed to turn our cell phones off.  Then we had to stuff our bags into a clear plastic bag, if they would fit.  If we dared to bring something to Sir John Soane's house that wouldn't fit the size requirements, we had to leave our bags by the front entryway like one would an oversize suitcase that needs to be gate-checked. 

As we were ushered into the cramped, dark hallway, we didn't know which way to turn.  After walking through some rooms containing paintings, chairs, tables and sculptures we came to the center of the back of the house.  As we were passing the coffin in the center of the house and wondering why someone would want to live with that, we heard a security guard accosting a woman visitor.  "Put your jacket on," the security guard shouted at the woman as she watched and waited for the woman to obey her.  Apparently, another rule in this museum is that you are not allowed to have anything in your hands, like your jacket, as you walk around.

We all thought this was a little bit intense on the security guard's part and strange, until we saw Sir John Soane's wife's gravestone.  It felt like we were walking through a haunted house.  There were shackles on the wall by her gravestone, which was hidden in the dark underground back corner of the house with another security guard lurking beside it.  By his wife's gravestone, there was also a gate that trapped visitors in that corridor, not allowing them to leave until they turned around and walked back around the empty coffin in the center.

When we finally got back to the main room of the ground floor, we were claustrophobic and very ready to leave.  We felt like we had made it through airport security, been trapped in a haunted house and were finally allowed to escape.  But then we saw the upstairs.  We felt guilty for not going and slowly and cautiously made our way upstairs.  However, I was really glad we did because the room upstairs was like a ray of light compared to the rest of the house.  It was bright with multiple windows and was painted a cheery yellow.  It had beautiful artwork, like the rest of the house, but wasn't quadruple hung so visitors could actually focus on individual pieces.  This is when I noticed that a lot of the people were much older.  The visitors were mainly retired-age couples who seemed to know about John Soane and be interested in his collection.

This sunshine room was a nice ending to our visit, but I was definitely happy to be outside again when we left.