war memorials. st. aloysius. ulu.

(this post is about yesterday feb 11)

yesterday was the first time I genuinely enjoyed my Art & War class. Instead of just sitting in the classroom, making broad generalizations about the 40 or so war-related paintings, we took a field trip to Hyde Park to actually SEE some war memorials. I was skeptical as to how enlightening learning about war memorials would be, because most often than not, art history can be about making vague, bs statements. However, just like the first time I learned how to read a painting, I really enjoyed learning to read a war memorial. In Hyde Park corner, we were able to see the British response to the end of World War I, manifest in their war memorials. We discussed their desired messages/effects and their impact.

right: World War I memorial in Hyde Park Corner. left: David by Donatello (15th century, renaissance italy)

this war memorial was inspired by the biblical story, and classical art tradition, of david & goliath. it's the "underdog comes on top" story, where a little boy kill the giant goliath with just a sling shot. basically, celebrating the fact that britain was victorious, though it was never the "underdog". It's a very intellectual war memorial because it looks back to sources that not many uneducated people would have understood. therefore, it's not as powerful as a "public" memorial. Also, the classical elements, like the wreaths, are not very congruous with the machine guns that they surround. Finally, the idealization of the body glosses over the fact that thousands of men have died, and many of the living were permanently disfigured.

royal artillery memorial. combination of the more dignified bronze statues with the more classical marble reliefs. the most bizarre thing is that it is flanked on top by a HUGE machine gun. is it really appropriate for a war memorial to almost celebrate a weapon? is that really the compassionate/commemorative message that they want to send?

top: australian war memorial. bottom: vietnam war memorial in DC by maya lin.

I found the australian war memorial very beautiful. nestled into the corner of hyde park, it really creates a space for people to think and commemorate. Most likely inspired by Maya Lin's memorial, it is more a form of CONCEPTUAL art, where the idea matters more than the form. unlike maya lin's, the engravings aren't dead soldiers names but the towns where major battles took place, and the home towns/villages of australian soldiers who died in combat. the memorial curves downwards, naturally causing you to move along the monument.

It was SOOO windy and everyone was freezing by the end of class, but I still had a good time. I choose the worst days to wear converses out. they are NOT very warm shoes at all.

So, after class, I took the tube straight to St. Aloysius infant school to start my first day of VOLUNTEERING! I signed up with this program called the SHINE project that places volunteer student tutors at local primary schools serving underdeveloped neighborhoods. I got assigned to help Year 1, which is 6 -7 year olds. I must be honest, the first day wasn't as great as i thought it would be. I walked into class, and immediately the teacher asked me to help individual students practice read out loud. So, my first student was this cute little blonde girl, but she absolutely refused to read!!!! she gave me the blank stare, didn't say a word and just sucked on her sweater. so, i called on the next kid, charlie and he was much better, much cuter. It's adorable to hear them read in a british accent. The books they were reading had one 5 - 6 word sentences on each page. My favorite was "Mum was cross." the mom in the story got upset because her son spilled flour all over the floor. haha MUM WAS CROSS. so great.

there, i had a rather shocking experience. I was walking around the classroom helping kids wrap up and tidy up their desks, when i came across these two kids having a little conflict. Then, i heard this 6 yr old girl say "you fucking shit!" I was so shocked, i froze in place. I couldn't believe this little girl was swearing! we'll see how she is for the rest of the semester.

Also, st. aloysius is a catholic school, so it's very religious. they have singing time, where the entire school gets together and sings prayer songs. and they end school by praying with their hands together. it was all very new to me, because i didn't grow up in a particularly religious environment. I volunteer for an hour, every thursday so it's not that big of a time commitment, and i get to hang out with british kids in uniform. brilliant* (it's one of the british-isms that i'm trying to adopt)

THEN, later that night I went out for the first time in london, with my roommate and her friend. We went to ULU (University of London Union). During the day, it's a normal student center, but after a certain hour it becomes a members only pub scene. So, we went down there around 8:30, expecting to grab a beer and then come back. except, it turns out it's KARAOKE night!!! so we stayed there until midnight, watching drunk british and american college students having fun karaoking.

My favorite part was the fact that the university of london's sci-fi and fantasy club "warstory" (i think) was sitting at the table in front of us!!! It wasn't so much when they were just sitting and hanging out, but when they went up to karaoke!! these three, slightly awkward guys went up to the stage, started singing an unrecognizable song in english, and dancing like crazy. it was great. BUT the best part was, when at the end of the song, one of the guys screamed "SCI-FI FUCKING ROCKS!!" that made my night.

all in all, yesterday was much more exciting than today. I spent the majority of today TRYING to work on my 10 page Art & War paper on francis bacon and i have......3 pages done. goodness gracious.