This blog is not only about Museums, Galleries and established artists. It is about the small, artistic things I see in my everyday life. Today, I discovered art, inside my office.
Working at a museum means that I experience art daily. The wonderful architecture of the building, the creative gift shop and the daily information I get for future exhibitions are only a few examples of art I experience. The Cycladic Museum is known for being inventive and unique. It manages to stay interesting by always developing and coming up with new ideas and activities. The latest activity of the Museum was a childrens creative competition. What do you think will happen, if you introduce kids to a museum’s competition? Magic!
The Museum of Cycladic Art is introducing a very unique competition for our young friends between the ages of 6-12. Kids are given a blank paper, with just the outline of a traditional Cycladic Seated figurine and all they have to do is let their imagination free and express themselves using any colors or materials they like.
There are no limits to this project, so kids can make their statue an old man or a young girl, dress it with different accessories, cover it with a superhero suit and even transform it into a musical instrument or a scary animal. As far as their imagination goes, the sky is the limit and it is not only fun but it is also an artistic experience. Ten kids, with the most interesting works, will join our Kids summer program for free, and the first winner will get the chance to see his/her work featured in our Children’s Program Poster.
Have a look at the images presented. These are only a few of the wonderful works that our offices have received. We decided to transform our office to a more creative and colorful place by using the childrens drawings. I simply love the way kids have been expressing themselves and letting their creativity show through their unique works. They have incorporated different materials, colors, shapes and patterns. If you look closer, you can identify the inspiration from different artists and artistic genres through the colors, patterns and shapes used to fill the figurine’s shape. Their personality shines through in the way they add their own little details giving their statue unique features such as extra body parts, hairstyles and accessories.
I simply love the creativity of this project and how the children managed to transform our everyday office to a wonderful small gallery. Hope you enjoyed this post
After completing my Universities exams, I returned to Greece to spend my summer vacation and I decided to look for an internship for a couple of months. I felt extremely lucky and excited when I finally got an internship at my favourite museum in Athens, the Museum of Cycladic Art.
The Museum of Cycladic Art (MCA) is dedicated to the study and promotion of ancient cultures of the Aegean and Cyprus, with special emphasis on Cycladic Art of the 3rd millennium. Today in the galleries of the Museum, the visitor can approach three major subjects. The permanent collections of Cycladic Art, Ancient Greek Art and Ancient Cypriot Art.
Besides the permanent collections, the Museums temporary exhibitions constitute one of the most fruitful activities, constantly renewing the museum’s interaction with the public. The numerous archaeological exhibitions are meant to introduce the public to important aspects of ancient Greek art as well as of other Mediterranean cultures, with loans from other Greek and foreign museums. Apart from archaeology, the temporary exhibitions of the museum frequently focus on modern and contemporary art, aiming to introduce the public to important 20th century artists and explore the links between ancient cultures and modern artistic creation.
The following video, is a great opportunity to become familiar with the beauty of the Museum
Let me know your thoughts and feelings after watching the video and If you find yourself in Athens, make sure you visit the Museum of Cycladic Art.
My university’s second term has come to its end, and I will be going back to Greece to spent the easter holidays with my family and friends. The good news is that I will try and keep up with my blog, focusing on the many interesting art events currently happening in Athens. The bad news is that because I don’t know the exact date that I will be coming back to London, I will probably have to miss some great art exhibitions happening here at the moment. As a result of that, I have selected my top three exhibitions that I really wanted to visit but did not have the chance. I am hoping to be able to visit them when I come back, but in case I don’t, here they are; make sure that you take a look , be inspired and if you decide to visit them, let me know what you thought!
Momentum, at the Barbican Centre (Images courtesy of Barbican Centre)
“Momentum consists of twelve pendulums that activate light and sound as they swing, drawing attention to the Curve’s vast arc, inviting you to journey through the space guided by your heightened senses. Each pendulum has been meticulously designed and built using steel, aluminium, and custom electronics. The sound is individual to each pendulum, prepared and tuned to seamlessly resonate as they move within the Curve”. Momentum creates an unique environment that has its foundations in detailed research, sophisticated computer technology and mechanical expertise. Yet, the effect is to create a space that feels wondrously transformed, one which you are invited to experience and explore.” (information taken from: barbican.org.uk)
Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined at the Royal Academy of Arts
“Some of the most creative architectural minds from around the world have come to the RA, and we’ve set them a challenge: to give you a new perspective on architecture. ‘Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined’ sees our Main Galleries transformed by a series of large scale installations. As you respond to different structures, textures, lighting, scents and colours, we invite you to consider some of the big questions about the nature of architecture. How do spaces make us feel? What does architecture do for our lives?” (royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/4)
Martin Creed ‘Whats the point of it” Hayward Gallery (Images courtesy of Hayward Gallery)
A survey of Martin Creed’s playful, thought-provoking art.Over the past two and a half decades British artist Martin Creed has pursued an extraordinary path by confounding the traditional categories of art.Winner of the 2001 Turner Prize, Creed is recognised around the world for his minimalistic approach that strips away the unnecessary, but preserves an abundance of wit, humour and surprise.Crossing all artistic media and including music, his art transforms everyday materials and actions into surprising meditations on existence and the invisible structures that shape our lives. This exhibition includes work containing nudity, bodily functions and some adult content and will be the first major survey of Martin Creed’s work, spanning its most minimal moments and extravagant room-sized installations.”
(Information from: southbankcentre.co.uk)
I really hope that this post will motivate you to go and visit these three wonderful exhibitions. If you do, please comment below and tell me what you thought of them, I would really appreciate it.
One of the things I enjoy when having some free time, is visiting art exhibitions, galleries and museums. But this weekend, as I was reading Time Out magazine looking for a new exhibition to visit, I realised, that there is something about the word ‘museum’ that in a way made me ignore the specific event and continue with the rest of the arts-list. Do you know what I mean? As I started thinking about it, I believe that this occurred because of two reasons. Firstly Museums have varying aims, ranging from serving researchers and specialists to serving the general public. Moreover, they usually exhibit a collection of scientific, cultural or historic objects, rather than art pieces. And that brings me to my second point. As children, we all had been to a number of museum visits with our school, where we had to go around museums pretending to be interested where in fact we were all really bored and only waited for the time to pass so we could go home.
Because of that realisation, I decided to visit the Natural History Museum. It was not the first time thought. I have been to the one in New York and the one in London, but I was too young to remember them. So, I decided that it was a good opportunity to go again, and I am ver glad I did!
Where should I start from? Probably the first thing I noticed. The amazing architecture of the museum. It is hard to pass by the Natural History Museum and not be amazed by it. Inside and out the building is simply wonderful. From the outside, the detail in form and colour is noticeable. The combination of geometric and round shapes along with a combination of red, blue and brown is what in my opinion creates this softness and makes the museums look traditional. The entrance, simply makes you stop and observe the huge facade and high, spired towers. The beautiful rounded arches and grand entrance are a perfect example of Romanesque architecture. The Central Hall, is created to be grand and spacious enough to display large mammals such as whales, elephants as well as extinct animals such as Dinosaurs.
Extremely high ceilings, very large rooms and large stairs make the museum an extraordinary and kind of magical space. As you make your way inside the building, you move away from the traditional architecture which is replaced by more modern shapes and materials. In the Darwin space, glass is used both for large windows and for the colorful ceilings. The space is obviously designed based on the day light of the day, which is a part of the architectural design, as it comes in from the glass windows, doors and ceiling and lights the specific areas it was designed to light.
“There were many fascinating elements to explore: the sheer size of this valuable collection; the complexity of the scientists’ working environment, and their relationship to this collection – all bound together by the very contemporary concept of allowing the public to see behind the scenes” Anna Maria Indrio (Architecture team)
In this post, I will be focusing on the red zone, representing how the earth works. The reason why I chose to write about the specific department of the Museum is because it was the only department I was not that eager to visit and it turned out to be the best one. Everyone who has not been to the Natural History Museum is under the impression that it is a museum all about animals and dinosaurs. The ‘earth’ department though, is one that people should definitely visit.
Does the ‘earth’ zone still does not sound interesting? Take a look at its entrance
This department explores the ever-changing planet, discovering the natural forces that shape it, the treasures we take away from it, our negative and positive effect to it and its place and role in the universe. All these things sound very confusing, difficult to understand and definitely not something children would enjoy learning about. But what makes it so interesting is the way it has been put together. The way the earth works, is one 100% science, but the designers of the museum have managed to transform it into art. Everything on the red zone is made from scratch in order to illustrate the ‘story of the earth’ better. The walls of every room are painted in different colours, have different textures and texts on them, either drawn or projected. Every little object tells a story, but it does not work if people don’t make it work. In other words, every piece of the room is interactive. You have to press a button, or pull a string in order to see it working.
To give a clearer example, the following photograph is showing elements of the earth: Gravity, Ice, Water, Wind, Life.
Even though this might be ‘boring’ as a fact, the museum has managed to present it in an interesting way. In order to illustrate gravity, the top of the object moves, as if its falling. In order to understand ice, you have to place your hand to the second object and you feel the cold. When you move closer to the third one, you can see and hear running water. If you put your hand inside the forth object you feel the wind, and just by looking at the fifth one, you see a mirror (thus your self) and YOU represent life. For me, all these details are what make every part of the red zone interesting. With this interaction, children get the opportunity to learn by playing games. Adults are also interested in these activities, and the truth is, that by watching something that creative and interacting with it, there are more chances that the information will stay in your head.
Do you still believe that it is impossible for young children to enjoy a day in the museum? Take a better look:
Finally, the museums gift-shop is definitely something interesting to visit after viewing the rest of the exhibition. A large variety of stuffed animals, puzzles, board games, jewellery and many many more is offered. Small toys and objects that will keep your children busy and happy and at the same time provide important information about the earth, living organisms and science. Moreover, a big collection of books about the environment, planets and animals is available with amazing imagery and simple language that is understandable by children. Finally, there is a unique section of environmentally friendly objects and sweets that all have a ‘green message’ included, such as the following lollipops with different logos such as ‘stop waste’ or ‘go green’.
I would definitely suggest to anyone to go to the Natural History Museum and spent the day learning more about our earth and all the living organisms that surround us, in a artistic, fun and interactive way. Parents should definitely take their children with them. You will be surprised by how much little kids will enjoy the specific museum and at the same time, how much they will learn. I wish I had counted how many times I heard children say ‘wowww’ during my time there.
For more information on the Natural History Museum, visit their website: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/
Art Attack 