LONDON
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Cromwell Road
LONDON SW7 2RL
+44 (0) 20 7942 2000
The Victoria & Albert is the world's largest museum of decorative arts. It consists of more than 145 galleries housing 4 million objects, including national collections of sculpture, furniture, fashion and photography. Admission is free.
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May 21, 2008
When I was a child, I suffered from loneliness. Nobody liked me and kids simply didn't want to play with me. I didn't have any friends and my cat was the only creature that gave me some support in that hard times.Not to go crazy, I was reading a lot, and books helped me to forget about my solitude.
I wanted to pay tribute to my 'abstract companions' from the childhood and went to Victoria and Albert Hall Museum to find out what others think about books. I was astounded...
If you see the exhibition 'Blood on Paper', you will defenitely know why.
The exhibition presents outstanding books that are pieces of art itself and you don't need to read all of them to be delighted.
'Blood on Paper' selects works by the most respected artists of our generation ( I don't respect all of them but I wanted to sound like an art historian:-). Different materials, formats, and vision reflect their desires, phobias and deviations hidden in a book's form.
The exhibition was a sacral experience which made me think that there was something wrong with me... But I looked at artists' names:
Matisse, Picasso,Louise Bourgeois, Daniel Buren, Anthony Caro or my beloved Damien Hirst, and I knew I was fine!
I don't really like V&A Museum but I think that Blood on Paper is simply fantastic! And the admission is free.
As you can see, the mixture of paper, print and author's imagination being a book, helped me to survive... (that's why, I'm here with you today:) Hopefully, my sad story or the exhibition will motivate you to read more.
March 25, 2008
For my 100th review, I thought long and hard about what place (and a place I hadn't reviewed already!) to highlight. I was surprised to find I haven't already reviewed the V&A, because it is my favourite museum in London.
The V&A is meant to be a museum of decorative arts and design, and it has quite a collection to bolster that reputation. As far as design (well, architecture, really) goes, start with the building itself which is massive and stunning (if somewhat hodgepodge). The edifice is particularly impressive, and it definitely gives a sense of the greatness of the collections inside.
As to them, there are a number of impressive galleries for the permanent collection (sadly a fair bit of it is closed off at the moment for renovations), but I have usually been drawn to the V&A for some special exhibition or another. It tends to attract some truly lovely traveling exhibits and there are always massive queues, so come prepared. Although entry to the exhibits are paid and timed, the museum itself is free and there is a ton of stuff to check out, and hidden nooks and crannies to explore, as you pass the time until your entry to the exhibits.
Also, as noted by others, there is a great store in the museum, which is crammed with all manner of things from little trinkets for children to massive recreations of the works of art and even high end jewelry. I have bought a couple birthday gifts here and they were a great success! Of course the proximity to the Natural History and Science museums make the V&A a natural element of a day of overdosing on culture, something that is worth doing from time to time.
December 05, 2007
The V&A, London's palace devoted to all things beautiful, is great all year, but it is especially nice around the holidays. The museum shop is an amazing source of gifts, with a selection of beautiful things that you will not be able to find elsewhere. Prices can range from very fair to crazy expensive, but everything is well selected, interesting, and design-oriented.
Christmas isn't entirely about consumerism (or so I'm told), so the V&A offers holiday activities as well, this year offering workshops on how to "Make a Couture Christmas Decoration". Each year the V&A has an elaborately (and unusually) decorated Christmas tree that is well worth a look.
If you go during the week, you can have the place mostly to yourself, but it can get quite crowded on the weekends. For even more holiday fun, go skating at the ice rink and shop in the little Christmas fair across the street in front of the Natural History Museum.
