Today we went on a trip into London to look at some different exhibitions. I mainly looked in the V&A and The Design Museum. In the V&A, I looked at an exhibition called ‘Print and Prejudice: Women Printmakers 1700-1930’. I was initially interested in this exhibition as printmaking is something that I want to explore in my self-directed project and I was also interested in the history behind female printmakers. The exhibition showed a few different types of printmaking, such as woodblock and etching. I learnt that female artists have practised printmaking for over 500 years in Britain and France, working across all techniques and embracing all artistic genres. These printmakers shared a struggle for status in an art world that saw print as a secondary, largely reproductive medium. In the mid-19th century, Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot harnessed the new artistic movements of the day and approached printmaking with a bold and experimental energy.

Overall I really enjoyed looking at this exhibition and I found the history very interesting and I learnt some things that I didn’t know before.

Also in the V&A I looked at the ‘OSPAAAL: Solidarity and Design’ exhibition. OSPAAAL stands for the ‘Organisation of Solidarity with the People of Asia, Africa and Latin America. The display showed a selection of posters that OSPAAAL produced and distributed. These bold designs highlighted the struggles of people in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and advocated for social justice and global unity.

I found this exhibition really interesting and I thought the posters on display were so vibrant and eye-catching.

 

In the V&A I also looked at the display of Beatrix Potter’s work. I have always loved her work, especially as a child, I loved reading her books, so I was very interested to look at the work of hers that was in the V&A. I really like the attention to detail in her work as well as the use of watercolours in the first image.

 

 

In the design museum I went to two exhibitions: ‘Weird Sensation Feels Good’ and ‘Objects of Desire’.

‘Weird Sensation Feels Good’ was an ASMR exhibition, which was really fun and interesting to look at. It was a very interactive exhibition which I liked because there was lots of things to do and get involved in. For example, there was a big, comfy, seating area where you could sit and watch ASMR videos with headphones on which I found really relaxing and was nice after all the walking! Another section of the exhibition was a room dedicated to the painter Bob Ross, where you could sit on bean bags and watch him on a tv.

The second exhibition at The Design Museum was ‘Objects of Desire’ which was a surrealism exhibition. I find surrealism very interesting and fun as there are no limits to it. There were some interesting pieces in this exhibition, such as a horse lamp and a chair in the shape of a body.