Art as Therapy

ART APPRECIATION

Visiting the Hayward Art Gallery the other day has reminded me again just how great London is. Southbank is teeming with creativity and we have so many other great galleries and theatres all around London, that we really must get out more to appreciate the great work artists are doing.

Appreciating art gives us a moment to stop and think about what it is to be human. There is so much emotion embodied within works of art. I visited The Tate Britain some time ago and as I had a bit more time, I paid for the headphones so I could learn a bit more about the installations. It was a really informative afternoon and rather than just walk from piece to piece, I was able to really listen and understand what each of the artists had been trying to say, expressing their emotions on canvas or with their artworks.

I've just seen the entry for the BP Portrait Awards have now have closed - meaning the artworks have all been submitted and are currently being judged. I like trying to guess the winners myself and it's an exhibition we try and see with family which makes I nice day out too. So I will definitely be taking in the exhibition later on in the year (Exhibition from 18 June to 20 September). The picture at the top of the page 'Man with a Plaid Blanket' in last year's winner and was painted by Thomas Ganter.

Tate Modern

One of my favourite buildings in London - and a great space for viewing art - is Tate Modern. This is a place that I go to when I need a bit of an art inspiration fix. Just sitting in the turbine hall or up in the cafe looking out over Millennium Bridge at St. Paul's Cathedral are enough to give me a boost and there's always something interesting going on. They're currently building an extension which will have even more great things to see. 

Conflict

I'd been meaning to go to The Tate and see the Conflict, Time, Photography exhibition for a while - the photographs of  destruction caused during war are very powerful images and something that particularly interests me. So, after my boxing training yesterday, I took a walk in the sun through St Katherine Docks and over Tower Bridge down along the river. On route, I had a short stop at the riverside with a coffee to just sit quietly in the sun by a fountain away from all the tourists. After, I walked by The Tower and watched a military parade and gun salute opposite The Tower of London - a display for The Mexican Prime Minister who is visiting London right now. There was a great exhibition happening on the other side of the river too next to the Major's building, also centred around Mexico. I got to try a VR demo on the Oculus Rift headset in there, which simulated flying around Mexico City on a microlight! They also had a VW Beatle covered in over 1.5m beads designed to symbolise the psychedelic effects experienced from ingesting a particular Mexican hallucinogen. These beads were stuck there individually by a Mexican family and took 9000 hours to complete. I took lunch after at Wagamamas which is a great place to be mid afternoon when the crowds have gone. All in all, it was a great afternoon wandering around looking at great inspirational artwork and some of my favourite London architecture, St Paul's and The Tate.

Richard Tuttle's 'I Don't Know. The Weave of Textile Language.' in the turbine hall at Tate Modern.

The view of St Paul's Catherdral from the Cafe in The Tate Modern.

My first stop of the morning taking in a quiet moment by the river...

Art as Therapy
I read another of Alain's books recently which talks about the healing properties of viewing and understanding art/artists and the therapeutic properties of experiencing art in our lives. It really helps to open your mind beyond the day-to-day. I will try and take in even more art exhibitions, most certainly on a more regular basis to really make the most of this great city.