Victoria and Albert

Today I went back to the V & A, aka. The Victoria and Albert Museum, which was founded in the late 1800's by Queen Victoria's husband Albert with some of the profits of the Great Exhibition. I know many of you might not care when it was founded or how or why but personally I think it is fascinating, it also is one of the reasons this museum is so incredible - they've been collecting shit since the 1800's! My trip today was technically a field trip for my British History class but we explored plenty of exhibits that had nothing to do with the topic at hand - who could stay focused in a place with so many interesting things to explore?! This was also the first time that I went on to the second floor... and it was certainly worth all those painful stairs! (oh yea my arthritis is really angry at me today because I wore different shoes when we went out last night - see they said "sports cafe" so I thought it would be like a sports bar, I didn't expect to be dancing! oh well, it was fun anyway)

The class began with a short lecture before we walked the few blocks to the museum... I find it difficult to follow his lectures because he seems to bounce around and go off topic a lot but I love that we go on a field trip once a week! As a group we started in the early American and British gallery, art, furniture, etc. from say 1700 to 1800ish. An interesting collection but definitely not my favorite, though there was some beautiful porcelain work.

I ended up going through the textile exhibit, the theater exhibit and briefly the jewelry exhibit. The textile exhibit was AMAZING and I'm definitely going back with a notebook and a camera because I need to have some of that stuff like on file for classes when we go back to Marist. Within the Textile Exhibit there were smaller categories, all flowing from room to room... There were Turkish rugs on the walls in cases, from really old and falling apart to the ones in pristine condition. In that room there was also some early Turkish clothing. Then came a room full of detailed Kimono that each displayed and briefly explained the different silk techniques used to create them. Many of the textile displays included huge wooden cases where you can either pull out drawers or these panels, that look like sideways drawers, to see more examples. More squares of silk in different techniques were there. Next came the lace.... Needle point, hand made bobbin lace... all different kinds of lace, and I swear there must have been over a million pieces of lace in there. Some bigger and older pieces were framed and on the walls along with some small items like baby bonnets or cuffs. In the middle of both rooms of lace were more of the wooden cases, row after row after row of cases. I've never really been much of a lace person... I guess in my mind it belongs in lingerie and little else, except maybe a wedding dress... but I find myself gaining a new appreciation of how detailed and varied lace can be. It was really awe inspiring for someone who loves hand sewing as much as I do. As always when I see something beautiful I wish that I knew how to make it too.

The theater exhibit was interesting.... I wasn't so much as interested in the theater aspects or the plays but just the costume section which was actually quite interesting. Everything from McJagger and Elton John concert outfits to ballerina costumes and a dress covered in fake breakfast food. Costumes created for historical films, asian films.... they covered a wide variety of cultures and time periods.... quite interesting! There was also a display of the construction of different theaters and sets and their effects, distinctions, and catagories... certainly not something I had ever considered before.

I really just skimmed over the jewelry exhibit to see if it was worth coming back at another time, and it definately is! But for now I am resigned to watching the new House episode while I eat dinner, then go to bed early so I am well rested to leave for ISTANBUL TOMORROW! :) I am really REALLY excited about this trip.