h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well I went to the beer festival yesterday and had too many beers to remember what they all were. I think I'll have to go during the week next year as by the time I left it was a case of hunt the open bar. Met with Pastey, Munchkin and Blueslider and had a good afternoon.

Today I went and looked round part of the Tate Moden at Bankside, very full of people and some interesting ideas on what I saw.

How's your weekend?

Saturday went for a motorbike ride through Essex with Zed, home in time to catch the h2g2 Scottish researchers via a webcam in a cybercafe and take screen captures, then collect girls from Guide camp.
Sunday washing, washing, washing. (but would rather have been at the Tate Modern, on my fave side of the river. Went in the building before they were just about to transform it (looked very fetching with the hard hat on). Get to go up "I do" etc?

Get to go up "I Do" etc?

Je ne comprendes pas. Parlez vous anglais?

The 3 staircase sculptures by Louise Bourgeois. I'm not going unless I don't have to queue. I want to sit at the top and think.
"I do"
"I undo"
"I redo"
I think that's what they are called anyway. Everytime I hear that someone has been I ask "was there a queue?" They always say there is.

Ah so that's what the comment was about. Modern art, confusing stuff
There were queues for each of those pieces so I didn't bother. You get a nice view of them from the bay window of the galleries at that end of the building though.

There were some good pieces and ideas that I saw (so not all modern art is rubbish then ) but I'll have to go back and spend more time looking round as there is too much to see in one go.

Coelacanth's tip for understanding Modern Art
Take a small person with you (under 10 is best). They understand it perfectly. If you ever see a crowd in a gallery listening to everything a young girl is saying, it'll be Moonlight.
I think I'm going to have to get up there really early one day, as I've heard that's the best for avoiding queues.

I'll have to try that one. I was talking with my sister the other day and spoke to one of her daughters and was asked why is modern art called modern!

And you said.....
I like modern art. I like old art.
Actually one of the most 'modern' things I've seen recently was done in the 16th Century. Hieronymus Bosch. Very symbolic, and quite quite scary.

I said it was called modern because it wasn't old! It was the best answer I could think of at the time If she remembered I said she should ask a friend of theirs who runs a gallery what it's all about.

I like things that I like, modern art, old art, ancient art, high art, low art whatever. Somethings just get to you don't they.
I've even managed to have a bit of a discussion on one of the pieces at the Tate Modern here on H2G2 over at Lil's Atelier (you should drop by sometime there's usually some interesting conversation going on). The piece commented on was one of the favourites I saw (out of not a lot of the gallery), After Lunch by Paterick Caulfield (http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/AWork?id=1762 ).

I've added the site to my faves and have the picture in front of me in a book too. Thanks. I really must go there soon. I like what I like too, but I keep an open mind. Never understood Howard Hodgkins until Moonlight explained it. Did you see my journal on the Courtauld? It's worth going just to be in the courtyard of Somerset House. Not far from you?
I am often to be found at Lil's Atelier lurking in the shadows actually! Much too shy to speak though.

I did read the journal on the Courtauld and would like to go there sometime.

You should say hello at the Atelier. I did think that you might have been round that way before.

Posted once I think. Possibly a discussion with you about art? LOL
I'll join in when the 100 days are up. Just getting the feel of it all by lurking.

How's the original topic of this thread going?

Well it seems to be going OK I think. We should hopefully be meeting up next week (as long as we remember to arrange it and not be doing something else at the time)

LOL
"as long as we remember to arrange it"?
Little tip here Phil - you could try and be a bit more assertive!

That comment was about the time we were supposed to meet up on a saturday afternoon. The other person forgot and arranged to be doing a course instead for the weekend!

I have mentioned it in correspondance done this evening (sun).
I'm still trying to work out how assertive I can be in this sittuation. As Led Zepplin once said "Been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time" (Rock & Roll, LZ4).

That's
Maybe I don't mean assertive, which sounds a bit too much OTT sometimes. Take a positive approach. Don't make vague suggestions, arrange things that will work.
(who is probably the worst person to give you you advice. See LZ4)