Ariadne's Thread: Trip to London May '08

The Perfect Vision Guild took a small guided group tour with Sean O'Dwyer entitled... Ariadne's Thread: A Journey through the History of Art, to London. We visited The National Gallery, The British Museum, The Tate Britain and Tate Modern over three days dining out in Covent Garden, a Chinese Garden (outside the British Museum), the Tate Modern (overlooking the St Pauls and the Millenium Bridge).... and various seating arrangements outside the Marylebone Tube Station' Marks and Spencers!

Eclectic to say the least, this journey was a unique opportunity to see those master works at first hand that we normally see only in books. How different and un-chocolate-box like a Constable looks up close. Or, how about drawing directly from Turner's watercolours as a way of experiencing his perception of light, looking at his sketchbooks and his mini portable watercolouring set and palette.

Walking by the white Elgin Marbles and finding them as inspirational as the neoclassical artists did or walking through the gates of the Assyrian city of Nimrud are experiences not to be forgotten. Looking closely at exactly how Vincent applied paint in his "Sunflowers" we can see how he makes it look more like a low relief sculpture than a painting . We are getting to know the secrets of the trade. In fact the journey we took places us almost on a first name basis with what up to now may be perceived as unapproachable giants of art.

Surrealism is easier to comprehend now having gazed over the revolutionary manifestos of Andre Breton and Max Ernst. Looking at Magritte is like meeting an old philosopher that we might warmly welcome and can understand now that the the fundamentals of the language of modern art are spoken clear to us.

It was hoped that the trip might inspire and broaden horizons, that it might unveil to the viewer the poetry and dreams that motivate the making of art and awaken the sleeping consciousness to new, exciting and endless possibilities that are now afforded to us, our eyes having been opened wider, our vision renewed.

As one fellow traveller following Ariadne's golden thread through the labyrinth said to me... "Looking at art is like eating food for the soul!"

Who was Ariadne?
The hero Theseus was sent to Crete by his people to be one of the sacrifices to the Minotaur. His true intent was to kill the Minotaur and finally end the sacrifices. Young Ariadne fell in love with Theseus the second she saw him and went against her family to help her lover. She gave Theseus a special thread that he could unwind on his way to the center of the labyrinth, so that he could kill the Minotaur and then follow the thread back out. Theseus succeeded in his quest, and in exchange for her help, he promised to make Ariadne his bride.
To find out more about the symbolism of Ariadne go to....
http://www.matrifocus.com/BEL02/spotlight.htm