The good news is, is that I finally got three of my films developed (yay!) so I have some more new images! For the most part the two films had photos from our trip to Vienna, and some others were even from Japan (!?!) which I feel like its a bit too late now to post here so I'll be gradually putting them up on my photography blog. It doesn't have much of a following but I like seeing them somewhere together, and to be honest its mainly good memories rather than seriously considering them as artwork. I think it's a good way to tell stories and keep track of time somehow.
We were in Vienna back in April (a scarily long time ago...) which was a relief after spending so much time by ourselves working on the second term essay. By then we already knew each other pretty well, so actually it was perfect time to take a trip and let off some steam. We left on Monday morning to arrive around lunchtime to orientate ourselves. In the afternoon we were taken on a tour around the famous (or infamous) Ringstrasse, Vienna's 18th century take on modern city planning. What we got from it was that yes, Vienna comes across as very very very rich. The architecture in the centre is predictably flamboyant and austere. An interesting note was that buildings were built 'in-the-style-of' to reflect the function of the building. For example, the Austrian Parliament Building is in the classical style for its references to democracy and justice. You could say it was sort of the post-modernism of its time, very flashy indeed. Much of the centre of Vienna is like this - large blocks of historicism pretty much everywhere. Some of the buildings destroyed in the war were replaced with 50s filler buildings, which I have to say, I preferred a lot more.
The next day we split into two groups, and I joined the Vienna Historical Museum option in the hopes of learning some more about Viennese history which...is very heavily edited in the Museum. Much of the permanent exhibition focused on the elite and the bourgeoisie, and more about their leisure time and wealth than of Austrian or Viennese history. We spent the morning exploring the exhibition, and the highlight was finding a ridiculous object called a giraffe piano, which is like if a baby grand and an upright piano had a child. Google it, it's a sight to behold. Maria had just written her essay on the gendered use and display of pianos, so we presented that in our collective round up of the visit. We felt that giraffe pianos were one of the few even middle-class items on display, that encompassed the leisure and musical education of pianos, but also an object that was space-saving and decorative in itself.
In the afternoon we met the other group to see the Beethoven Frieze in the Secession Building. It was very cool and peaceful inside, and it goes without saying that Klimt's frieze was a sight to behold. Many a postcard was purchased of it. We split for dinner after that, and Charlotte and I were keen to visit the MAK, seeing as we wouldn't have been able to catch it at any other time. It turned out that the MAK was open late and free entry that night, so we headed for the Josef Frank 'Against Design' exhibition, and the 'Fashion Utopia's' exhibition. The Frank exhibition was particularly impressive, showcasing his architectural models, loads of his furniture (whole and parts), and the best part for me was a wall with a big selection of his textiles with the drawings and plans displayed alongside. It had been a long time since I had really looked at illustration and surface pattern, and it made me really want to pick it back up again. It's a long time since I've really done any drawing, I had meant to draw whilst in Vienna but just didn't manage to get into it. There was a lot of running around to do, so I figured I would stick with taking photos but I do regret it a little that I didn't...maybe one day I'll be brave enough to get back into it properly.
Wednesday we split up again, and I had chosen to go the Hundertwasser House and the Museum. A weird anomaly in the sea of austere buildings, the house was sparkling, colourful and really beautiful to look at. Ironically, across the road was a pastiche 'market house' in the style of the Hundertwasser House but shoved full of tacky Vienna souvenirs. Obviously the house had become a bit of a tourist trap, and we talked about how the house had been perceived by the neighbours, how much it cost, and the relationship between Hundertwasser and the architect who made it happen (which had of course turned pretty sour). We went to the museum as well, and although I enjoyed his prints and textiles, I wasn't sure about the feel of the museum, and how it was almost propaganda-like about Hundertwasser. 'Ego-White-Man-Visionary' became a bit of a recurring theme on the trip in the end...
In the afternoon we went to visit a panopticon held inside the university called the 'Narrenturm' or 'Fool's Tower' that was built in the late 18th century. This is essentially a cylindrical hospital/prison for mental patients, but is now a medical museum. It was difficult to imagine as it was under construction, so we couldn't see the whole thing from the inside, but the idea was chilling enough. We then ventured out of the first district in Vienna for the first time to visit Karl-Marx-Hof, one of Vienna's most famous social housing complexes. Until then, I had only imagined Vienna to be like the Ringstrasse, so it was quite refreshing to see something that was not 'luxury' and elite, but more descriptive of the everyday. We were given an invigorating tour by the Karl-Marx-Hof Museum's keeper, with the Museum now housed in the old communal Bath house, although below is still a communal laundry area. It turns out that Vienna's social housing system is (or at least sounds) awesome, and made us all even more resentful of living in London. But most of all, the complex itself is beautiful, modernist in style but still brimming with life and activity, especially with the two kindergartens built inside the complex. Definitely worth venturing out for!
The long day was finished with an Adolf Loos walk in the first district again, a highlight of which was a quick nip to the Loos loos for 50cents, and finishing off in the Loos American Bar, where I had a killer cocktail martini with absinthe in it, which tasted a bit like swimming pool.
But by far the best was saved until last. Again we split up, this time for the whole day, where a lucky 15 of us went out to Brno in Czech Republic to visit the Tugendhat House by Mies Van de Rohe. Yet another Ego-White-Man-Visionary, but the house was nevertheless breathtaking. I feel like I have to do another separate post on it because I have too many pictures, and too much to gush about it. But I will say we had the absolute best tour with our guide Magdalena (follow her on Instagram here - she's also an amazing painter!) and the whole time we were all just in a dream - it helped that it was a gorgeous day and we could lay out in the sun looking at the beautiful building. Afterwards we went for a walk around Brno and we decided we could have spent a week there instead of Vienna... but maybe we'll visit next summer together. We invited Magdalena for dinner with us and had a delicious spinach strudel (so tasty and cheap!) before hopping on the train back to Vienna.
The next morning a group of us decided to have a lazy morn eating delicious pancakes instead of squeezing in any more of Vienna. I think Vienna would have been an even better destination had we ventured further out to discover more of the everyday history, and perhaps more of the global aspects of Viennese design (it exists! Even if they deny it!). But otherwise, I think we all really enjoyed spending some time together looking at lots of shiny shiny things.
