London Art Week

Every October, London is turned into an art enthusiast's dream as the Frieze Art Fair rolls into town, pitching up tents in Regent's Park full of pieces created by artists as varied as the darling of Tate Modern, Gerhard Richter, to the mad George Condo, more recently famous for the artwork to Kanye West's 2010 album and a personal favorite of mine, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. 

The exterior wall of the Village Underground, a space dedicated to all things artistic and reflecting life in East London's Shoreditch neighborhood, an area reminiscent of NYC's lower east side.

Frieze is for the serious and wealthy collector with spare mil to kill, so we decided to check out Moniker Art Fair, a more suitable event in Shoreditch's Village Underground for the less wealthy, albeit no less serious, aficionado.  Moniker celebrates street art, featuring such artists as Banksy on the more expensive end, but with reasonably priced prints by the young and up-and-coming (I snagged one by an artist in residence, who I had dedicate the print in person!).  One of my favorite pieces was a large scale canvas by the artist Joe Black, who created the image of a soldier's face and helmet out of hundreds of miniature plastic soldier figurines.  

As an added treat to wind up the weekend, another festival was taking place on the Southbank that celebrated something just as wonderful: the Cheese & Wine Festival.  Sharing a glass of Prosecco with friends on steps with London as our backdrop was the perfect compliment to Art Week 2011.

Red River Rivalry: London Edition

As anyone in Texas will tell you, the biggest weekend of the year was this past one: the Red River Rivalry.  The Longhorns travel north on I-35 the 198 miles from Austin to Dallas and the Sooners head 194 miles south from Norman, Oklahoma along the same highway, both teams and thousands of fans converging on the Cotton Bowl and the Texas State Fair.  The weekend celebrates all things good about the grand ol' state of Texas: college football, deep-fried turkey legs, and the best color of the season, burnt orange.

Us Longhorns in London had to be a little more creative to celebrate the big day.  A fabulous street fair/farmer's market that takes place every Saturday in the Shoreditch area of London, Broadway Market, substituted as our own Texas State Fair.

 

It's chock full of vendors selling everything from herb-infused olive oils to german sausages with sauerkraut to second-hand tweed coats and various types of cheeses.











Broadway Market reminds me a lot of the farmer's market in San Francisco's Ferry Building in that it is as equally geared toward local and organic fare...it's also equally as foggy!

After a sampling of the treats at Broadway Market (roasted tomato, goat cheese, and spinach quiche followed by a lavender & lemon mini cupcake!), we met up with the Texas Exes for the main event: kickoff of the TX-OU game!  

Texas lost this year, but what I will always remember from this year is that no matter where you are in the world, you can always find a little piece of home...it just takes a little creativity and a great alumni network.  Hook 'em!

Welcome!

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for following me on my blog, London Flog.  Welcome!

First,  I would like to offer a brief explanation of the name of my blog.  Before embarking on my three-month jaunt in London, I thought it fitting to read Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass.  These classics are synonymous with British literature, and despite having majored in English literature, I had never actually read them (CMC was not fond of the fantastical, imaginative works).

Despite being an absolute treat to read, the latter of the two books introduced me to a new literary term: the portmanteau.  In Through the Looking-Glass, Alice received a lesson from Humpty Dumpty on the meaning behind the language in Jabberwocky, most notably the combination of the words "slimy" and "lithe" to create "slithy," as well as "mimsy" from "miserable" and "flimsy."

"You see," remarked Humpty Dumpty, "it's like a portmanteau - there are two meanings packed up into one word."

Today, readers of People magazine might be familiar with the modern-day rendition of the portmanteau in "Brangelina" (Brad Pitt + Angelina Jolie).  Hence, I combined the word most often associated with London -- fog -- with what I am writing -- a blog -- to create "Flog."  Not nearly as clever as Carroll, but I hope you learned something new anyway.

Now, please join me on my journey.  I do not promise anything as imaginative as Alice's adventures, but I do hope you acquire an image of London through the lens of my own looking glass.

Cheers!