Monday 22 March 2010

"The architecture makes me cream my pants."


Over the weekend I visited my boyfriend in the lovely city of Bradford. It rained. I was kept awake by numerous police and ambulance sirens. I suffered the delights of being forced into a conversation with a drunken man on a train who, when describing northern architecture to me, explained how it makes him want to "cream his pants". What a lovely image.

Edd was intent on showing me some of the nicer parts of the area, and I have to say - despite my stubbornness - he succeeded. We visited one of the largest old cloth-mills in the area - Salts Mill, in Saltaire village. Through the drizzle and the gloom loomed this magnificent building, and I have to say I almost agreed with the drunk man on the train.

The mill is no longer in use for its original purpose, and only a small fraction of the original building is being used now. It has since been converted into a shopping, dining and exhibition space; featuring the work of David Hockney.

This was really interesting, as I have admired his work since my GCSE art studies. I particularly enjoy Hockney's "Joiners" - photomontage pieces that portray scenes through various different perspectives. It was also fascinating to see the range in his work; from paintings to collage and from photomontage to poster design. I enjoyed the exhibition greatly.

What I loved most about the visit though, was the numerous juxtapositions within and surrounding the building. The old versus the new; the derelict versus the newly refurbished; the industrial versus the beautiful. A really interesting experience!





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