versus 
Anthony Caro was a very interesting night. I was going to the event with the mindset that I’d be seeing some engaging art and when I saw some of the pictures online I was interested to see more. Once I entered the roof I saw this huge crowd of people and I’m thinking to myself, wow this must be a really good exhibit! A few moments later I see that they’re crowding the bar -_-. I did find the pieces eye-catching because once I saw each one I had an “ooooo that’s cool” moment. But honestly, after about fifteen minutes or so I was just getting bored. However, I cannot say anything bad about the artist because he got knighted by the Queen, which can only be described by the words “freaking” and “awesome.”
But in the middle of looking at the pieces and taking pictures of them I was noticing the other people viewing the exhibit. Now I use the word viewing very loosely considering that Macaulay students were pretty much the only people actually looking at the pieces -_-! Nevertheless it was interesting to just take a moment and observe your surroundings and the different people drawn to the event on a Friday evening. There were the security guards who seemed bored out of their minds and decided to take out their boredom on the poor defenseless students who decided to plank/pose next to the exhibit. Then there was an intimidating yet business-looking man who had a button with the word “Staff” on it. The couples that came out for a drink and to watch the view. The upper-class rich folk who came with their friends/spouses to also drink and watch the view. Oh and my personal favorite the tourists, some who can speak English and others who could not.
Since I knew I came here tonight because it is a requirement for this class some other students and I decided lets interview some people and figure out why they came here tonight. This is where the evening became very interesting. I chose the first man I saw and I went up to him and said, “Hello, we’re college students and we were wondering if you could tell us why you came to the exhibit tonight.” He stared at me, then to the man to his right and both began mumbling in a different language (the tourists who can’t speak English). So I side stepped to the couple next to him and asked them the same question (looking back, it wasn’t my smartest decision because the two men were still mumbling and awkwardness was in the air). The wife described the exhibit as “simple” and the husband described it as “different.” I do not know how reliable these comments are however because based on the excessive head nodding I believe they had a higher BAC than when they first entered the exhibit. They also told us that they only really came here for the view, which seemed to be a recurring theme of the night.
Overall, I thought the pieces were interesting but again, something that would only really keep me engaged for fifteen or so minutes. However, it is interesting how other students that went on a different day seemed to have a more worthwhile experience. Which brings me to my last point; the environment, the surroundings and the individuals actually played a much more prevalent role in how the exhibit was perceived rather than the actual art. Which is just so bizarre that I expressed the same sentiments as this dog:
This might be a little bit like I am creeping but after I heard about this in the lounge I just had to read your blog lol. You make it so much fun to read, and I thought your last point was really interesting, on how the environment played a bigger role on how the exhibit was perceived. I wish you could have explored it a little more =). Cute dog! :p woof
Thanks Olivia! 😀