Last evening after dinner we decided to take a walk to watch the sun set over Parliament. (Literally, not figuratively!) Every city looks different after dark. We enjoyed the winding down of activities along the south bank of the Thames.
Today we went to the National Gallery. I didn’t take photos of paintings, but couldn’t resist taking a shot of a common visitor site…people checking messages on their phones.
The National Gallery provides free wifi, so what else is a person to do? Anyone can see Vermeer, Turner, Constable, Gainsborough and all those other dead artists on the internet! Perhaps my most humorous site today was a fellow walking through the rooms with his iPhone held high over his head, recording a video of his passage. He never looked at the paintings.
We enjoyed seeing some old favorites (some were not up at present), some of the collection that hasn’t been up on previous visits, and were surprised by a few new acquisitions. It’s sort of like catching up with an old friend to see what’s changed and enjoying what hasn’t.
Paul
Travels With Picasso 
I see the same thing in Sapporo, though I’ve yet to see people in an art museum doing what they’re doing there. Rather amusing, yet also rather sad, as no one seems to be really here.
The same thing happens here in Sapporo with smartphones, though I have to say that I’ve yet to see someone in an art gallery gazing at theirs. Amusing in a way . . . and in a way rather sad, as no one seems to be here.
Even before the age of the iPhone, I was in a Paris museum where a fellow had a rather large video camera on which he was taking shots of famous paintings and telling his intended audience how famous the paintings were. He didn’t stop long enough to look at them, of course, he just seemed to want to impress his friends. I try to linger a bit longer. Now that Catherine and I have been to the Tacoma Art Museum together, I know how much more SHE sees in a painting than I do. But that’s the fun of going to an art museum with an artist.
Of course, why bother watching the works of dead painters, which any way can be done on internet. I did not look nor listen but I was there. Pretty cool!