Cultural Impressions

I visited the Dean Gallery to see Foto:Modernity in Central Europe after visiting the Gallery of Modern Art a day earlier. I did this so I wouldn’t run out of time, as it turns out I left that mistake for the Portrait gallery. On the way back to the apartment I wondered by, looked at my phone which told me I had just under two hours before the gallery closed, so I walked in to validate the ticket I had bought at the Dean. The woman at the counter insisted that I would have enough time to see the Vanity Fair Portraits. Imagine my surprise when I was approached by a staff member while I was still browsing photos from the 1920’s, holding her watch and softly whispering “we are closing”. For whatever reason my phone was one hour behind. What puzzles me is how the staff at the counter imagined someone could see some 150 photos in less then an hour.

The following day I returned to see the remainder of the exhibition, another six ponds later I was back where I had left off, a portrait of Albert Einstein after winning the noble prize. With almost comedic timing, just as I am turning towards the next image, the sound of a missionary drill vibrates through the building.