All my Victorians in the house say 'Whaaaatt?!'

What's that you say? You want to hear MORE about Museums in London? Well. Give the people what they want.

London Museums Part II: Al and Vicky want to party with you

Ahhh Queen Victoria, is there any more confusing idol for modern women? On the one hand you were the unquestionably dominant ruler of a vast empire (granted, a lot of people in that empire were not interested in you ruling them, but still). On the other hand, you were a big supporter of a woman's place being squarely in the home, idealizing womanhood as being submissive, delicate, passive and pure. The idea that a person is either 'pure' or 'fallen' just doesn't sit right with me: placing the value of a human life on whether or not they put out is not only unfair, it's also untrue. 

Also, the period Queen Victoria came to be the symbolic representation of produced some of the weirdest, most incorrect takes on history. See the death of Horatio Nelson. Yet, this period also some of the greatest contributions to literature the world has ever seen. What to do, what to do? Do we hate Victorians for their general characterization of being ethno-centric, tree-cutting, whore-mongering, bizzarre, repressed and even sometimes unbelievably rascist/sexist jerks? Or do we celebrate their industry, their imagination, their thirst for knowledge and their belief in social reform and improving the lives of the poor? To quote John Green "Stupid History. Always resisting simplistic understanding".

So it's with this state of mind that we look at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The V&A had originally gotten it's start in the 1850s with the intent that the "decorative arts" may improve the life of the common workers in London. For a while the collection moved from venue to venue until it found it's permanent home near Hyde Park, where it stands today. To date, it is the world's largest museum dedicated to the "decorative arts" which we will find means basically whatever you want it to.

I had been interested in visiting this museum for quite some time, but for some reason, something had always came up on the day of and I'd have to cancel. That is until a cold October day when class was suddenly cancelled and I had nothing else to do. A few tube stops later I entered the belly of the beast.

It's a really extraordinary place, not only as a collection of decorative arts, but for how many people are there. Seriously, this place was like a circus. If you are the kind of person who is into the hushed awe of an empty museum then this is not the place for you. Kids, adults, everybody, they're all over the place. And for good reason, in what other museum can you see Edwardian Gowns next to a display about 'Gothic Lolitas' or enormous cast reproductions of Trajan's column next to some beautiful little Korean bowls.  I think what I enjoyed most was the cast rooms, not only for the sculptures, but for the scale. It's three stories high and you can follow everything from top to bottom.

Though points need to be given to Tipu's tiger, which is a bizzare contraption that I think could serve as a very good metaphor for the museum as a whole.

Weird? Yes...but also kind of cool.

I guess what I'm trying to say is: The V&A. Weird...but in a cool way.