Little bit of culture here (for once) - I managed to squeeze in quite a fruitful amount of intersting things over the weekend, including some interesting exhibitions in London. The Political Cartoon Gallery (near Goodge Street tube and UCL’s Senate House) is running an exhibition of cartoons depicting George W. Bush (plenty of Steve Bell, as you might expect). It was interesting (and amusing) and well worth the measly £1 entrance fee, especially when you compare all the different (yet familiar) caricatures of Bush - what features of his cartoonists commonly draw on, and which they don’t. Alas, there weren’t enough cartoons from America (maybe that is a good thing, considering how baffling and contrived* some American political cartoons can be); the commentary at the exhibition noted how Bush is so often depicted with Blair in British cartoons, while he never figures in American ones, even when they’re on international issues - it would have been really good if it had a wider selection of US depictions so that the viewer could see for themselves.

Just down the road from the Political Cartoon Gallery I found an absolute geek’s gem - the New London Architecture centre, if only because it has an enormous 1:1500 scale model of central and east London. It allows you not only to marvel at the sheer enormity of the city, and review new and proposed developments, but most important, you can pretend to be a giant. Photos here - the attention to detail is absolutely phenomenal (every block is cut & shaped individually) and best of all it’s free to get in.

Finally, I went to the enormously popular Three Emperors exhibition at the Royal Academy, which was rammed when I went (Saturday). It was intensely interesting, although you really do have to hire one of the audio guides (£3, on top of an £11 entrance fee - Oriental culture ain’t cheap) to get the most out of it. The audio commentary really brought the exhibition to life, particularly its discussion of the paintings and vast scrolls (think lengthy Bayeux tapestry-style narratives), and the influences of the Italian painter Giuseppe Castiglione, who was an artist in the court of all three emperors. However, that was also the exhibition’s drawback - the analysis and interpretation of the graphical artworks and paintings was first-class, but information about calligraphy, pottery, textiles and other technology was somewhat sketchier and left me wanting a little. Still, it’s well worth going to, not least because it showcases a place and time that is all too easily described as obscure, isolated and inscrutable, when it is absolutely not the case.

* Yes, I know it’s a spoof from the Onion link, but it neatly sums up my view on a lot of American political cartoons I’ve seen on the web.