Imagine my sense of serendipity when Chris, the young Liverpudlian guide, told his passengers aboard the Yellow Duckmarine that Liverpool’s Chinatown Gate was the largest outside of China. Shanghai, Liverpool’s sister city, gave it to its English port city sibling in 2004, the year Liverpool was awarded World Heritage status. Now it makes perfect sense to me why so many lamppost flags were advertising the Shanghai Expo. I’ll be anxious to see if Liverpool scored a special section in the English Pavilion. As each tourist, surprisingly mostly English, called out his hometown, Chris imitated his area’s accent. He didn’t drop his "r’s " at my shout-out of Boston, Massachusetts; instead he gave us credit for our own Duck Tours, noting our land/river vehicles were red, not yellow. (I suspect an allusion to “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles who are heavily marketed with a Museum and a Magical Mystery tour of their homes and hangouts) Beatlemania is well done here; my friend Glenda Fishman, a huge Paul McCartney fan, was thoroughly satisfied with her tour experience a few years ago.
The Albert Dock, opened by Queen Victoria’s beloved husband in 1848, is a two hour train ride northwest of London. The area has been renovated and gentrified recently, much like the Quincy Markets at Fanueil Hall in the 1970’s. However, Albert Dock’s true waterside location anchored by the Mersey River (Gerry and the Pacemakers' “Ferry Cross the Mersey”) gives it immediate appeal. Sure, the smattering of shops, numerous eating establishments and the many free, first-class museums, among them a thought-provoking International Slavery Museum, make the water’s edge even more alluring. The Tate Liverpool ‘s “Picasso: Peace and Freedom” exhibit was my siren call.
The Holiday Inn Express, not like any American counterpart, has a prime location overlooking the squared dock water enclave on one side and the Mersey River on the other. The hotel’s design was in keeping with the rest of the nautical refitting of commerce in the former warehouses. My room, all red brick, had a calming view of the Dock at an economical price. Not fully booked, the hotel fills to capacity on concert nights at the next-door, newly-built Echo Arena and, of course on game days for Liverpool’s beloved football (soccer) team. In some ways, Liverpool reminds me of our own Foxboro and its new Patriot Place. New England Patriots’ gear is as ubiquitous there as the Red Lion jerseys are at Albert Dock. Next to the Arena is Liverpool’s own Ferris wheel, not as impressive as London’s Eye, but it does add a festive quality to the waterfront.
Having booked online in Boston a spot on the 6pm Curators’ tour for the Picasso exhibit, I was not disappointed. The show highlighted Picasso’s hatred of war and his commitment to the international Communist Party, both motivated by his vehement distaste of Franco’s role in the Spanish Civil War of 1936. Both his paintings Guernica and the Dove of Peace have become iconic anti-war symbols. Remember Picasso would not allow his masterpiece,Guernica, to hang in Spain until Franco died. Franco outlived the 92 year old Picasso by two years dying in 1975 at the age of 83.
I had arrived at the museum early to explore. A thoroughly delightful and engaging video piece by emerging Dutch artist, Rineke Dijkstra, combined the signature Picasso show with the distinct Liverpudlian youth culture. Ms. Dijkstra filmed uniformed middle school children viewing and reacting to Picasso’s Weeping Woman. The audience never sees the painting, only the children’s faces projected on three large side by side screens. We also hear their comments which are captioned in case one can’t quite catch the strong Liverpool accent. The children’s earnest concentration and efforts to figure out why the woman was sad evoked in me both tears and smiles. Particularly poignant were their comments in which they related the woman’s sadness with events in their own lives or in that of their neighbors. It matters little whether the students know that Picasso painted Weeping Woman in response to the Spanish Civil War. Someday they may learn about that specific event, but for now, they are unwittingly participating in a great tribute to Picasso--his universality. And Dijkstra has heartbreakingly shown us the universality of childhood openness.
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