I haven't been to the Tate in quite awhile. Mr. Michie went on a school trip before Christmas and he inspired me to want to go again after such a long absence. However, they were hanging so many things that a lot of the rooms were closed, so I didn't get a chance to see as much as I had hoped.
One piece I did see was by the conceptual artist Cerith Wyn Evans. Who had a stunning, ballroom size Venetian chandelier hanging in a room; that lit up very slowly and once warmed up the lights would flash on and off. It was so beautiful and yet surreal to see in white this room, the bold colours of the chandelier's droplets and flowers were all that stood out, against the blinding light when the bulbs reached their highest power.
My minor in College,was Arts Management and one of the courses I took was a gallery class. One area we focused on, was how do people use the space they are in and interact with the space they are in. I always think back to that class as I watch people in a gallery/museum.
There was no way around this chandelier it was so wide and hung so low it almost touched the floor. You couldn't miss it. Yet, I stood against a wall and watched people breeze past it, give it a wide berth, as if there was nothing of importance to see, or, they would quickly glance at it and move along. Maybe its sheer size unnerved people, they felt it was too big to interact with, it isn't as "simple" as standing in front of a painting on a wall. Who knows? It was just something that fascinated me.
I had a lovely day out and I think the students did as well, a lot of good ideas for their exam theme of "Similarities & Differences". I just thought I would share a few of my favourite images from the day with you:
Theodore Von Holst, The Fairy Lovers, about 1840
Michael Ayrton, The Temptation of St. Anthony, 1942-3
Henry Fuseli, Titania and Bottom, about 1790
William Blake, The Book of Thel pl. 7, probably 1796
John Linnell, The Last Load, 1853
Cerith Wyn Evans, Chandelier
I picked up these two postcards as my treat. I thought they offered an interesting perspective on "Similarities & Differences", so I am just going to pocket them away as an idea for a student in need:
{Self Portrait with Fried Eggs, Sarah Lucas, 1996 (left) Honeymoon Nude, John Currin, 1998 (right)}
