I took several shots of this installation but chose this one where I shot straight on, reducing the most central elements, perpendicular to the side I stood on, to mere lines.
“Conceived as a dynamic chess set, Institution vs. The Mass builds on [Anna] Boghiguian’s interest in the cycles of revolution and sociopolitical change throughout history.” see more on the Tate site…
An alternate take on the vas spaces and sense of awe created by modern art spaces, not totally unlike the cathedrals of yore, here at an area in the Tate Modern called The Tanks.
Hanging in the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern, El Anatsui’s Behind the Red Moon is immense.
Couldn’t believe they had (the 1964 replica of) Duchamp’s famous urinal on display and I almost walked right past it. Also some suspended objets (below) that I don’t remember the story of.
Wall of Coloured Glass (part of the larger installation, Coal Sculpture with Wall of Coloured Glass, 1999). A Greek artist working in Rome in the arte povere school, Jannis Kounellis also produced the below.
An interesting sculptural piece that plays with Sol LeWitt concepts. Click on the images below to see them enlarged.
I continue to be struck by museums and galleries’ use of space. All the whiteness, openness, vastness and what this says about wealth in the hegemonic metropolises. This is particularly seen in empty space, and the use of geometry in defining spaces like staircases. The Tate Modern is a little bit of a special case, situated as it is in a former power station but the vastness of the space continues to echo the theme. Click on any of the images below to see them full sized.
Click on any of the images below to see them full sized.
Intended to see 4 or 5 shows in London on Friday but in the end I spent a lot of time at the Tate Modern and only managed to fit in the Barbican Centre afterwards.
Projector, drum string, bridge saddle, 16mm film strip, microphone, and audio.
A 3-part film installation. Click any of the 3 images above o see them all enlarged.
We went on from the Musée d’Orsay for a coffee and then the Musée Maillol which had a very comprehensive and nicely curated (and lighted!) retrospective of Elliot Erwitt, integrated loosely with some of the Maillol work. I’m not sure if it was an homage to Erwitt, but the path of the exhibition was directed with dog-paw prints throughout. The museum was not too crowded and everyone seemed to speak French, which was a relief. The audio guides were in French only, another positive, un-touristy sign. Click on the images below to see them enlarged.
Click any of the pictures below to see them enlarged (if this isn’t working you’re probably viewing this in an email or social media – try clicking the post title first).
How we view art today – we photograph it with our phones. Click any picture below to see them larger.
Once again, I focused my lens more on the architecture, the geometry, the sub-text of this hallowed space. Click any of the pictures below to see them full-sized.
This was the queue we were asked to join for people who had tickets for the same time as our tickets. My tourist foreboding was rising. It was only about a 10-minute wait as they regulated how many people could squeeze through the revolving door at a time. Inside we started at the top with the ever popular Impressionists. It was wall to wall people and almost impossible to look at the paintings. One young woman had fainted and was lying on the floor with her family insisting she was fine. We quickly escaped to less crowded floors. Click any image below to see them bigger.
Our last morning we toured the National Museum of Scotland. Naturally, most of my photographs were about the geometry of the space and less about the exhibits themselves. As ever, click on any of the pictures below to see them at full size (clicking the post title first if that doesn’t work for you in email or on social media).
No visit to a museum would be complete without a review of the geometry of the spaces. Click any of the pictures below to see them full sized (you may need to click the post title first if you’re not seeing this directly on the web-site).
Our next stop, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Click into the images for captions on the works (you may need to click the post title first if you’re not seeing this directly on the website). No doubt I’ll look like Duane Hansen’s tourist in a few years.
Our final morning in Antwerp was spent at the KMSKA (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen), which underwent a massive refurbishment for many years. It’s a stunning museum and as you can see I continue to be interested in capturing the spaces, the geometry, the whiteness (and blackness), the symmetry and awe of this cathedral to the beauty of the capitalist art world. Please do click into the images below to see them all full-sized (you may need to click on the post title above first if you’re seeing this in email).
