A Game of Chess

Tate Modern, London

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…

Jannis Kounellis

Tate Modern, London

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.

Jannis Kounellis, Tate Modern, London

Art Space

Tate Modern, London

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.

Art Crawl

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.

Rosa Barba, Wirepiece, 2022
Tate Modern, London

Projector, drum string, bridge saddle, 16mm film strip, microphone, and audio.

Rosa Barba, The Hidden Conference  2010–15

A 3-part film installation. Click any of the 3 images above o see them all enlarged.

Erwitt

Musée Maillol, Paris

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.

Musée d’Orsay

Musée d’Orsay, Paris

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.