Well, when we arrived at the Tate we were just in time for a highlights tour so we thought we should do that. Our guide was so good that we followed him for the second hour. By then we were all ready for a bite to eat.
So I don't really understand the Tate Britain's collection. Mr. Tate gave the building to the British government in 1897--the same year that the Corcoran Gallery of Art opened in DC. Tate's family was not considered quite proper so the government was reluctant to accept the gift. But the deal went through. It is located on Milbank, once the largest prison facility (either in Britain or in Europe). British prisoners were held there before being sent to Australia. They are currently doing some refurbishing so it was a bit jumbled, but nevertheless quite interesting. What I don't understand is why they also have some contemporary works of art--ones that seem as though they should be at the Tate Modern. But never mind ; it must be about politics. We saw a David Hockney--Big Splash--the third in his splash series. Also Damien Hirst--a very large vitrine (large enough to have held a shark perhaps) that had a table, a pack of cigarettes and many cigarette buts. Our guide explained it was about the evils of smoking, etc. We also wandered into a room of paintings from the 1920s or so--all British artists. Some very unusual. None outstanding, but quite thought provoking.
Tonight's theatre was not my cup of tea--a classic British farce with lots of pratfalls and slapstick stuff. The plot made no sense. I didn't understand it, but the audience seemed to love it. So fortunately there is something for everyone. One Man, Two Guvnors at Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Tomorrow we have an American musical--Top Hat. We also plan to go to the Churchill War Rooms in the morning. I understand it has been enlarged since my previous visit.
Here is the info about our terrific guide. Tell him I sent you.
David Hamed
London Private Tours
+44 7956 861 857
From what I understand about Hirst is that he defines space with his installations: physical space and political space, commenting on the interaction, codependency and influence of them one on the other. The use of cigarettes and cigarette butts relates to "legal" and "illegal" substances, legal ones being often as lethal the illegal ones. And that the legality is a political definition of our space...
ReplyDeleteHow is the seeming randomness of the Tate's collection differ from that of the Corcoran's collection?