Tate Modern

Back in England, and it was off to the Tate Modern with Jan on a damp Saturday afternoon. This was my first visit inside this wonderful art gallery. I had walked past it often enough but never had ventured inside. Today we wanted to see the Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray and Francis Picabia exhibition but first had a look at the much publicised "crack" in the floor (aka Shibboleth).

The work was by Doris Salcedo, originally from Colombia. According to the official blurb, this is “the first work to intervene directly in the fabric of the Turbine Hall. Rather than fill this iconic space with a conventional sculpture or installation, Salcedo has created a subterranean chasm that stretches the length of the Turbine Hall. The concrete walls of the crevice are ruptured by a steel mesh fence, creating a tension between these elements that resist yet depend on one another. By making the floor the principal focus of her project, Salcedo dramatically shifts our perception of the Turbine Hall’s architecture, subtly subverting its claims to monumentality and grandeur. Shibboleth asks questions about the interaction of sculpture and space, about architecture and the values it enshrines, and about the shaky ideological foundations on which Western notions of modernity are built.”

All very well, but for me, the fascinating part was watching the people interact with the work. Of course then I had to interact as well, by taking photos of the people interacting! Fantastic. If you want to see the results, you can view them here http://picasaweb.google.com/jane.thompsonuk/TateModern

The Duchamp, Manray and Picabia exhibition was great - very extensive and very out-there at times but certainly interesting. They were great mates, and must have had some fun times in their creative space! If you would like to know more about this exhibition, or the Tate Modern, you can check it out at the official website http://www.tate.org.uk/

The visit was topped off by a drink in the members bar (thanks Jan!) and an attempt at some photography at dusk on Southbank.