day at the tate

Earlier this fall, Peter and I took the motorcycle into London for a day of culture  [shocker, I know, but stay with me].  We hit the Tate Modern, where I got away with taking some photos until a guard finally clued into the fact that I was breaking the rules.  Rebel, I am.

The text that curators and art historians write to identify each piece never fails to amaze me.  They are clearly smart people who understand a lot about their subject, but come on.  Do they really think a sentence like this helps us commoners in any way understand a piece of art?

His unconventionally-shaped canvases defy traditional distinctions between painting and sculpture, and establish themselves as objects with their own independent reality, rather than just ‘pictures’.

Here are some pieces of art that I found interesting - and selections from the text that was written about them. 

Cloud Canyons No 3: An Ensemble of Bubble Machines (Auto Creative Sculptures) 1961, remade 2004
David Medalla 

David Medalla has described himself as ‘a poet who celebrates physics’. His work draws on science and nature, and aims to combine art with aspects of Eastern and Western philosophies. His ‘bubble machines’, like the one shown here, produce a steady flow of tiny bubbles that refract light into rainbows. In such works Medalla employs machines, a symbol of impersonal technology, to produce forms that are organic, sensual, shifting and playful. 

Who knew bubbles were so ... deep?

 

Monochrome White Painting 1963
Li Yuan-Chia, 1929-1994

Ah, the quintessential piece of 'modern art': the blank canvas.  Any artist who can sell a canvas full of white paint deserves every penny he gets.  Kudos to you, Mr. Yuan-Chia.

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Li Yuan-Chia arrived in London in the early 1960s. Considered one of the founding fathers of abstract art in Taiwan, his work combined aspects of Western and Eastern thought. ... The surface of Monochrome White Painting includes Li Yuan-Chia’s most personal visual mark: the dot or circular form, which for him symbolised the beginning and end of all things. 

Gosh, what unusual symbolism for a circle... the beginning and end of all things.  I've never, ever heard that before, certainly not in any philosophy or religion class I've ever taken.  No, never.

I do think this is pretty in its own white way.

 

Large Split Relief No.34/4/74 1964-5
Sergio de Camargo, 1930 - 1990

While he was living in Paris from 1961 and 1974, Camargo made a number of monochrome white works composed of cylindrical pieces of diagonally-cut wood. These reliefs, which resemble a crystalline growth, generate a play of light and shadow across their surface.

I really like this piece of art.  It looks like a bunch of white logs glued onto a board - and the effect is really pretty. Modern, yes, but pretty.

White Curve, 1974
Ellsworth Kelly

 

Eliminating all superfluous detail, Kelly focuses on the constituent elements of his works: form, colour and scale...The effect of Kelly’s works depends on their interaction with the wall on which they hang. Traditionally a painting is self-contained, with figures or shapes arranged against a background, all enclosed within the same frame. Kelly’s shapes, by contrast, use the gallery wall as a background, incorporating it directly into the viewer’s experience of the work. Although his art is very different in character to that of the Minimalists, he shares with them a fascination for the dynamic relationship between the object, the viewer and the surrounding space.

Honestly, what's wrong with just writing 'here's a pretty cool white shape that looks like a fan'?

Here's our favorite piece of art:

Comments

[Francesca]

I'm simply delighted over this entry. I've been exploring monochromatic art within my own pieces. Thank you for more names and work for my research.

[Miss Elle Anus]

Good article. However, being the picky pedant that I am, your piece about Li Yuan-Chia has one small but significant error in it. The Chinese normally put their surname first this your "Mr Yuan-Chia" is in fact plain old Mr Li. His first name/s is are Yuan Chia and he was normall known as YC to his mates. Oh and the bike is lovely but a shame about the colour. Must be owned by a bloke who feels a little bereft in the 'length' department - it's the only reason men buy red sportscars/bikes as they are not-so-subliminal penis extensions. Belive me, I KNOW about these things!

[Gabrielle]

That word has been on the tip of my tongue all day... and you've inspired me to add the dictionary.com widget to my blog. There you go, educating everyone you meet....

[Rich]

Nicely done, very funny stuff. I also appreciate the gonzo journalism (sneaking in with your contraband camera)

And yes, the bike is surely the most beautiful piece of them all. Although, I would have liked to see you do sesquipedalian blurb for it.