At Tate Modern (and Ben Wilson again)

Kevin plays on the swings 

Every few months on a fairly random basis I meet up with Kevin who is an 'old' school friend who I have known for nearly 50 years - Kevin and I have both developed the pleasurable habit of exhibition visiting so it was that last Thursday we spent the greater part of the day at Tate Modern chatting and looking.


Being a 'Friend of The Tate'  means I get the chance to visit (with a guest) all the 'paid for' exhibitions throughout the year at all the Tate venues - Tate Modern currently has two shows, Modigliani the Italian Jewish artist  who died tragically young at just 36 and an exhibition that looks at the Art of Soviet Russia   - Red Star over Russia.


The impressively enormous Turbine Hall is currently the perfect place to arrange a meet as you can watch from the swings that are part of the 'Anywhen by Philippe Parreno'.





After a cup of coffee in the Member's Lounge it was time to look around the popular works on show from  Modigliani- paintings and sculpture were available - Modigliani abandoned sculpture (noticeably African influenced) as a result of the bad effect it had on his health as a Tuberculosis sufferer the dust from the stone seriously aggravated his condition.

On until April next year

Part of the interest in Modigliani is that he was active in Paris at the time of Picasso (and he was in the same crowd) along with other Artists who were breaking new ground in the arts -Looking at his work  I felt that he was perhaps a bit of 'a one trick pony', the work on show was mainly figurative portraiture some of nudes (An early exhibition of his was closed to to the sexual nature of his work).

A great view across a brilliant city

After Modigliani we had a very acceptable snack lunch and then took in some of the new Tate Extension' things like the work of  Marina Abramovic which generally  generate provoke discussion if not unreserved admiration & the view from the top was particularly good in the late November afternoon.

Red Star Over Russia 

Challenging in many ways

The exhibition 'Red Star Over Russia' looking at Soviet Communist  Art was a very different proposition confronting a failed (most I think would say)  Utopia tinged by Torture, Mass Murder and the sublimation of the intelligentsia- Lots of examples of Propaganda  and early  mass media manipulation (Trotsky being removed from news photographs for example) - I'm not too sure that this was an exhibition for Tate Modern and certainly the comments posted outside made clear the subject and angle was not for everyone - this 100 years anniversary has a lot to answer for -  all major Museums it seems feel that they must  'comment in some way' -despite my own misgivings I do recognise that it is  important that we pay witness and observe in the hope of avoiding similar tragic mistakes in the future. 

Lightening the mood (Ben Wilson)

An example of Ben's work

After the Propaganda exhibition a walk across the Millennium bridge was areal mood lifter as we got the chance to see Ben Wilson - Chewing Gum Artist  in action (again)  - he's a lovely friendly man who despite the cold keeps his commitment to his own particular mission on the bridge - Nice one Ben.

He's really approachable and was very happy to chat and have his photo taken.

Ben Wilson, Chewing Gum Artist  and Inspirational Mood Lifter 

Thanks Nick and (11)

A good read - completed

It's good to report positive things and having completed reading Marina's memoirs (a powerful and painfully honest account but with a central message that was not quite revelatory) I've now got another Great Christmas present to devour, this one from my brother and having the possibility of reading and consulting ahead of visits to London's National Gallery.

The book, features some work I've looked at (Like Van Eyck's The Arnolfini) as well as work I don't know (the rule they've imposed on themselves is only one painting by each artist)  has a nice preface by Tim Marlow.

And they are great 

A painting favoured by Russian visitors 

Now at  a record breaking £17.94

Religion and Faith

As I take more and more of an interest in faith I realise that a single faith alone has more than enough to intrigue me.

On the radio this week the BBC is running as its book of the week  The Reformation - even reading the title is an education to me, the split between the Catholic Church and the Protestant (around 500 years ago) it seems stems from first; the nature of Indulgences and then and also; from the 'worship' of Mother Mary.

My understanding is that 'Indulgences' were seen as a way of mitigating sins and shortening ones time in Purgatory (more on that later)  but there was perhaps some clouding around how they could be paid off and some whiff of corruption may have got in there.

Problems around the worship of Mary (Jesus's Mother) also surfaced in the Protestant Reformation  -- (and it's still, it seems a pretty hot issue) - the area of controversy is that some may pray to Mary as the Mother of God to intercede - I as a largely  ignorant person in terms of faith (and much else) can see how this could become disputed but the apparent venom that still persists does seem worrying.

The Doors

With its number 11 this is another close door this time in Longfield Road - I like it because it's marked bot in words (ELEVEN) and number.

I guess the meaning/derivation of Longfield is pretty much as it sounds, there's a village in Kent that's called this too

Well it's Ealing (again)

A number that makes clear the designation 

(Last) Christmas and this one

Well got some jolly presents and (like many others) had too much to eat yesterday - really looking forward to reading Marina Abramovic's Walk through Walls and The School of Life's Small Pleasures (which are/can be big).

Just some of the goodies

As usual I've got a CD and it'll be slightly  bitter-sweet listening to the departed Leonard Cohen - as many people have mentioned we've lost a lot of big hitters in 2016 - many are people I rated and or saw like Prince and David Bowie - well the last week has marked the departure too of Veteran Rocker (as he was known in life) Rick Parfitt  and George Michael (yesterday).

Like watching Bowie on Top of The Pops on TV in the 70's seeing Wham! (with like Lichtenstein's famous painting there was an exclamation but here only one A)  was a revelation as they were (it seemed) about Fun.

Michael proved himself quite a songwriter over the years and a generous benefactor too - oddly I saw the group walking around in WH Smith at Heathrow in their early years, prior to Superstardom  - so that's my Wham! story (I had Fantastic too which has the great Wham Rap and Young Guns.

[George's visit to Desert Island Discs is worth listening to too]

Well very good anyway 

Tate Modern Extension and Red 138

At Switch Tate Modern things were looking up

In town yesterday for a briefing  (I thought - more about that another time) and decided to take a Members' only visit to the Tate Modern Extension.

The Tate cultural  juggernaut is there in all it's glory and keeping the  motoring allusion going -like the M25 there's evidence that rather than thinning the numbers of travellers on the art highway it's actually going to generate more foot miles from those  aspirational seekers.

Look up there - on the left

First thing is to say I was somewhat disturbed to find how well I fit the Tate Member demographic, Middle aged-ish, predominantly white and slightly grumpy (although the crowd was pretty much evenly split between male and female) .

There was even work that seemed to be close to stepping on the territory of the Design Museum with the Thingness by Jasper Morrison at the lower floor levels.

A part of Jasper Morrison's Thingness

Another point to make is that I was struck by how well the escalators work in the main body of Tate Modern - this was an exceptional busy day (The Tate Modern Clan loves an 'exclusive -even when it's very obviously not) - the stairs and lifts in the 10 stories of the  'Switch' were under severe strain with volume of people as well as buggies for young and the old not in abundance.

Plenty there for the 'Pseuds' amongst us - many which brought to mind the spectacles  recently misinterpreted.

Was this  the Air conditioning waiting to be installed ?

I always like things that do something and have lights..

Angela Bulloch's Aluminium 4 (2012)

I was personally pleased to see something of Marina Abramovic she's an important figure.

The work  Rhythm O on show is though  for me  a static work and is not really representational of her artistic essence (what is?).


On a positive note it was pleasing to see as well as many women artist represented there were nods to Performance Art  and an opportunity for involvement in some basic fashion.

A performance-y and conceptual  nod perhaps?  Capsules by Ricardo Basbaum

Part of 'Rhythm O' by Marina Abramovic - text says 'There are 72 objects on the table that one can use as desired'

A 'typical' Louise Bourgeois Spider

And another in the area of  dedicated space to Louise

There are some great views for the 10th floor viewing area, the Switch is open to the general public from tomorrow and 

Has it looked better?

no doubt I'll be back soon when it's less crowded and more finished . 

Red 138

Actually from a series of works called  Red and at Tate Modern (yesterday)  this from Ukrainian born Boris Mikhailov.

It's part of Boris's Red series  (and now part of mine - Heh heh.)