Research: London Day 1 - Tate Britain, Newport Gallery and Tate Modern
Tate Britain Side Entrace
After arriving in London at lunch time, we then went to Tate Britain on Millbank. Though not especially related to my project the visit here wasn't wasted, not only did I get to observe the relationships of friends and family around me, but I saw some of my favourite fine art pieces and was able to reconnect with that side of art and design. My particular favourite piece is 'Ophelia' by Millais simply because the piece is simply beautiful, the colours within the painting are so bright and fresh it could have been painted yesterday and the level of detail is beyond admirable. I love Shakespeare's work and so have a huge soft spot for art that references or depicts scenes from his works, for my last project I actually designed covers for Shakespeare's most famous tragedies and so seeing this piece provided a kind of closure for that project.
Ophelia by Millais
There was also an exhibition of Bernard Cohen's work and though he presents his work through abstract collage and pattern making, the pieces displayed focused on identity. I believe identity to be strongly linked to my theme of relationships, because it is essentially the relationship you have with yourself and that is just as a valid as a relationship with another person. Cohen always claims to reference his subject's within his work, though he refuses to explain them to the viewer, this really forces the viewer's imagination to take over and try to find it's own reason for certain references. I think this is particularly interesting and could be something I want to encapsulate in my own work, when I experiment and explore my theme. If I make the piece about my relationships with my own immediate family, I can potentially add seemingly random things in that only we would understand that actually explain a lot about those relationships. This could also be applied if I focused my project on others and though it wouldn't be personal for me, it would for the people I draw inspiration from.
Matter Of Identity III by Bernard Cohen
I also found inspiration in the Tate Britain Archived section at the end of the gallery in illustrated cards written and drawn by Anne Estelle Rice to her son David Grey between June and July in 1923. The letters show different forms of transport, from trains to boats and so on, they are always signed from both parents and to me it raised a lot of questions. The style of the illustrations suggests her son to be very young and if I had to guess I'd probably say under 10, the letters themselves are in simple and basic language adding to the sense of youth, so it really made me wonder why leave such a young child. After researching online, I couldn't find anything to suggest much other than Rice's regular trips to France to sell her art and the archive itself didn't elaborate further. I found this particularly interesting and I know this theme will continue to hold my attention throughout the duration of the project.
Newport Street Gallery Sign
After meeting up with the group again, we headed to Newport Gallery which is owned by Damien Hirst, though his work wasn't on show, we saw 'Repetition Is Truth - Via Dolorosa' by Rachel Howard and 'Your Heaven Looks Just Like My Hell' by John Copeland. Though I enjoyed the abstract quality of Howard's work and found it aesthetically pleasing, it wasn't related to my theme too much. On the other hand, Copeland's style was less my kind of thing, but the themes he explored and presented fit what I wanted to look into more. Copeland's art is very loose and uses a lot of tones where I prefer more refined and neater styles, though we both share an interest in people and the human form. The piece that particularly stood out to me featured figures sat around a table and is entitled 'Wrong Was Always Right'. For me and my eating at the dinner table together is the only option and so it's the time we are most together and able to talk to one another. This routine is paramount to our relationships as we catch up and reconnect with each other, Copeland's painting seems to echo this, although the main figure is turned away from the group behind them, creating a sense of conflict and detachment. This is furthered through the neutral colours used through the piece. I found this gallery quite thought-provoking as there was no information given on the walls as seemingly standard for galleries and so it required more participation on my side. I think this was effective as it did make me think more than I would have done and maybe I can implement something like this in my final outcome, who knows.
Wrong Was Always Right by John Copeland
After Newport Street Gallery we headed to Tate Modern and though it is a literal maze and getting in and out is a lot more difficult than it really needs to be and my feet were absolutely throbbing, it was a valuable visit and I'm pleased I made the effort. I also recorded a lot of interactions between parents and children on the walk along the Thames, particularly around the market stalls outside the National Theatre. A particular interaction that stood out was between a mother and her son who wanted a book but the mother was concerned it was too mature. She distracted him from the original book with a Dr Seuss one and avoided any kind of tantrum or paddy, even the son seemed happy with his replacement book, it was quite admirable.
Tate Modern Entrance
Inside the gallery I found an installation piece by Cildo Meireles called 'Babel'. The piece is a tower of radios ranging in age stacked up and playing all at the same time. Although the piece addresses ideas of information overload and failed communication, I think it creates a sense of the white noise and hubbub that perpetrates our daily lives and shows how only a few fleeting things actually matter. The radios aged as the tower grew taller showing progression through time and how humans haven't changed despite technological advancements. 'Babel' refers to the bible through the story of the Tower of Babel, a tower tall enough to reach the heavens that offended God, in retaliation, God causes the builders to speak different languages and thus unable to understand one another. The radio's are all tuned in to different stations and the effect of that with the darkness of the room is completely disorientating - this also makes each visit different as different songs, interviews and plays air of the radios. The radios increase in size as they ascend which makes the tower all the more imposing and oppressive.
'Babel' by Cildo Meireles
Though all the art was inspirational these were the most relevant to my project or ones I felt I could draw inspiration from, I really enjoyed the first day and I am very psyched for the rest of the trip. On the second day, I aim to visit the Serpentine Gallery, the Victoria And Albert Museum, The Natural History Museum and The Photographers Gallery, though it may not be possible as it is a lot of ground to cover. Ideally I would like to see the Design Museum too, though maybe on the third day if we run out of time.