The Glorious Tate Modern

The Tate Modern topped my list of things to see in London.  The former power plant more than lived up to my expectations.  So few things do.

The mammoth space near the entrance instantly imbues a sense of wonder.

The curators have organized the diverse collection by themes that don't require a lot of reading to absorb.

Artists who work on a grand scale, like Joseph Beuys, are shown to great advantage.

Some of the works I liked bests were by unfamiliar names.

Conceptual art doesn't usually do it for me but the color red unites these photos.  Care to guess the nationality of the artist?

The Church of St. John the Divine exhibited Jane Alexander's mysterious critters several years ago.  They looked slightly less malevolent at the Tate divorced from the religious context.

The permanent exhibitions are free, a policy that truly encourages art appreciation.

Remember this name:  Ibrahim El-Salahi, a former politician!  Too bad I didn't see the Tate's earlier retrospective of his work.  African artists don't get enough exposure in America.

This gallery juxtaposed different styles of abstract painting. 

Seeing Andy Warhol's electric chair silkscreens for the first time was treat.  Natural light flooded the room like current.

The Tate Modern also gave me newfound appreciation for Louise Bourgeois.  She lived to be nearly 100.  Her reputation probably would be bigger if she were male.

The Bourgeois gallery also afforded an opportunity to insert myself.

More London:

East End (2022)
The Way of All Flesh (2022)
Crowds (2022)
Liberty (2022)
How Much Would You Pay for a Shoehorn? (2022)
Must-See Plunder (2022)
Embankment Stroll (2022)
The Ladies Who Lunch (Oblix @ the Shard) (2022)
Slow Day (2022)
"Workers Of All Lands Unite" (2022)
Hampstead Heath (2022)
Green Card (2022)
The Ladies Who Lunch (The Wolseley) (2022)
Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear (2022)
All Is Vanity (2022)
Arrival in London (2022)

Saturday Crowds

Lazarus WTF?

A Bird's Eye View of London

Semi-Grand Tour (1975)

Travels With Charlie (1964)

Cathedral Critters

Magda and I spent much of a Sunday afternoon looking at the unusual work of a South African artist: "Jane Alexander: Surveys (From the Cape of Good Hope)." Its setting in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine multiplied the strange factor considerably.

I hadn't visited the cathedral since my undergraduate days at Columbia, more than 40 years ago. You just don't realize how deep it is until you're inside. Definitely a great place to cool off during the summer.



These certainly aren't the kinds of congregants you'd expect to find in a house of worship.

Yes, they and many others are as naked as the day god brought them into this world, aside from the battered leather shoes they're wearing.

 

Even if the New York Times hadn't clued me in to Ms. Alexander's themes, I defnitely would have gotten the sense that these creatures aren't all created equal. This is some muzzle, huh?

This little guy seems sad as well as frightening, perhaps a future victim of today’s environmental thoughtlessness.

Nearly all the critters are supplicants, but some are more "human" than others. I don't think that's necessarily a good thing.

While most of the sculptures and tableaux are confined to the seven Chapels of the Tongues (one for each of the major immigrant groups who first entered New York City at Ellis Island around the turn of the century, just when the cathedral was being built), the exhibit also extends into a rarely accessible courtyard.  Here's Magda beneath a lone sentry.

The outdoor critters exude malevolence. The red gloves they're standing on reminded me of the masses of personal effects you find in Holocaust museums.

This virile guard had a mercilessness I definitely associate with an SS job qualification.

Two tableaux were particularly shocking. They seemed to depict a society capable of imprisoning the disabled . . .

and predicated on blind worship.

Thanks, Jane, for plenty to ponder while the ginormous organ played to a nearly empty house.