Modern Art - Probably Better Left as Misunderstood.

LOCATION:

London, England

 

After almost five weeks of traveling, I have admittedly just about reached my museum enjoyment capacity. The Tate Modern is one of the best in the world though, so I knew I would regret it later if I skipped if. This museum has works from some of the most famous artists, and the building itself is old and industrial so is really a neat space to view the art. Picasso is one of my favorites, and I enjoyed seeing these two next to each other. The first was done in 1932 and if you look at the face, you can see it as a woman, or as two profiles kissing. The second, done in 1968, was near the end of his life when paintings were much more hurried and often completed in a day or less.

Nude Woman in a Red Armchair

 

Nude Woman with Necklace

 

There were also works by many artists I remember learning about in school, so it's always fun to see things in real life that you remember from pictures in books.

Jackson Pollock

Mark Rothko

 

I also discovered some new favorites. The first is a sculpture by Man Ray, completed just before he left New York for Paris. He supposedly told customs officials that the ball bearings in the olive jar were to serve as a reminder of the possibility of food, if times got rough. I also enjoyed this piece by Dorothea Tanning, who I had never heard of. She said, "I just wanted to paint a white and grey picture that would still have color in its veins as we have blood under our winter-white skin." I thought it was just really beautiful, and kept walking by it again and again!

Man Ray's Olive Jar

I want to buy this! How much, you think?

 

The highlight of the Tate was a Lichtenstein Retrospective, which includes works from his entire career. He became known for his pop-art, cartoon style dot paintings but experimented with sculpture and other styles. No pictures allowed, of course, but some of my faves curtesy of the World Wide Web.

Those dots are paint!

 

His nudes were interesting, because they were still so cartoon-like.

 

The room on Chinese landscapes was amazing.

 

The greatest lesson to come out of the Tate though, is that sometimes modern art is just weird. Maybe I am not a true art fan, but I am not ashamed to admit that sometimes I just don't get it. An artist would probably say, "that's the point, it's a representation of misunderstanding," but sometimes I don't understand why some works of art become famous and end up in the best galleries in the world. Here are a few that caught my attention in the Tate for just that reason. Apologies if anything similar to these are hanging on the wall (or on the floor or ceiling) of your home.

This was maybe 10 feet by 8 feet.

Aluminum, hanging from the ceiling.

White rocks on the ground.

The darker color is the gallery wall, the white cutout is the art.

I think I saw a similar piece at Ikea...

This is called "grey." Really?

 

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