Tate Modern
I have never been a fan of modern art it's not my thing I find no interest in it. When I was researching the museum before I got here I got a sick feeling and was worried I would just hate what I was going to see. Alas I decided to go in with an open mind and take in what I was seeing and find the positive in my
surroundings. While I was thinking about only needing to find two pieces of art to like and write about I was sure I could find something in the large museum before my eyes. In my vast surroundings my eyes and mind were trying to take in all the action and people around me. When you first walk in you will see the walls lined with paintings, objects protruding from them, and various objects hanging from the ceiling. You will also see black and white videos playing, these videos were terrifying. There was just something about them and the way they were made that was just off and scary. Parts of the museum weren't so bad, while others you walked in and wanted to walk right back out. I did find two pieces of art, not sure if you can classify them as art, however, I decided they would be fairly easy to write about.
surroundings. While I was thinking about only needing to find two pieces of art to like and write about I was sure I could find something in the large museum before my eyes. In my vast surroundings my eyes and mind were trying to take in all the action and people around me. When you first walk in you will see the walls lined with paintings, objects protruding from them, and various objects hanging from the ceiling. You will also see black and white videos playing, these videos were terrifying. There was just something about them and the way they were made that was just off and scary. Parts of the museum weren't so bad, while others you walked in and wanted to walk right back out. I did find two pieces of art, not sure if you can classify them as art, however, I decided they would be fairly easy to write about.
Lucio Fontana, 'Waiting'
When I saw this picture at first glance I kind of laughed to myself wondering how in the world someone could think a slash in a canvas could ever be art. My immediate thought was, "my nephew could do something like that and he's only three." I didn't think this could be considered art it is a slash in the middle of the canvas, of course at this point I still hadn't read the description from the man/woman who created this piece of art. My eyes darted to the little description on the wall protected by plastic and I read what the artist is trying to portray. It's a paradox; an ambiguous object with multiple meanings. Pictures are things of their own right, pigments thrown on a stretched out canvas or other obects plastered in place so they don't move evoking one's imagination. A canvas is merely stretched fabric entwined within it's self creating a place for an artist to create a meaning to his/her own form of life. Lucio Fontana slashed this canvas forcing the viewer to confront the paradox, the flat surface of the canvas could mean anything, past, present, future, even heaven or hell. The canvas is a solid foundation for an artist to create his masterpiece, but the harsh reality is: it's still a canvas held by a frame. The purpose of slashing the canvas is to show you beyond the frame, a deeper form of meaning, however, Fontana shows there is no other space than the canvas itself. He is teasing the brain and forcing the viewer to question their comfortable notion of what art really is.
Deimantas Narkevicius, 'Never Backwards'
As you can see in this picture this sculpture is a baby crib that has been altered slightly and has been filled with paraffin. Narkevicius is trying to portray that you can't go backward in time, we can't go back to being a child and sleep in a baby crib. He also wants to bring attention to the title in a cultrual sense, as in a culture can't go backward either you can't regress in life. The viewer is now forced to realize you can't live in the past merely the present working toward the future. Cribs are universal and domestic bringing the meaning from the title and the sculpture into a round about meaning. Each day is new moving forward, human beings and cultures need to work toward adapting and altering themselves to their surroundings. We have no control over mother nature, we can only control how we handle the changes of mother nature.
My Thoughts On The Tate Modern
I feel like even after finding two pieces of art that "spoke" to me I can't say I like modern art anymore than I did before entering the Tate Modern. These are two pieces of art that I can say I did enjoy, but that is because I read the meanings behind them and felt the impact from that not from the pieces themselves. If I were to just look at the canvas and baby crip without reading the descriptions I would have just laughed and found them ridiculous. I know that people view art differently but I will never understand modern art and as much as I have tried to open my mind to it, it's not something I will be able to comprehend. I enjoyed these to pieces purely do to the symbolism each of them hold and the descriptions are what really drew me to them in the end. Going out and trying something new and viewing things from another person's perspective is a great way to learn and appreciate who you are as an individual and that is the lesson I took from going to this museum.