Distractions, reflections

David Ing, at large … Sometimes, my mind wanders

2008/09/12 Tate Britain, London

Coming into London from the south suburbs for the day, I found my way to the Tate Britain.  I haven’t been to this art museum before.

DI_20080912 081540 TateBritain Millbank

I had read about “Art with Legs” in the Toronto Globe and Mail, so I was looking forward to Work No. 850, by Martin Creed.

DI_20080912 071452 TateBritain MartinCreed WorkNo850 sign

The sign reads:

Work No. 850 centres on a simple idea: that a person will run as fast as they can through the gallery. Each run is followed by an equivalent pause, like a musical rest, during which the grand Neoclassical gallery is empty.

This work celebrates physicality and the human spirit. Creed has instructed the runners to sprint as if their lives depended on it.

So, I wasn’t surprised to see  a runner dashing down the long hall.

DI_20080912 071012 TateBritain MartinCreed WorkNo850

I moved over to the side, and a few minutes later, a different runner came through the hall.

DI_20080912 071146 TateBritain MartinCreed WorkNo850

Unperceptive visitors are dodged, and sometimes surprised.

DI_20080912 071208 TateBritain MartinCreed WorkNo850

The runners rotate in sequence.  Observers wait for runners to return.

DI_20080912 071240 TateBritain MartinCreed WorkNo850

I walked to the end where the runners start, for a full motion view.

On that same floor was the “Make Art Not War” 1997 painting by Bob And Roberta Smith, whom I’ve discovered as a pseudonym for contemporary artist Patrick Brill.

DI_20080912 070834 TateBritain BobAndRobertaSmith MakeArtNotWar

One of the themes on this visit was the Swinging Sixties.

DI_20080912 071954 TateBritain SwingingSixties gallery sign

The gallery has works well spaced, with natural skylights … and nice floors.

DI_20080912 071934 TateBritain SwingingSixties gallery

Students gather in the galleries to discuss the works.

DI_20080912 073912 TateBritain students

The more serious visitors join a guided tour … and were welcomed to sit down during the commentary.

DI_20080912 074950 TateBritain Burne-Jones TheSleepOfArthurInAvalon

Tate Britain shows British art from the 1500s to the present day.  I prefer the contemporary works, and focused my wanderings to see those.

[Start a large-image lightbox screen show]

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