C93 Article

Tate Modern

In less than two months after its opening, Tate Modern has already welcomed the one millionth visitor to its Bankside premises. The former power station has been transformed into a spectacular showcase for TateÕs collection of international modern art. The entrance hall, an impressive space that runs the length of the building and stretches some 35m high, structures the interior so that the seven levels are easily navigated. The galleries are divided into six suites, two of which are dedicated to temporary exhibitions, currently Between Cinema and a Hard Place, a survey of art at the end of the twentieth century. The collection is shown in four thematic displays that are intended to mark Òa radical break with the tradition of exhibiting works chronologically and by school.Ó For such a supposedly pioneering gesture, the Tate subject categories are resolutely historical in their emphasis, coming from the academic genres of landscape, still life, the nude and history painting. Even with the postmodern rewording that shifts and broadens their scope, Landscape/Matter/Environment, Still Life/Object/Real Life, Nude/Action/Body and History/Memory/Society are terms that come from established artspeak.

 

Louise Bourgeois: Maman, 1999, steel and marble, 927 x 892 x 1024 cm; collection of the artist; courtesy of Cheim & Read, New York; photo: Marcus Leith

The approach taken by the Tate is certainly cleverÑit provides for an interesting and informative visit that engages viewers with striking juxtapositions, e.g. Claude Monet and Richard Long, and offers them alternative ways of reading the same artistÕs work that will sometimes feature across the different suites. The idea that this strategy better disguises gaps in the Tate collection and offers us curatorial creativity in place of historical understanding might indeed occur to those familiar with the art of the 20^th century. More importantly however is how a new generation of viewers will respond to this mix and match attitude to history. This could well depend on how the didactic function of the collection is supported elsewhere. The education areas, including an auditorium, studios, film/seminar room, study facility and activity spaces, disseminate a comprehensive programme of events that range from nursery-school workshops to specialist debates on visual culture. Where Tate really seems to be setting the agenda is in providing its public with the means and forum to genuinely contextualise the collection and criticise its own displays. The contemporary museum experience is marketed as civilised fun and this theme park approach is particularly evident at Bankside. We are now in Tate-world, an enclosed universe of art where the ubiquitous logo brands everything from information leaflets to restaurant staff. This cultural consumerism contributes to the sense of spectacle in the building. Indeed, there is a risk that the art is only seen as such, neatly fitted in by visitors between a visit to the seventh-floor cafŽ with its stunning views of the City of London and the gallery shop, choc-a-bloc with Tate merchandise of all kinds. Alongside the various trinkets and t-shirts on sale is a biscuit in the shape of Tate Modern. So you can literally consume the building: Eat Tate. Moreover, the magnificent entrance hall is likely to be more overwhelming than the art on display and the collection may struggle to compete when it is the architecture that is providing the most remarkable vistas, both interior and exterior. The throngs of visitors in flux through the galleries are not conducive to the essentially contemplative nature of much visual art, and as critic David Sylvester said in a recent interview in the Guardian, Òat these huge exhibitionsÉthey are so packed there is no pleasure in going to them.Ó It seems as if Tate could be a victim of its own success. It is an unspoken shame that amidst all this pomp and splendour, many works, such as Donald JuddÕs minimalist boxes, have to be officially cordoned off so that the viewer is kept outside the space essential for the play of the work.

Nonetheless, one very important factor counteracts this corporate style of engagement with contemporary art. Branded, booming and Ÿbermodern Tate may be, but it is also gloriously free. There is no entrance fee to the collection displays so we can all go, and as often as we want. This is how a truly critical audience can emerge. Not having to cram everything into one comprehensive visit, visitors can enjoy a certain luxury of looking. The possibility of re-viewing encourages judgement and the development of visual skills that deepen our understanding of modern art and the many ways it can be put on display. Access, then should enable Tate Modern to overcome the quandaries of the modern art museum in an age of extravagant image production. Free admission in tandem with a wide-reaching education programme could genuinely facilitate viewers to become more than passive spectators and instead facilitate them to actively participate in the discussion that is shaping the museumÕs future.

Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Sunday to Thursday, 10.00-18.00
Friday and Saturday, 10.00-22.00
tel. +44 20 7887 8000
www.tate.org.uk

Fióna Kearney is Visual Arts Officer at University College Cork.