Tate Modern

The Tate Modern Museum was a very interesting field trip for me because I have never been into a modern art museum before. Although some of the artwork I found a little strange, I enjoyed my experience there and saw some really creative and interesting pieces of art.

In the Surreal section of the museum, I really liked the piece "After Us, Liberty" by Constant (1949). The painting is dark, gloomy, chaotic, and mysterious. It grasped my attention right away and I stopped and stared for a while. Since our novel for the modern era is Mrs. Dalloway, I was thinking about all the characters as I was walking through the museum. When I saw this particular painting I immediately thought of Septimus. To me, I think this is kind of a glimpse into how Septimus saw the world after he had returned to England once the war was over. His world was distorted, dark, and depressing. He once expressed that he didn't even see anything worth fighting for in London. When I looked at the painting, I felt as if I was looking at the world through his eyes, trying so hard to make sense of what I was seeing, but never able to. It must have been a very frustrating thing to live life that way and not be understood, or even understand the world around you.

The painting "Marquerite Kelsey" by Meredith Framptom (1928) reminded me of Mrs. Dalloway. The picture is of a woman sitting on a coach with her head turned and looking slightly upward. It is the face that makes me think of Mrs. Dalloway. Throughout her entire life she had wanted to live a respectable and prosperous life. Not just to make herself happy, but more importantly to impress the others in the community. The position of the woman's head tilted up, like she is holding her chin up, is how I picture Mrs. Dalloway sitting at her party. Trying to be proper and play the part of a wealthy woman, I can see her having this almost arrogant expression on her face as she talks with her guests.

The other section of the museum I liked was the States of Flux, and particularly the room of Cubism. Pablo Picasso was partly responsible for forming Cubism from 1909-1914, which was initially rejected by both artists and the public. His artwork was abstract and he rejected the need for realism. I wanted to come and see some of his work since he is obviously one of the most famous artists in history. But I didn't realize until today the breakthrough he made in art. He went against the flow of society and broke away from realistic art that had been prominent in that time. Modernism is about the quest for meaning, and I respect Picasso for going against status quo and painting the way he felt like painting. It was a new way of looking at the world for Picasso, and a new way to express himself. I especially like his piece "Bust of Woman" (1909) because it is a painting of a woman, but it looks like the woman is a wooden sculpture. It was not as abstract as some of his others, but still different enough to make to stop and stare for a while.

It seems like many of the artworks and art exhibits are unusual, strange, and different than the type of art that we are accustomed to in other museums, which is exactly the statement the modern artists were trying to make. Their art is breaking away from the conventional and realistic types of art, and is more of an expression of them as a person. I found each exhibit to be unique and really enjoyed wandering around the museum.