Upfront disclaimer - I am not an "art" person. I wanted to see the Tate Modern because I am at least somewhat
interested in modern art, but I thought that I would spend 30 mins
here at most. I was pleasantly surprised. The best thing about the Tate Modern is the context it provides for
navigating the last century of art history. Starting with realism, and
moving through cubism, surrealism, etc etc, I really saw how people
began to question limits and boundaries through the last century, and
focus on expanding the mind through art. It seems like so much was influenced by the World Wars, especially in
Europe. Moving into the era of surrealism, people became so focused on
dreams, rituals, psychological states, and manipulation of states and
time, as if they wanted to turn the mind inside out and put it on
display. That's something we take for granted now, leaving the realm of
reality, but back then it was so revolutionary. For so long art was
about being as realistic as possible. Learning perspective, facial
features, and how to accurately draw what you see is what made you an
artist. Then in the 30's and 40's people wanted to forget it all.
Spurred on by Freud and the fall out of WWII, people became fascinated
with the dark side of art, dreams, and the trippiness of the mind.
That seems like something that has continued through to present day. All this made me wonder about modern art. Walking through and seeing
how people began to tap into the power of the irrational, and
comparing that with today - where we push the limits of dreams,
fantasy, and the subconscious all the time in movies, music, and art,
it made me wonder where we will go next. You can only get so dark and
twisted before you come back around. As we play with mediums (dance,
installations, film, photography) will we go back to an attempt to
focus on what is real, or will we continue to manipulate reality to
discover something new?
interested in modern art, but I thought that I would spend 30 mins
here at most. I was pleasantly surprised. The best thing about the Tate Modern is the context it provides for
navigating the last century of art history. Starting with realism, and
moving through cubism, surrealism, etc etc, I really saw how people
began to question limits and boundaries through the last century, and
focus on expanding the mind through art. It seems like so much was influenced by the World Wars, especially in
Europe. Moving into the era of surrealism, people became so focused on
dreams, rituals, psychological states, and manipulation of states and
time, as if they wanted to turn the mind inside out and put it on
display. That's something we take for granted now, leaving the realm of
reality, but back then it was so revolutionary. For so long art was
about being as realistic as possible. Learning perspective, facial
features, and how to accurately draw what you see is what made you an
artist. Then in the 30's and 40's people wanted to forget it all.
Spurred on by Freud and the fall out of WWII, people became fascinated
with the dark side of art, dreams, and the trippiness of the mind.
That seems like something that has continued through to present day. All this made me wonder about modern art. Walking through and seeing
how people began to tap into the power of the irrational, and
comparing that with today - where we push the limits of dreams,
fantasy, and the subconscious all the time in movies, music, and art,
it made me wonder where we will go next. You can only get so dark and
twisted before you come back around. As we play with mediums (dance,
installations, film, photography) will we go back to an attempt to
focus on what is real, or will we continue to manipulate reality to
discover something new?
