Not worth travelling to see (Gustav Klimt - Liverpool Tate Exhibition 2008)

Member Name: rosaspinanglica

Product:	Gustav Klimt - Liverpool Tate Exhibition 2008
Date:	23/08/08 (121 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Salome

Disadvantages: Not enouugh art

I travelled from London to Liverpool for the day just to see this exhibition. I've loved Klimt's images since I first came across them in my teens (a long while ago lol) and was excited to have the chance to see them in the flesh.

I have previously have seen other exhibitions there and knew the size of the temporary exhibition space, also it was advertised widely as the first major exhibition of his work in the UK. Even though I knew there would be documentation and work by contemporaries I thought there would be plenty to take my breath away WRONG.

I was very disappointed by the work on show. The Beethoven frieze on the ground floor is a copy, which I could accept in a museum or if it was a conceptual piece in which the fact of it being copied was part of the artist's intention, but for me it sat very poorly in an a gallery context.

Upstairs the paintings (surely what most people came to see) would have fitted into one large room There were some unrepresentative early works, a couple of unfinished pieces, some landscapes and some portraits, there were a couple of the allegorical works including Salome which was for me the best thing i saw in my visit.

The other work by Klimt consisted of drawings, mainly prepatory sketches for larger work and some life studies. Many of the life drawings were of women masturbating which was quite interesting and did make me wonder with a free rein in a more open society what kind of work he would have produced.

There was only one work by his protege/friend Schiele, a large portrait of them together. Though it did prove the link between them personallyI would have much rather seen something that showed the links between their work. This painting like many others was behind glass, obviously because of conservation concerns but was impossible to see properly because of the reflection from the lights. There were also a few small works by Moll and the Mackintoshes which I found more relevant.

That was it for the art. The rest of the exhibition (ie most of it) was taken up by objects and furnishings owned by his patrons/friends and/or produced by the Vienna Workshop, old photos of the friends/ objects/buildings, Klimt's smock and photos of him wearing it etc. Quite interesting as an adjunct to a 'major exhibition' but in this context so much padding.

Reading back over this I've made it sound more interesting than it actually was. I wasn't the only one feeling this way. I overheard a woman saying how disappointed she was to her husband, I made a comment in agreement and we were immediately joined by a third! While I was filling out a feedback postcard at the front desk one staff member admitted there had been a lot of complaints which she put down to the way the exhibition had been marketed giving people false expectations.

On the plus side all the liverpudlians I came in contact with that day were charming which improved the over all experience greatly.

Summary: Save up and go to Vienna