Modern Life is Rubbish? Not here, it isn't! (Tate Modern in general)

Member Name: Cuchulain

Product:	Tate Modern in general
Date:	11/04/01 (19 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Massive, beautiful gallery with millions of punds worth of amazing art...

Disadvantages: So much to see and take in that you need to be careful you don't ruin any timelimits...

You can see the Tate Modern for miles. The massive tower in the middle of the building stands proud for all to see all the way Green Park. The huge converted building stands out from the other office blocks and appartments that litter the banks of the Thames and shouts out now as one of the most recognisable galleries in the world.

And when you get inside you won't be disappointed. The exterior is no where near as impressive as the huge collection of artwork on display. Many of the pieces I found instantly recognisable, but then I was at one stage an art student, though my girlfriend also recognised many pieces. Andy Warhol hangs on many of the walls as do pieces by Dali, Picasso and Monet. I was amazed when I came up an elevator and saw on of Dali's paintings taking up all the attention in one of the rooms. I thought thinks like that were kept in the galleries in the US, and this new gallery shows just how many paintings and sculptures are owned by the Tate.

This new gallery was built just to house all the 'modern' works. Funny that, seeing as its called the Tate MODERN! But this was becuase the 'Old' Tate didn't, or hasn't, enough room to put up everything that it owns. Even now with two massive galleries there still isn't enough room. All you need to do to see that this is true is walk back out of the main entrance and look back at the gallery. Only half of it is used to actually diaplay the works of art, while the other half is used to store the pieces not on display. Seeing as they only need a fraction of the room to store a group of paintings, it makes you wonder just how much moneys worth is hidden behind the other walls of the Tate.

One thing that I felt let down by was the fact that only Modern pieces were shown. An odd complaint? I don't thin so. There are other atists, like Blake, who were pioneers for 'modern' art but who were not to be seen. I would have gone to the normal Tate G
allery if I had had the time, but I could not make it. I like all art, yet it is a shame I cannot get to see all of it in one place. Maybe they'll build and extension! I know a good builder i could put them in touch with...

...why don't they buy the Millenium Dome?...

Anyway! Back to the opinion! I loved it as it gave me a chance to look at art that I had only seen in books before. Imagine seeing someone unbelievably beautiful on TV or in a magazine and then being allowed to get up close and personal with that person and finding out that they are even more beautiful than you thought was possible. That was what Tate Modern was like for me. Being able to study Picasso's sculptures and Dali's painitings was amazing. There I was looking at something that will stand the test of time and through all history people would be able to look at it and know exactly what it was.

Then of course there was the crap. I don't mean that I think the art someone had created was crap - who am I to say that - but some of the art was actually made from the brown sticky stuff, and I don't mean sticks. One artist had made a collection of different animals droppings and put them all in nice little plastic containers. Nice. Then we were allowed to look at them. Even nicer. And some prat had gone out and paid money for these before seeing sence and donating them to a gallery.

And how much did I pay for this great plaesure? Well that's none of your business, but you don't have to pay a penny. Instead there are large glass tubs where you can make a donation if you so wish. There are also displays on that fill up whole floors that can only be viewed by purchasing a special ticket, but the majority of the gallery is open for free to everyone.

If you like you can also take a guided tour, though I do not know how much that cost. As I made my way about one tour guide passed me and I was glad I was not in his class. He was quit
e boring and did not make it sound like he was really enjoying his time there. They also have 'virtual' tour guides. You take a big mobile-phone looking thang and type in the number of any piece on display, as they all have individual 5-digit numbers, and a narrator will describe what that piece means. Very smart, though again, I did not tyr it out.

All in all, Tate Modern was an excellent day and anyone, art student or not, will enjoy the day and take something away. And even if that something is a biro with "My son's been to Tate Modern and all I got was this lousy pen!" then at least you've still been.

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