Tate Modern was a museum in which I had very high expectations. The first few rooms we looked at had some interesting pieces, but it was not the same as the other museums we visited. As I walked through the museum there were only two pieces that really caught my attention. By the end, I was bored and ready to leave. I am not sure if this is because I have already been to a lot of museums and I was tired or if it was the type of artwork that was not as interesting to me.

One of the pieces was the Babel tower created in 2001. This was uniquely done by Cildo Meireles and it could have many different meanings to it. This tower was made of older radios all turn on and disrupting each other. As we discussed what it might mean the topic of saturated media came up. I believe this may be what the artist was intending. Now days we are receiving input from so many media sources and they all conflict each other. It is hard to believe anything one hears because it could be bias, or it also could be fake news. The artist may not have intended this directly, but the topic is relevant today. I also believe it will have a very different meaning to people in the years to come.

The second piece that caught my eye was called Agosta, the Pigeon-Chested Man, and Rasha, the Black Dove. One thing that sticks out in the title is how these people are referred to as birds. It is sad because they were used to being objectified and in the publics eye completely nude. They were a part of a sideshow act in Berlin in the 1920s. At first glance it looks like a specific technique an artist might use to draw attention to his piece, but after reading the description I learned that it was the mans actual look. I could not imagine what it would have been like to be different in these times. The people with disabilities were always made fun of or used for a monetary gain. It makes me happy to see how far we have come with appreciating differences, but we still have a long way to go.

 

Bibliography:

Tate. “Tate Modern.” Tate, Tate, www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern.

(All Photos By Me)