Emma (Unit 35) - Task Two

Unit 35 - Task 2

Tate Modern:

I went to the Tate Modern which is located in Southbank and is a gallery that focuses on modern art of most varieties including video installations. Artists such as Bill Viola and Gillian Wearing have had some of their pieces in exhibitions throughout the gallery and although I didn’t see any of their pieces it made me appreciate the art that I did see a lot more. An artist called Lorna Simpson had a piece in the gallery titled Twenty Questions (A Sampler) as seen below. Although this piece does not directly relate to what we were asked to look for, it made me think about growing up and different stages in my life which is where I drew my inspiration for my own project from. 

Twenty Questions was shown in a completely white room which made the black and white of the piece stand out in the room. The piece is very simple but it carries such an impactful message which is one of the reasons why I was so drawn in by it.

I would use this space in the Tate Modern to project my video onto the white wall. I really love the simplicity of the room, it doesn’t distract from the intensity of the piece which is why I would use a plain, empty space to showcase my piece. I would put chairs in the room so that people can sit down and watch the video as they chose.

Camden Arts Centre:

I also visited the Camden Arts Centre which is located in the North West of London. One of the reasons we had visited this gallery was to see Earth Needs More Magicians by Ben Rivers. The piece follows families from different cultures who don’t have very much to depend on and their happiness despite them not having a lot of money, which a lot of people might see as the end of the world. Earth Needs More Magicians was shown in an empty room which allows the audience to be absorbed into the installation.

Earth Needs More Magicians also helped me to get inspired for my project because it gave me the idea to do it on something that is constant in my life and makes me happy. I would use this space to highlight my piece by showing it in the very simple, dark room. Like the last space I would also have some chairs set up so that people can come and go as they please without distracting other people who are watching the installation. The room would be dark so that it adds a sense of atmosphere.