March 28, 2018

FLORAL ART FOR FREE: TATE MODERN

Words by Jessica Peace

Time to get cosy with the conceptual at Tate Modern.

‘METAMORPHOSIS OF NARCISSUS’, SALVADOR DALÍ, 1937 (ROOM 5).

Dali and his daffodil. The greek myth of Narcissus: the young player was hot stuff on the mythical scene, smashing hearts left, right and centre - until the gods thought they’d give him a taste of his own sexy medicine. One morning, young Narcissus was getting his game face on in the reflection of a puddle - natch; he fell in love with what he saw - obvs, and died whilst staring at his own boat. Feeling a little guilty, the gods thought they’d better immortalise Narcissus by creating that lovely yellow trumpet.

‘SOME ROSES AND THEIR PHANTOMS’, DOROTHEA TANNING, 1952 (ROOM 5).

Tanning can say it better...
‘Here some roses from a very different garden sit?, lie?, stand?, gasp, dream?, die? – on white linen. They may serve you tea or coffee. As I saw them take shape on the canvas I was amazed by their solemn colors and their quiet mystery that called for – seemed to demand – some sort of phantoms.’ Dorothea Tanning

SUSAN NORRIE, TRANSIT, 2011 (BOILER HOUSE LEVEL 2 WEST).

Norrie’s film focuses on devastation, natural and human made; an earthquake, tsunami, war, rockets and Fukushima; people, scientific progress and the reality of nature. At the end of the film the narrator suggests that no matter how far into space we roam, we will only be reminded of the beauty of our own little planet - respect.

MARK RUWEDEL’S PHOTOGRAPHY (BOILER HOUSE LEVEL 2 WEST)

‘I have come to think of the land as being an enormous historical archive… ’
Mark Ruwedel
The stark images captured by Ruwedel show human’s harsh stamp on the land; we’ve bulldozed through a lot of it away but we still need its wildness. They might make you want to escape to a hut in the arse end of nowhere - see you there.

‘STILL LIFE’, GIORGIO MORANDI, 1946 (ROOM 2).

Mustn't forget the pots…
One for the ‘pot’ heads, who appreciate the various vases and vessels we lovingly shove our stems into.

@Tate

LET ME IN?

Open Daily 10am - 6pm

Friday and Saturday ‘til 10pm

HOW DO I GET THERE?

The big old factory on the South Bank.

HOW MUCH?

Permanent collections are free as

Leave a comment