Two visits to the Tate – two very different exhibitions

Hello again everyone

At the beginning of July we (my other half and me) went to the Tate Modern and at the end of the month we went to the Tate Britain, and two more contrasting exhibitions you could not find. One was a celebration and showcase of 40 years of Tracey Emin’s groundbreaking work  and the other, a look at the cosmopolitan James McNeill Whistler and some of his most beautiful paintings including, of course, the one of his mother.

Both were outstanding in very, very different ways.

Now who knows of Tracey Emin? Here in the UK she has had a very mixed reputation and is probably best known for her depiction of her unmade bed and some rather out-there appearances in various venues.

Instead of turning up our noses at the sight of the bed and its surrounding area, we all stood in rapt attention.

Basically I thought of her as more a performance artist than anything else. If that is all you really know of her (and that would be me) her exhibition is a revelation. Why? Because, my word, her artistry is phenomenal and we see many pieces of sculpture, textiles with incredible embroidery, writing, paintings, videos of her talking and, of course, installations like her unmade bed and her studio.

The whole exhibition was a revelatory experience as I thought I was going to see something outrageous. Instead I felt quite emotional as I listened to her talking about her early life (in Margate) her teenage years, her abortion, and her thinking about that years later. Everything about this exhibition touched me deeply and I felt I know her far better than I ever did. I acknowledge now what an extraordinary artist she is. This is a must-see to anyone who is able to open their eyes, and change one’s opinion. And btw I took no photographs (that one of her bed was taken by Bill)  as I was in the moment, listening, seeing, and coming to understand one of our country’s great artists. She just took my breath away – go see it if you can. It is on until the end of August.

As for the Whistler exhibition, this also took my breath away. Why? Because of its beauty. If you are feeling that, really, the events in this current era are near to overwhelming, go immerse yourself in beauty. This was such a delightful and indeed insightful exhibition, and my word, I learnt a thing or two, as I had one image of him, which was the painting of his mother.

I also learnt he was an American! A very cosmopolitan one who had lived in St. Petersburg and travelled extensively around Europe and Japan. I had previously seen him as just one of the many pre-Raphaelite painters who were mainly British. Forgive my ignorance of him, which was huge. He was at the forefront of Impressionism and his paintings ranged from society portraits, etchings to landscapes that recalled some of Turner’s light touch.

I had this one on my wall for years – not sure where it went.

And here below he is at his most Turneresque, I think.

In some of his paintings Whistler made bold scrapes down the canvas, and in others there was this incredible detail, as there is in the above painting of Wapping.

Here’s my other half, Bill, standing admiring the work of  Whistler.

Whistler was a fascinating man, well ahead of his time, but probably quite a difficult person as he was always falling out with people. The exhibition included one whole set piece of a room he designed for a wealthy patron, who did not like the result (you walk through the room and it is absolutely beautiful). The room has recording of the words (Whistler is played by the actor Anton Lesser) in the letters sent to each other. There’s a lot of shouting! Unfortunately a court case of libel brought by Whistler, against a derogatory comment made by Ruskin of one of his paintings, bankrupted him. He had won the case but was awarded one farthing!

Look at his eyes. This man does not tolerate any nonsense or criticism but there in those eyes you can see how he could be so far-seeing and ahead of his game, using his new and innovative techniques. The Tate describes Whistler as a boldly experimental artist, and someone who was in pursuit of truth, beauty and progress.

It’s an excellent exhibition, do go if you can. It is on until the end of September.

Now what did I wear. I’ve forgotten what I wore to the Tracey Emin. As for the Whistler I wore the coolest (in the weather related sense) dress-up dress I could find that was worthy of an art exhibition. I always dress up for these exhibitions.

It’s a lovely dress bought from the platform Idaretobe, which actually doesn’t suit me all that well, as there are no sleeves and the dress is rather cut-out at the arm level. But the material is divine, with two layers: one of cotton with stripes going one way and a tulle layer with stripes going the other way, so it looks like a chequer board. So I said to myself I’ll put a white t-shirt under it. That looked great. And I would have liked to go with that. But it was so blooming hot to wear, I began sweating buckets as I was getting ready! So I kind of ruined the effect of the ‘fab’ dress by wearing my scruffy, un-ironed half-tee. But dear readers – it felt cool and it covered my otherwise exposed bony shoulders!

There you go, there’s the un-ironed half-tee. But hey, we have to adapt to this hot (for the UK) weather.

It felt good to wear this outfit, which is the point of all clothing, isn’t it?

We met my friend from nursing at the Tate – we’ve known each other for 61 years!

I just want to draw your attention to the rollator. Two things. First is: I love using this contraption as I am now not clinging on to anyone. I call it my Liberator!  And second: this is my own rollator, which I brought up to London. We used public transport throughout. If anyone is unsure how to do this – bring equipment onto a train – I booked ‘assisted travel’ on the way up. Oh my word, everyone was amazing. People turn up with a ramp, take you to the specific area in the train for wheelchairs and other equipment, get you on the train and take you to where there are priority seats for anyone needing assistance. And, most important make you feel it is no bother whatsoever. They then contact your destination and people are there waiting to get the ramp for you as you get off the train.

The London bus we took to the Tate (the C10) was also good, with enough space and designated seats for those who need them, and again, space for the rollator.

Coming back was even more amazing as we used ‘Turn up and go’ at the train station. Literally, you just turn up and say where you want to go and as long as there is enough time, the same effort goes into making you feel it is no bother at all. I mean everything is done to be helpful as possible.  I was astonished at how lovely the people were, and l will never feel any nervousness now about using trains with the rollator. What a great service. And btw if you are wondering – costs nothing.

That’s all for now, with love PennyX