Tate Modern

―Introduction

 We introduce you about Tate Modern. It is the most popular modern art gallery in the UK, and the most visited modern art gallery in the world (4.7 million visitors per a year).

―Information about Tate Modern

Tate Modern is Britain’s national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group (together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives and Tate Online).

 Tate Modern’s building was Bankside Power Station before. Actually, the towering structure you can see in the middle of the picture was the smokestack before.

MAP

It is located in the central London. The most nearest tube station is the South Walk (Jubiliee Line). It is 600 meters from the station to Tate Modern, and it takes about 10 minutes’ walk.

We think it is the good location for your sightseeing ! Because you can see the St Paul’s Cathedral on the opposite side of the river Thames, and the Millennium Bridge from Tate Modern. It is a very beautiful view! If you have enough times, you should walk along the river Thames. Then you can reach the Tower Bridge and Tower of London, or London Eye and Big Ben.

                                               Millennium Bridge and St Paul's Cathedral from the Tate Modern

Opening hours :

Sunday – Thursday, 10.00–18.00 (Last admission to special exhibitions at 17.15)

Friday – Saturday, 10.00–22.00 (Last admission to special exhibitions at 21.15)

※Admission is free except for special exhibitions.

―Interactive Art

 Tate Modern is not just the gallery which you can look the art works, but also you can meet so many interactive art works you have never seen. So you should join in it !!

For example, the donating boxes, the short movies and the play room.

You can find some interesting donating boxes in Tate Modern, so you can donate money at any time there. Also, you can enjoy seeing those boxes as intriguing art works, putting money into them. Here is 2 examples !

                                

Once you see the donating boxes, you can not help raising your money !

The 5^th floor is a great place to experience interactive art. Interactive art means that you can contact to art works and it is not just looking.

Especially, play room and short movie. In play room, you enjoy playing a board game. Even if you go to there with child, she has a fantastic time like you.

At the middle part of this floor, you can watch short movie. In short movie, you get a piece of useful information by the artist. For example, how to make art work, a concept of the art work and artist’s thought.　It is very helpful for visitors to understand art work.

―Amazing contemporary Art

Do you like contemporary art? If you do not like it, you should go to Tate Modern and you can find favorite work.

Explain about contemporary art, there are many ways to split the beginning, especially it begins from 1900 (from Monet’s “Water-Lilies” and Picasso’s “Three Dancers” to Jackson Pollock’s “Summertime: Number 9A” and Francis Bacon’s “Study for Portrait on Folding Bed”). In Tate Modern you can see unusual sculptures and pictures.

 In Tate Modern, there are many works of contemporary art. If you go to there, where will you go first? We recommend you to go the level 1 “Turbine Hall”. This hall is the most popular place in Tate Modern and once there is a generator. The Turbine Hall is a great place to start your visit.

Big art works in the Turbine Hall changes every year. In 2000, there was “Maman”. Maman is a big spider ! Now it is in the Roppongi Hills in Tokyo.   

You will find an amazing work by AI WEIWEI. She is one of china’s leading conceptual (like image) artist and an outspoken cultural and social commentator.

 This work’s title is “Sunflower Seeds 2010”. It is a large-scale art more than you imagine. At first sight, you think that is an ordinary concrete road. Secondly, you find millions of sunflower seeds ware laid on the floor. However, realistic millions of sunflower seeds may seem, these life-sized sunflower seed husks are in fact complexly hand-crafted porcelain! What is an amazing work! You may be surprised and tricked.

←“Sunflower Seeds 2010 ”

―Conclusion

 Tate Modern is exciting place even you are not interested in art. If you like art, of course you have a great time.

If you go to Tate Modern, you can go sightseeing and appreciate the art.

Enjoy your artistic life in London!

Works Cited

“The Unilever Series: Ai Weiwei.” Modern Tate. Update 12 October 2010. Web.15 April

     2011. < http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/unileverseries2010/default.shtm>.