Tate Modern
| Tate Modern | |
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  Location within Central London
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| Established | 2000 |
| Location | Bankside, London, England |
| Visitor figures |
4,747,537 (2009)[1]
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| Director | Vicente Todolí |
| Public transit access | Blackfriars, Southwark |
| Website | www.tate.org.uk/modern |
| Tate | |
| Tate Britain · Tate Liverpool · Tate Modern · Tate St Ives | |
The Tate Modern in London is Britain's national museum of international modern art and is, with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, and Tate Online,[2] part of the group now known simply as Tate.
Contents |
History
- Main article Bankside Power Station
The galleries are housed in the former Bankside Power Station, which was originally designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect of Battersea Power Station, and built in two stages between 1947 and 1963. The power station closed in 1981. The building was converted by architects Herzog & de Meuron and contractors Carillion,[3] after which it stood at 99m tall. The history of the site as well as information about the conversion was the basis for a 2008 documentary Architects Herzog and de Meuron: Alchemy of Building & Tate Modern. The southern third of the building was retained by the French power company EDF Energy as an electrical substation (in 2006, the company released half of this holding).[4]
The galleries
The collections in Tate Modern consist of works of international modern and contemporary art dating from 1900 onwards.[5]
The Tate Collection is on display on levels three and five of the building, while level four houses large temporary exhibitions and a small exhibition space on level two houses work by contemporary artists.
Collection exhibitions
When the gallery opened in 2000, the collections were not displayed in chronological order but were rather arranged thematically into four broad groups: 'History/Memory/Society'; 'Nude/Action/Body'; 'Landscape/Matter/Environment'; and 'Still Life/Object/Real Life'. This was ostensibly because a chronological survey of the story of modern art along the lines of the Museum of Modern Art in New York would expose the large gaps in the collections, the result of the Tate's conservative acquisitions policy for the first half of the 20th century. The first rehang at Tate Modern opened in May 2006. It eschewed the thematic groupings in favour of focusing on pivotal moments of twentieth-century art, with further spaces allocated on levels 3 and 5 for shorter exhibitions. The layout is:
- Level 3 - Material Gestures
This focuses on abstraction, expressionism and abstract expressionism, featuring work by Claude Monet, Anish Kapoor, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, Henri Matisse and Tacita Dean.[6]
- Level 3 - Poetry and Dream
The sexually explicit section on this level features a drawing by the pseudo-anonymous French artist "Proper Man" entitled le cock et le balls which is his attempt to explore the tension between old and new attitudes to sexuality within an urban environment.
- Level 5 - Energy and Process
This focuses on Arte Povera, with work by artists such as Alighiero Boetti, Jannis Kounellis, Kasimir Malevich, Ana Mendieta, Mario Merz[7] and Jenny Holzer.[8]
- Level 5 - States of Flux
This focuses on Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism and Pop Art,[9] containing work by artists such as Pablo Picasso,[10] Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol[11] and the photographer Eugène Atget,[12]
Temporary exhibitions
Level 1 - The Turbine Hall
The Turbine Hall, which once housed the electricity generators of the old power station, is five storeys tall with 3,400 square metres of floorspace.[13] It is used to display large specially-commissioned works by contemporary artists, between October and March each year in a series sponsored by Unilever. This series was planned to last the gallery's first five years, but the popularity of the series has led to its extension until at least 2012.[14]
The artists that have exhibited commissioned work in the turbine hall are:
| Date | Artist | Work(s) | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2000 - November 2000[15] | Louise Bourgeois | Maman, I Do, I Undo, I Redo | About, Photos |
| June 2001 - March 2002 | Juan Muñoz | Double Bind | Introduction, Photos |
| October 2002 - April 2003 | Anish Kapoor | Marsyas | About, Images |
| October 2003 - March 2004 | Olafur Eliasson | The Weather Project | About |
| October 2004 - May 2005 | Bruce Nauman | Raw Materials | About, Audio |
| October 2005 - May 2006 | Rachel Whiteread | EMBANKMENT | About |
| October 2006 - April 2007 | Carsten Höller | Test Site | About, Images |
| October 2007 - April 2008 | Doris Salcedo | Shibboleth | About, Images |
| October 2008 - April 2009 | Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster | TH.2058 | Curator's Essay Images |
| October 2009 - April 2010 | Miroslaw Balka | How It Is | About |
| October 2010 - April 2011 | Ai Weiwei | TBA | Details to be unveiled 12 October 2010[16] |
Level 2 - The Level 2 Gallery
The Level 2 Gallery is a smaller gallery located on the north side of the building which houses exhibitions of cutting edge contemporary art. Its exhibitions normally run for 2 – 3 months.[17]
Level 4 - Major temporary exhibitions
As with levels 3 and 5, level 4 is broken into two large exhibition areas. This is used to stage the major temporary exhibitions for which an entry fee is charged. These exhibitions normally run for three or four months. The two exhibition areas can be combined to host a single exhibition. This was done for the Gilbert and George retrospective due to the size and number of the works.[18]
Other areas
Small temporary exhibition spaces are also located in the space between the two galleries on levels 3 and 5. These are sometimes used to display recent acquisitions. Works are also sometimes shown in the restaurants and members' room. Other locations that have been used in the past include the mezzanine on Level 2 and the north facinging exterior of the building.[19]
Access and environs
The closest tube station is Southwark, although a further pedestrian approach to Tate Modern is across the Millennium Bridge from St Paul's Cathedral or Mansion House tube station. Blackfriars Tube is closed until 2011. The lampposts between Southwark tube station and the Tate Modern are painted orange to show pedestrian visitors the route.
There is also a riverboat pier just outside the gallery called Bankside Pier, with connections to the Docklands and Greenwich via regular passenger boat services (commuter service) and the Tate to Tate service, which connects Tate Modern with Tate Britain.
To the west of Tate Modern lie the sleek stone and glass Ludgate House, the former headquarters of Express Newspapers and Sampson House, a massive late Brutalist office building.
Extension for 2012
Tate Modern has attracted more visitors than originally expected and plans to expand it have been in preparation for some time. These plans have focused on three areas for expansion all to the south of the building:
- The area no longer required by EDF Energy.
- Three large, disused, underground oil tanks originally used by the power station.
- A major new extension building to be built above the oil drums.
The design of the new extension building, also designed by Herzog & de Meuron, has been controversial. It was originally designed as a glass stepped pyramid, or zigurat, but this has recently been amended to incorporate a sloping façade in brick (to match the original power-station building)[20] after feedback on the original design was unfavourable. The extension will include galleries dedicated to photography, video, exhibitions and the community.[21]
This project will cost approx. £215 million and is scheduled to open in 2012, in time for the 2012 Olympic Games being held in the city.[22] Additionally, the Tate Britain will be undergoing refurbishment.
Transport links
| London Buses | ||
| Stops SV and ST | Tate Modern RV1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Stop BC | Southwark Bridge / Bankside Pier 344 0.3 mile walk[23] | |
| Stop SK | Blackfriars Bridge 45, 63, 100 0.4 mile walk[24] | |
| Stop SP | Blackfriars Bridge / South Side 45, 63, 100 0.4 mile walk[25] | |
| London Underground | 0.6 mile walk Southwark  [26] |
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| National Rail | 0.3 mile walk Blackfriars[27] | |
| London River Services | Bankside Pier |
- At the exit of Southwark tube station, the orange lamposts will direct visitors to Tate Modern.
Gallery
 In 2000 at the opening (and closing) of the Millennium Bridge |
 In the early morning, seen from near Blackfriars |
 From the Millennium Bridge |
 Construction cranes forming an honour guard. |
 Millennium Bridge and St Paul's Cathedral from the Tate Modern |
 Chimney of Tate Modern. The Swiss Light at its top was designed by Michael Craig-Martin and the architects Herzog & de Meuron and was sponsored by the Swiss government. It was dismantled in May 2008. |
.jpg) View looking up the chimney of Tate Modern |
 View from the Millennium Bridge in 2006 |
 The Turbine Hall. No art work was on display in the hall at the time (June 2005) |
 Ólafur Elíasson's The Weather Project October 2003 - March 2004 |
 Ólafur Elíasson's The Weather Project in the Turbine Hall |
 Rachel Whiteread's 2005 Embankment |
 Test Site by Carsten Höller (2006) |
 Shibboleth by Doris Salcedo (2007) |
 At the deep end of 'The Crack' (Shibboleth) (2007) |
See also
- List of museums in London
References
- ↑ "VISITS MADE IN 2009 TO VISITOR ATTRACTIONS IN MEMBERSHIP WITH ALVA". Association of Leading Visitor Attractions. http://www.alva.org.uk/visitor_statistics/. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ↑ History and development Tate On-line
- ↑ Tate Modern case study
- ↑ Riding, Alan (26 July 2006). "Tate Modern Announces Plans for an Annex". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/26/arts/design/26tate.html. Retrieved 26 July 2006.
- ↑ Tate Modern: About
- ↑ Tate Modern | Collection Displays | Level 3: Material es, Tate Online, 2006. URL accessed on 9 February 2007.
- ↑ Tate Modern | Collection Displays | Level 5: Idea and Object, Tate Online, 2006. URL accessed on 9 February 2007.
- ↑ Tate Modern | Collection Displays | Level 5: Idea and Object | Image/Text (Room 11), Tate Online, 2006. URL accessed on 9 February 2007.
- ↑ Tate Modern | Collection Displays | Level 5: States of FluxTate Online, 2006. URL accessed on 9 February 2007.
- ↑ Tate Modern | Collection Displays | Level 5: States of Flux | Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism (Room 2), Tate Online, 2006. URL accessed on 9 February 2007.
- ↑ Tate Modern | Collection Displays | Level 5: States of Flux | Pop (Room 7)Tate Online, 2006. URL accessed on 9 February 2007.
- ↑ Tate Modern | Collection Displays | Level 5: States of Flux | Machine Eye (Room 4)Tate Online, 2007. URL accessed on 9 February 2007.
- ↑ Brooks, Xan (7 October 2005). "Profile: Rachel Whiteread". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/story/0,11710,1587112,00.html. Retrieved 20 April 2006.
- ↑ "Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster Chosen for Tate Modern's Turbine Hall". http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/27060/dominique-gonzalez-foerster-chosen-for-tate-moderns-turbine-hall/. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
- ↑ The Unilever Series
- ↑ Turbine Hall commission: Adrian Searle profiles artist Ai Weiwei; The Guardian, London 5 March 2010
- ↑ Tate: Level 2 Gallery
- ↑ Tate Modern: Gilbert & George Exhibition
- ↑ Tate Modern: Street Art
- ↑ Tate Modern extension redesigned
- ↑ Tate modern | Transforming Tate Modern, Tate Online, 2006. URL accessed on 30 March 2007.
- ↑ Tate Modern's chaotic pyramid, The Times, 26 July 2006. URL accessed on 26 July 2006.
- ↑ Walking directions to Tate Modern from Southwark Bridge / Bankside Pier
- ↑ Walking directions to Tate Modern from Blackfriars Bridge
- ↑ Walking directions to Tate Modern from Blackfriars Bridge / South Side
- ↑ Walking directions to Tate Modern from Southwark tube station
- ↑ Walking directions to Tate Modern from Blackfriars station
External links
- Tate Online - Official Tate website
- 'Tate Modern: a Year of Sweet Success' by Esther Leslie, in Radical Philosophy
- The buildings of Bankside Power Station(Tate Modern) and Battersea Power Station compared
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