Museum/gallery visit Quarter 1

This summer I visited Tate Modern in London. Some of the things I took away from it were...

1. Nowadays, anything can be art. It is known that painting is often likened to a window upon the world, with central perspective giving the viewer a sense of surveying what is contained within the picture frame. A piece of art at Tate Modern turned this century-old convention upside-down by replacing the painting’s surface with a mirror. Today, this “art” is not only accepted, but also encouraged by many. The world of modern art often claims that anyone can be an artist and anything, even a mirror, is art. 
2. It is interesting how many completely different reactions such art can provoke. I purposefully stood nearby the mirror to see how visitors of Tate Modern reacted to such an unusual piece of artwork. Some of them were obviously fans of modern art who praised the “paint
   
   ing”; some were as confused as I was since this “art” can be found in any bathroom. Some were highly critical of this piece and of modern art in general. It was particularly interesting to see what kind of people were critical and what weren’t. A lot of the “yes” people were young, some with tattoos, piercing, and funky hair. The “no” visitors, however, were mostly either middle-aged or the elderly; they wore modest clothing and didn’t check their phones every minute. A generation gap was so obvious at a place like this, and it was interesting to observe this clash of generations. 
3. I also learned about the logic behind visitors’ revere of the mirror. I overheard a conversation between two young people that while we stand and stare, we unwillingly become part of any artwork. People walk past and see one’s reflection from afar. For that moment one’s role as a spectator changes into the subject. That’s why this work is genius- art and reality are one. A part of me reacted negatively to such explanation because something similar could be said about displaying a plain white plate in a museum and calling it art. The concept itself, however, was quite intriguing because if a mirror was true art then anything in its reflection would be considered art as well. This then leads to the idea that the whole world is art. It doesn’t have to be traditional, take a long time to create, or be expensive. Modern art opens a gap wide enough for anything to become part of it, therefore moving away from the traditional. 
4. In the museum, there was a video about an artist in which he explained how he creates modern art. When a journalist asked him why he takes so long to paint his pieces, the artist said, “Something is still open and you have to close it.” That’s how he described the feeling he gets when something happens. He needs to take time to reflect on life before creating a piece. I found this surprising because when something happens to me, I can’t wait to express it. If I do wait, my emotions dissolve and I lose interest in creating a piece.