ONE] Lichtenstein was great: Today saw me going to the Lichtenstein exhibition at the Tate. Whilst I
believe that £15 per person is too much in this day and age to see even diamond encrusted pieces of art,
thankfully we had been given a Tate membership card which allowed us to see the exhibition for free.
Obviously that put me in a good mood, that and the fact that today I also found a long lost Pizza
Hut gift card with £15 on it [clearly everything these day is £15], so I went into the exhibition with a happy,
open mind. I don't know whether this goes for anyone else, but normally when I view one of these things I
find myself walking around thinking 'I'm sure they have a 2 year old in a room at the back somewhere
managing a conveyor belt of their own scribbles' and looking at walls trying to fit in with the
people who stand in front of every exhibit with a pensive face, nodding in some sort of secret, mutual
understanding. Not today my friends! Today I can actually say I a] enjoyed and, most importantly,
b] understood what I saw. Lichtenstein, heavily influenced by 'comic strips, advertising and mass culture
imagery' seemed to appeal to everyone. For those who respected the more classical forms, he created his
own interpretations, namely of works by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse; for those who prefer to have
artwork jump out at them, Lichtenstein used bold colours and comic-book imagery with the occasional
well-known disney character thrown in. A good barometer of how accessibly an artist is, for me, is a look
at the children at the exhibition. If they're either:
a] having tantrums,
b] standing firmly and silently in a corner in protest, or
c] running around using the the ropes surrounding the artist's work as catapult leavers
I know i'll probably get rather bored too. If however they're asking questions and even copying some of the
drawings onto bits of paper, I know i'll most likely enjoy the exhibition too. What does this tell me [apart
from the fact that i'm clearly still a child]? It tells me that if an artist has the power to harness beings with
the shortest attention spans, they've done their job. Today i heard and saw both of these things and,
surprise surprise, I enjoyed the entire thing. To be honest we have two pieces of Lichtenstein art work in
our flat already, so I was sort of prepared, but if you have the opportunity to go because some lovely
person has offered to take you as a treat, I would take them up on the offer. Its probably one of the most
'understandable' things you'll see at the Tate!
They're currently sitting there making our
keyboard look a bit cooler.
keyboard look a bit cooler.
If you're interested, the Lichtenstein exhibition will run until 27th May which includes a workshop, lecture
and conference.
and conference.
Maybe I'll learn something new tomorrow.
WHO KNOWS?
STANLEY
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