My cultural adviser and I headed down to London for the most recent "Late at Tate" event. Held every 1st Friday of each month at Tate Britain this gives ticket holders the chance to view exhibitions, and the other galleries, in quieter than normal circumstances.
As well as the late opening (until 10pm) of the gallery, there are also special events and features held during the evening, even the chance to drink and snack in the galleries.
Our first stop was at the Joshua Reynolds exhibition. Reynolds was a fine British portrait painter and the first director of the Royal Academy. I thought I would mention two points that crossed my mind during my viewing of his work:
1. Reynolds seemed very self obsessed - there was a whole room of his own self-portraits.
2. His paintings appeared to popularise different elements of society. No longer did only aristocrats or higher members of the social classes appear in an idolised way on the canvas.
After this viewing we proceeded to one of the large room galleries in the Tate, here amongst great paintings of the "Battle of Trafalgar" and other famous works we sat and listened to some great synthesizer music, played at concert volume alongside stills of 1970's synthesizer hit cover art. This was simultaneously surreal and culturally intriguing.
Trying to squeeze as much in as possible to the evening we proceeded to another annex of the gallery, in a film auditorium, to see some films by Alex Bag. Not having seen her work before I was intrigued as to what I might find. I was expecting a fully experimental film showing, but Alex's work was more like low-fi "Fast Show" meets David Larcher in a lollipop to the moon. Briefly the works shown were as follows:
Semester 3 - A typical NY student explains why she is "psyched" to be starting semester 3.
Lecture - A dull self-important artistic film director explains about her work called "Purse".
A Calls SE Johndon Wax - A 80s throwback MacEnroe-esque female tries to convince a corporation to produce another flavour of gum.
Teenage Boys - Alex plays two stereotypical teenage no-hopers.
Special K-umentary - A couple try some drugs.
Shop Girls - Typical sales assistants give their view of life.
Semester 6 - The same(?) girl now explains her development which has lead to fundamental insight into art for semester 6 at college.
The Van - Three up and coming artists spar in the back of a van driven by a sleazy red-neck promoter.
Bjork - Our Icelandic friend explains about how the TV works and how an Icelandic myth led her to be scared of the popular consumer item.
A Calls Gatorade - Alex, in yet another guise, calls the American version of Lucozade to ensure that she (and fellow in background) are utilising the best remedy for a drug-induced hangover.
Segment 2 (from Gladia Daters) - This horrific look into a bar away from the big cities contained a hilarious homage to the video of "Firestarter" by "The Prodigy".
Pierce Brosnan BMW Promo (Acid Trip Test Drive) - Somehow Alex and her colleague have blagged their way into a free BMW test drive around Central Park in New York. Of course it would not be the same without dropping acid before getting in the car.
Coven Services - This more ambitious work satirises American culture (such as it is) and the corporate menace in the media.
Then it was time to get some drink and listen to more Moog music before the galleries shut, and head back home. Great fun, and very civilized.
