We visited the new Tate Modern and we loved it! Here is a first insight into the extension.
On 17 June 2016, over a weekend of celebrations, Tate Modern opened its new wing, the Switch House and London became home to the biggest museum of modern art on the planet.
The new Tate Modern: The Switch House
The Switch House promises to transform the experience of art. The purpose-designed gallery spaces involve even more international art and more art by women. A collection that is more 'diverse and engaging', says Tate Modern’s new director, Frances Morris.
The works are from artists around the world, currently representing over 50 countries.
Among them is Ana Lupas, Romania.
Her work The Solemn Process 1964 - 2008 (The Switch House, Level 3) comprises of 21 unique metal sculptures that aim to keep tradition alive. It is a project she started in 1964, when Lupas oversaw the creation of large straw structures in villages in Transylvania. She enlisted the help of villagers who used weaving techniques traditionally employed to make wreaths for harvest festivals. The activity fell into decline when in the mid-1970s, the economic and social changes in Romania made it difficult for participants to continue. Lupas could no longer ensure that the objects would be made each year. She tried different ways to preserve them, first by restoring the original wreaths, then by drawing them. Eventually, in the early 2000s, she developed the technique of sealing them in metal ‘tins’. This solution satisfied the artist as a practical means of preservation and a way of combining the natural and traditional ‘wreaths of wheat’ with modern, industrial associations through the metal casing.
The Solemn Process 1964 - 2008 by Ana Lupas
The Solemn Process 1964 - 2008 by Ana Lupas
Visitors are even invited to engage with some of the artworks. Here are a few examples:
Ricardo Basbaum's Capsules (NBP x me-you) 2000, an installation which, as described, involves wall drawings, a soundtrack, a book and a series of bed-capsules which visitors are invited to occupy. It aims to explore communication, human consciousness and the interaction between people.
Capsules (NBP x me-you) 2000 by Ricardo Basbaum
Capsules (NBP x me-you) 2000 by Ricardo Basbaum
Marwan Rechmaoui's Beirut Caoutchouc 2004-8 is a detailed floor-based rubber map of Beirut. Visitors are permitted to walk over it. This way they can engage with the artist's representation of a city which has shown great resilience in the face of earthquake, fire and war.
Beirut Caoutchouc 2004-8 by Marwan Rechmaoui
Amalia Pica's Strangers 2008 is a performance work in which two people who have never met before hold a string of bunting that keeps them 10 meters apart. This is 'a distance that allows for talking, but not intimately...[...] their bond also establishes their separation' explains the artist.
Strangers 2008 by Amalia Pica
The installations also include the famous Tree 2010 (The Switch House, Turbine Hall, Level 1) by renowned Chinese contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei. It was made by piecing together individual dry branches, roots and trunks from different species of trees from across China. The artist explains that the work celebrates the Chinese custom of displaying distinctive tree trunks and curiously shaped roots as home decorations.
Tree 2010 by Ai Weiwei
Previously the Bankside Power Station designed by Sir Gilbert Scott (an English architect who also designed the famous red telephone box!), Tate Modern's new 64.5m 10-storey building was designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron. 'As well as doubling the gallery space, The Tate Modern Project will create a diverse collection of public spaces dedicated to relaxation and reflection, making and doing, group learning and private study.' Herzog & de Meuron.
View from the Turbine Hall link bridge connecting the Boiler House galleries of the original Tate Modern building to the new Switch House
Cladding brickwork and city-view
On the inside, levels 1 to 9 hold galleries, a members’ room, education spaces, a restaurant and staff offices.
Level 10 is a viewing level - an open terrace where visitors are welcome to enjoy a beautiful free 360° view of the London skyline.
London skyline view from Level 10, The Switch House
Level 0 holds The Tanks. Previously filled with oil that fueled the turbines of the old power station, the space has now been given over to various forms of art involving film, sound and live performance.
An example is another Romanian artist, Alexandra Perici and Manuel Pelmuș, who together with other performers use their bodies to transform artworks, some of which are well-known works from the Tate collection, originally made in other media.
Public Collection 2016 by Alexandra Pirici and Manuel Pelmuș
Another example is Tarek Atoui's The Reverse Collection 2016 which is an improvised performance with ten instruments.
The Reverse Collection 2016 by Tarek Atoui
The new Tate Modern is definitely 'redefining the museum for the twenty first century', Tate Modern.
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Frances Morris, Tate Modern director