"An artist is somebody who produces things that people don't need to have."
--Andy Warhol
I hadn't planned on going to the Tate Modern. I had planned on hulling up in my room in sweatpants, listening to Mumford and Sons and scrolling through my Pinterest feed. I walked outside simply to hand a receipt to the director, and ended up on the tube. I had always thought I wasn't a fan of Modern art. Turns out, I am. The problem was, I hadn't the slightest idea what Modern art really is. It's not all urinals on display. Though a lot of the exhibits are truly bizarre, I found a lot of the paintings and photographs quite enticing.
My favorite part of the museum was a series of photographs by Jean Heartfield for AIZ- Arbeiter Illustrierte Zeitung. (That's "Workers Illustrated Magazine" in English)
"Between 1930 and 1938 Heartfield contributed 237 photomontages to AIZ. The Nazis rapidly became his main target as he made ‘laughter a devastating weapon’ to expose their violence and demagogy. His attacks gained in urgency when Hitler became Chancellor in early 1933 and imposed anti-Communist censorship. Much of Heartfield’s work was lost when the Nazis ransacked his Berlin studio. He escaped to Prague where AIZ continued publication until 1938."
Here's an example!
The museum also had a lot of paintings and sculptures, and an exhibit with three wooden boxes that people could look inside of one at a time to see colored lights. Some of the art I understood, some of it was way over my head. But either way I'm glad what would have been a boring day in turned into an exciting and eye-opening day out.
By: Molly Goyne