one of the things topping most people's list of things to see in london are the infamous tate museums. yes, there are two - the tate modern and the tate britain. this little fact is often glazed over when people poshly refer to "the tate," so before i set foot in london i thought "the tate" was only the tate modern. two tates in my head meant two 10-15€ admission fees. how was i ever going to make up my mind on which to visit?!? as it turns out, i was wrong yet again. admission to both museums was "donation based," which we all know really means "free."
at that point i had no reason not to visit just one tate museum, but both. so i decided to make my first stop at the one i had actually heard of - the tate modern. i should tell you upfront that i'm not really a huge fan of modern art. i'm never going to be the person who "gets" a light fixture on a blank canvas and understands that as a meaningful work of art. so i don't really know what i was expecting to gain from visiting a modern art museum when i don't really completely appreciate that form of art.
the experience i left with is what i would call "creeped out." it was a bit strange to have such an anxious feeling as i did walking through that museum, and maybe i'm bring dramatic, but i totally had the feeling i normally get walking down a quiet dark alley by myself late at night. ok, it was light out and there were plenty of people around so i wasn't concerned about being mugged so much as i was about what weird art form was lurking around the corner, waiting to freak me out. maybe it wasn't a good idea to kick off my visit watching a movie about an asian guy who basically stalked this asian movie star.
after that experience, i was sure it would only be uphill from there with the tate britain. since "modern" wasn't in the title, i thought the other tate might house some of the more classical pieces i enjoy visiting. well, it was less modern, but still had a few little strange bits. i did spend more time in the tate britain and i definitely felt less anxious. it was even pretty interesting to see a few pieces from the revolutionary war period, where a few british artists depicted feelings at the time that it was going to be an "easy defeat" of america.
my afternoon at the tate britain was actually a nice one, and not just because i picked up a giant brownie from the food fair going on nearby. the only part that somewhat dampens the experience was one video installation i stumbled across of a tight rope walker. it was a movie of a man walking on a tight rope between two very tall buildings. before you guess that he falls or something actually gruesome, the reason this was unenjoyable for me was the camera angle. the movie had one that showed the man from a distance walking, but then another angle randomly would pan in that was clearly a view from his helmet looking down. it was so real, i felt like i was walking the rope. which of course meant i was panic stricken in my seat until the camera changed views again. man, i am SUCH a museum drama queen!
despite the only slightly positive experiences i had, i did manage to venture back to both tate museums during my trip. but mostly for the clean restrooms and free wifi...
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