Thames Day 2: Tate Modern

We couldn’t walk past Tate Modern without popping in to check out some of the free exhibits. In the immense Turbine Hall was Fons Americanus, a 43-foot (13-meter) tall working fountain inspired by the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace by American artist Kara Walker.

It was made using an environmentally-conscious production process out of recyclable and reusable cork, wood and metal. How surprising to see a temporary piece of art of that massive scale with folks sitting on it.

Walker says this piece serves as “an allegory of the Black Atlantic, and really all global waters, which disastrously connect Africa to America, Europe and economic prosperity.”

It was damn impressive from all angles. 

Upstairs in the Artist Rooms we saw some great painting and prints by American artist Ed Ruscha.

About Our Flag, 2017, Ruscha said “any flag that flies for 250 years is bound to get a little ragged and tattered, especially if we help it along.”

Shinjuku Station was taken in 1962 by Chinese photographer Hiro. I was especially drawn to this as I’ve been to that station in Tokyo in 2015.

Made in 2016 by Polish artist Monika Sosnowska, Pavilion is painted steel weighing over two tons. It depicts the failure of building during the era of communist rule in Poland, including the use of lower quality materials than those intended by architects and making changes which contradicted the architects’ original utopian vision. 

Despite the gray skies, I was happy to bring the others to the 10th floor open viewing deck since none of them had been there before.