Christina Ravensbourne : Transformed Visions - 'New Images of Man' Tate Modern Review

Review:

War is a very delicate subject that has affected many peoples lives from around the world. War has affected our historical past, our current state and our on-going future. It is evident that very few people write about war, speak about war and very few find the courage to paint about war. Sorrow, loss and courage are themes that circulate the viewers as they step into Room two in the ‘Transformed visions – New images of Man’ at Tate Modern. The main question that arouses from this exhibition is: ‘From the Middle of the 20^th Century, how were people able to continue making art after the catastrophes of World War, The Holocaust and the threat of nuclear annihilation?’ (Gale, www.tate.org.uk) Matthew Gale, the curator has profoundly displayed the deep emotions the artists felt when completing their work, as each individual piece reveals a memory. The artists consisted of: Hedda Sterne, Jean Dubffet, Philip Guston, Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Leon Kossoff, Francis Bacon, Alberto Giacmetti and more. Gale illustrates the atrocities associated with the Second World War, as it was the source of the total collapse of civilisation that creativity had to acknowledge and respond to that rupture.

As stated by Jean-Paul Sartre “Hell is other people” (Sartre, www.sparknotes.com) signalling the impossibility of communication and connection between individuals from today’s society.

This exhibition is a retrospective, displaying how isolation and desolation has bled into the highly personalised art of abstract expressionism and the European movement. The scarred surface of the work bore witness to the artists’ actions, asserting their presence in the world. ‘To help art regain it’s place’. (Dubufett, www.dubuffetfondation.com) Jean Dubuffet believes it should be seen naked with all the creases of its belly. Similarly, Francis Bacon’s focus on the isolated body found echoes in the work of most artists in the exhibition, but also the work of contemporary artists such as William De Kooning and Alberto Giacometti. Matthew has purposely not included current practitioners in this exhibition nor has he laid out the work in chronological order, because he might want to display war as a continuous never-ending motion. The viewers would have walked away from the exhibition carrying many emotions including depression and loss that triggers catastrophe to people.

After first entering the exhibition and seeing such bleak colours slide down each painting, thoughts of misery and despair came into mind. The work evoked a certain emotion of pain and nostalgia. I felt empty as I was going around viewing the artwork. The large canvases with the heavy use of paints could represent the hectic lives the people and the artists themselves were experiencing at the time of war and symbolise the on-going emotions of sadness and grief. I definitely see many connections with the work displayed in the exhibition and my own. The use of medium in most paintings is probably the biggest connection, as I too work with oil paints that create a textured and dramatic effect. This exhibition has truly inspired viewers such as myself to see life through another person’s art.

Bibliography:

Gale, Matthew Transformed Visions – ‘New Images of Man’ – Tate Modern

[Online] London Accessed: 11/09/13

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/display/new-images-man

Sartre, Jean-paul No Exit in 1944 – ‘Hell is other people’ – Spark notes

[Online] London Accessed: 11/09/13

http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/sartre/section3.rhtml

Dubufett,, Jean Dubfuett Foundation – Art Brut – Dubufett Foundation

[Online] London Accessed: 12/09/13

http://www.dubuffetfondation.com/index2_ang.htm