O'Leary vs. The Tate - Round 1

Dawdling to read some Carnacki (William Hope Hodgson's Holmes-esque detective of the supernatural), and then suffering some disruption of the District tube line, I didn't get to the Tate Modern until after 7. My main aim was to see the huge 'Salvador Dali and Film' currently on. Another exhibition of works by the Brazilian artist, Helio Oiticica, also caught my attention. The ticket girl suggested that I would need at least three hours for each, and, feeling some hunger pangs starting, I decided to leave this side of my quest until Sunday. Instead I'd browse the free part of the gallery.

As it happened there was a show, 'Surrealism and Beyond', on the floor below the Dali, presumably to complement that exhibition. This was huge. Full of a wide range of artists, from Magritte to Miros, Leonora Carrington to Francis Bacon, it was far more eclectic than its title suggested. Wonderful though. One thing in particular that sticks in my mind was a film, 'Meshes of the Afternoon' (1943), by the Ukrainian born dancer and artist, Maya Deren. Apparently a big influence on David Lynch among others, this was obviously Deren's attempt to out Un-Chien-Andalou Dali's 'Un Chien Andalou'. Naturally it had its pretentious side, but it was also full of striking images, not least of which was Deren herself, who looked like a bizarre Ukrainian mix of Ava Gardner and Sandra Bernhard. Quite apart from the artist though, elements like the shrouded figure with a mirror for a face and the very effectively realised multiplication of Deren's character made me smile. There were elements here of Cocteau, and the repetition of events reminded me of Resnais's 'Last Year in Marienbad' (a severely over-rated movie). Pretentious or not, when I contrasted this movie with the awesome double bill of 'Wavelength' and 'Zorn's Lemma' of a few weeks back, I know which screening I would see again.

Other works like Leonor Fini's 'Little Hermit Sphinx', a later revision of 'Three Figures at the Base of a Crucifix' by Francis Bacon and a bizarre animation, 'The Last Clown' also stick in my mind.

I left this show and went up two floors to more of the standard collection. Here Len Lye's 'A Colour Box', made for the British Postal Service to advertise stamps, was playing. Great stuff! Onward to realist pieces by Dod Proctor, Meredith Frampton and Balthus, and more and more. And sculptures by Arp ('Fish'), Giacometti, Rodin, and more and more. Again I put my headphones in my ears and listened to John Cage's 'In a Landscape' while Douglas Gordon's '10 ms- 1' played. This is a video piece taken from some found footage of a First World War soldier trying to stand in a military hospital. Although he looks healthy, his mysterious ailment causes him to fall to the ground and despite repeated efforts, he doesn't get back up. The music seemed to be made for the piece, and crashed appropriately as his head hit the floor. It even ended almost in tandem with the video. Earlier Part's 'Fur Alina' and 'Variationen zur Gesundung van Arinuschka' served just as appropriate a purpose in a room full of Mark Rothko works. At the door to this room was a recording by the band The Real Tuesday Weld commissioned by the gallery to complement the room. Strangely their music wasn't a million miles away from the minimalist stuff I had been playing, though Part and then Cage were better.

It was close to 10 by the time I finally decided to go for dinner.

Dinner was a souvlaki bar on the South Bank. The prices looked reasonable, but as you buy plates much in the manner of tapas, it all mounted up. The lamb in the lamb souvlaki was a bit too chewy for my tastes, but with hummous, olives, flatbread and beer I was happy enough.

South Bank by Night

I left the restaurant to find that the rain had started. It got heavier too. Luckily I had my mini umbrella. I walked in a leisurely away, digressing to stare off piers, and take an occasional photo. On one stretch of sand a birthday party went on ignoring the rain and lighting fires. An occasional rat scurried into nearby bushes. The lights of the city shone across the river etching a dark barge in black relief. I enjoyed my walk to the Embankment tube station.

(Just saw a quotation on Arvo Part by Steve Reich:
"Even in Estonia, Arvo was getting the same feeling that we were all getting. [...] I love his music, and I love the fact that he is such a brave, talented man. [...] He's completely out of step with the zeitgeist and yet he's enormously popular, which is so inspiring. His music fulfills a deep human need that has nothing to do with fashion." Says it all really.)

South Bank Party