Due to the 'severe' weather conditions around the UK this weekend, I had the oppurtunity to visit London earlier than expected, so took the oppurtunity to see the exhibition on action painting 'A Bigger Splash' at Tate Modern. I was lucky enough to recieve a National Art Pass as a Birthday gift last month, so got to see the exhibition for only £4.25 rather than the standard £10, an absolute bargain!
The exhibition itself was organised room by room, each containing a different section of the action painting genre. The first room contained the piece that gave the exhibition its name, Hockney's 'A Bigger Splash' alongside Pollock's abstract piece 'Summertime'. Whilst Hockney's work was displayed conventionally alongside a film depicting the artist and his Californian inspirations, the Pollock was displayed on the floor, as the piece would have been created, with a film by Namuth and Falkenberg of the artist creating the piece, giving the viewer a clear idea of how the painting was created, if this was not already clear from the appearance of the canvas splattered with paint.
So far, so conventional, however, as you move through the exhibition, the works and artists become more obscure, moving away from the recognisable Hockney, Pollock and Klein to lesser known artists from Vienna, China and Korea. The works themselves too became more avant garde, moving from painted canvas to photography, video art and installation pieces.
Room 5, which had a focus on 1970's works challenging ideas of conventional beauty for both men and women, was a particularly interesting topic. There were many works with a feminist theme from artists such as Helena Almeida and Elanor Antin, as well as a focus on drag and the so called development of 'queer politics' - topics that undoubtedly provoke a reaction in the viewer as we see the artists 'transformed' with the use of cosmetics and costume, still relevant in today's society that is arguably even more obsessed with image and appearance.
This exhibition is excellent for those wishing to see a wider variety of little known names and unusual works and look further into the genre of action painting, where the gestures needed to create the works are as important as the pieces themselves. However, the large volume of photographic works, with little or no explanation were somewhat overwhelming, with many of my fellow gallery-goers not giving these pieces more than a passing glance, instead focusing on the more traditional painted works.
