Artists visit Tate Britain
A coach full of our GCSE and A level Art students travelled to the Tate Britain in London. They were looking forward to gathering research material for their own projects. As our Head of Art Mr Holbrook says, "Seeing real art in the flesh is far more formidable then perusing it in a book or via the internet". Naturally, we couldn't wait to get there, despite the very early start! Fortunately ipods and other digital equipment meant the ambience during the journey was quiet enough to let the staff catch up on some sleep!
Apart from seeing some classic paintings by Turner, such as the Battle of Trafalgar (seen below),
Years 11-13 were allowed a quick glimpse at some of the stored print works that the Tate Possesses. They met curator Julia Beaumont-Jones who had a selection of prints: Mono prints, lino cuts, lithographic prints, woodcuts, and screen prints. She briefly explained the craft and gave an account of the artists and what they were trying to achieve with the media. It is a shame that so much work is stored away and seldom accessible for public viewing. Julia said there were about 58,000 prints and drawings stored at the Tate!
Everyone had a certain highlight from the day, even if it was trying to find the meanings behind the Modern Art, or interpreting the labyrinth of disconcerting rooms (instillation by Mike Nelson), or peering into a page of Turner's 200 year-old sketch book, or eventually sneaking away and finding the cafe for a cup of tea (Mrs Scannell!).
The return journey proved to be livelier as students discussed what they had seen and how their work would now be enhanced. This didn't matter to the staff who were so exhausted having walked miles through gallery after gallery, slept anyway!
Thank you, Mr Holbrook for planning the day. For the record he said his highlight was , "The rediscovery of an important lesser known group of British artists termed 'the Neo-Romantics' prevalent around the 1930s and their helmsman Graham Sutherland; sublime." Each to their own!
