London : The Tate Modern

10th July 2011. Written by Xin Li.
London, United Kingdom
Housed in a former power station in the Bankside of London, the power station found a new lease of life as a museum for the contemporary arts in 2000. A monumental atrium welcomes you as you step into the museum and this is just the beginning of the museum experience.

As you proceed to explore the museum’s collection of international modern art, be prepared to get swept by waves after waves of impactful works that have pushed the boundaries of what is art.

Facade of the museum.

For a start, get puzzled by the random and whimsical works of the Dadaists, with their satire of the political scene in 1930s.

Or be in awe by Ai Weiwei’s Sunflower Seeds, a heap of ‘sunflower’ seeds that are actually handcrafted and hand painted porcelain pieces by the specialists working in small scale workshops in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen, a city in China, renowned for its porcelain products.

Then there is the works by the famed Italian sculptor, Alberto Giacometti, whose almost vanishing stick-like human figures evoke imagery of the victims of the Vietnam War or Hiroshima Bombing.

Or take a step back in time and explore the gradual shift towards modernism in art by artists like Andre Durain.

These are just a tip of the iceberg of what the Tate Modern has to offer. The Tate Modern is FREE except for major exhibitions.

After an electrifying tour of the museum, why not relax at Café 2, the museum’s café, situated on the riverside?

I had the Fruit Scone with Cornish Clotted Cream and Strawberry Preserve (3.50 GBP), the scone was quite sweet and crumbly. The clotted cream was thick and rich and the strawberry preserve has chunks of strawberry in it.

My younger brother had the Bramley Apple and Blackberry Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream (5.10 GBP) which he wiped clean before I could taste it.

TATE MODERN

Open :
Sun – Thurs
10.00 – 18.00
Fri – Sat
10.00 – 22.00

Closed from 24th-26th of December.