1. Tasks to complete before 23 Nov 2011
Art and Design in Context 2011-2012
Sara Andersdotter (G2 & G4)
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2. GALLERY VISIT WORKSHEET
VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM &/OR TATE MODERN
in connection with TIME TRAVEL & WISH YOU WERE HERE..
In place of taught classes on Wednesday 16th November, you are required to
conduct your own research on Modernism and Postmodernism at the Victoria &
Albert Museum and/or Tate Modern.
Please allow at least three hours for your museum visit. You should complete this
worksheet and use it as the basis for discussion and the development of further
research on your blog. You should come prepared to discuss your findings in class on
Wednesday 23rd November.
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3. VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/visit-us/getting-here/
Suggested displays/exhibitions
1. The House of Annie Lennox (located upstairs in the Performance Department)
http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/t/the-house-of-annie-lennox/
2. Postmodernism. Style and Subversion 1970-1990. This is a temporary exhibition.
You need to purchase a ticket at the entrance. Make sure you bring your
Greenwich University Student Card in order to receive a discount.
3. Photography Gallery (go through to the end of the shop and turn right)
Questions:
1. In the exhibition, Postmodernism, Style and Subversion, list three examples in
which postmodern design has ‘appropriated’ or sampled the style of earlier
eras. What is the effect of this sampling, in each case? In what ways have this
sampling been political?
2. What does the exhibition Postmodernism, Style and Subversion imply about
Modernism? Use what references you find as a starting point to examine
three key characteristics of modernist art.
3. The exhibition contains examples of artists who have used postmodern style
to explore issues of personal and gender identity. Choose two examples and
describe how they have done this.
4. In the House of Annie Lennox you will find a T-shirt with the slogan HIV
Positive written on it. How does Lennox describe her rationale for wearing
this T-shirt? In what ways can this be considered a political action?
5. What other questions does Annie Lennox raise through her use of fashion?
6. In what ways can the photographers whose work is exhibited in the V&A
Photography Gallery be described as postmodernist?
7. How has your visit to the V&A shaped your thinking about the research you
need to do for your Time Travel project? What questions might you now ask
about the decades assigned to you?
8. What inspiration have you drawn from the various exhibits in terms of
developing correspondence with your chosen artist in the Wish You Were
Here Brief? What would they think of either Modernist or Postmodernist Art?
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4. TATE MODERN
http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/information/
Suggested displays/exhibitions/viewings/readings
1. State of Flux
http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/CollectionDisplays?venueid=2&showid=1333
2. Poetry and Dream
http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/CollectionDisplays?venueid=2&showid=1258
3. Hear about the two pioneers of Modernism (Albers and Moholy-Nagy: From the
Bauhaus to the New World
http://channel.tate.org.uk/#media:/media/39366238001&context:/channel/sea
rch?searchQuery=modernism
4. Read about the kinds of questions the Tate are asking in their research project
Rethinking Modernism.
http://www.tate.org.uk/research/tateresearch/researchcentres/rethinking-
modernism.htm
Questions
1. From your exploration of the galleries visited in the Tate Modern, list five
general characteristics of Modernism as well as five specific movements
associated with the Modernist period.
2. How would you define Modern Art as opposed to Modernist Art? What kind of
art is included within the term Modern Art? How helpful is this term for you? Do
you agree that everything included within in it is art? If not, why not?
3. From listening to the clip under link 3 above, what contribution did Albers and
Moholy Nagy make to Modernism? What was the significance of the Bauhaus
movement? How did this affect the spread of Modernist ideals? What was its
political agenda?
4. What connections have the Tate curators emphasized between the different
movements included in the State of Flux display?
5. The display Poetry and Dream uses Surrealism as a focal point. What was
modern about the surrealists focus on the unconscious? How relevant to our
society is the more contemporary work that has been informed by the
surrealists? Why?
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5. 6. Think about the exhibits you have seen and read the online summary of the
Tate’s project Rethinking Modernism (see link 4 above). Are any of these
questions relevant in terms of your time travel project? What other questions
might you now research in connection with that brief?
7. Use the Tate Modern as a resource to find out what is understood by
Postmodernism. Identify five characteristics of postmodernist art and five
postmodern artists whose work is held by the Tate.
8. What inspiration have you drawn from the various exhibits in terms of
developing correspondence with your chosen artist in the Wish You Were Here
Brief? What might you ask them about either Modernist or Postmodernist Art?
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