A VERY STRANGE MIXTURE

Before leaving for Russia, I decided to have a day to myself in London. It’s been a very long time since I have done this. There was one exhibition that I really was looking forward to and a couple of others which could be worthwhile.  Let’s start with a very ambiguous exhibition « Queer British Art » 1861-1967. The Tate Britain notice had been on my « follow-up » list for three or more months.

The exhibition explores connections between art and a wide range of sexualities and gender identities in a period of great change. It begins in 1861 when the death penalty for sodomy was abolished and ends in 1967…I am not going to go into the sexual implications of the law, except perhaps to say that women were not « implicated » by the single sex laws. The word queer was used for this exhibition to avoid imposing more specific identity labels.

It won’t perhaps surprise you that we were not permitted to take pictures - and then, did I really want to? Once the pictures were put into their correct context of « queer » artists, it was interesting as such but frankly, did you have to spell out their suxuality? This was something I didn’t need. I have always had close relationships with my « gay » men or women but their choice of sexuality has never worried me. In fact for those whom I know or who have left this world, are and were my closest friends. I have never judged them and I hope they have never judged me.

Taking pictures of Internet is not always easy, but this is just to show you the atmosphere of the exhibition. I was not expecting so many people as it was about to close. I’m glad I got there.

Gluck - Self Portrait - 1942

This is the self portrait of Gluck used for the advertising

Oscar Wilde by Harper Pennington

Hetty King

???

Francis Bacon

???

Dorothy Johnstone "Rest Timz in the Life Class" 1923

William Strang

Henry Scott

These were just to show you the atmosphere of the exhibition. I was not expecting so many people as it was about to close.

Next step, over to the Tate Modern by ferry except that I missed it! Thought I might try Uber and save some precious time. It worked. Also this was to the first time I would see the Tate Modern since it had been renovated.

Now it was « Soul of a Nation - Art in the Age of Black Power» I was expecting it to be a little like « Out of Africa » which I had seen at the Louis Vuitton Foundation.

Out of Africa

In actual fact it was very different as it was looking at artists working in America in the two decades after 1963. There were 12 rooms and it looked as if it was a block buster. I felt it rather odd that I should see the « Queer British Art » in the morning and now Black artists claiming their skin colour later in the day.
It started at the beginning of the American Civil Rights Movement was at its height. I think we all remember the fight for Jobs and Freedom in Washington led by Dr Martin Luther King. King dreamed that his children would live in a nation where they were not judged by colour but by their character. He was very proud to say he was a Negro where others on the March would instead call themselves « Black » Hence the reference in the title of the exhibition.

At first I just gave a picture a glance and then started to read more about the work. Each gallery was described - for instance « Art on the Streets » or « Black Heroes » and 10 others. For some of the paintings I will say a little about the period, but for most of them not. I wanted to discover this work rather as if the paintings had no title and I could see for myself what went on.

Betye Saar (1926)

During a study tour in Chicago Betty Saar visited the Fiel museum collections of African and Oceanic art which awakened her interest in artisinal connectedness, ritual objects and their sipirtual power

Sam Gillian (1933-) Carousel Change 1970

Alvin Loving (1935-2005) No title and mixed media

Barkley Hendricks (1945-2017) What's going on? 1974

Melvin Edwards (1937-) Curtian for William and Peter 1969. Barbed wire and chain

Timoth Washington (1946-) One Nation Under God 1970. Here the artist explores reparations proposed but never realised land distribution for newly freed slaves at the end of the Civil War in the south

Jeff Donaldson 1932-2004: Wives of Sango - 1971

Carolyn Lawrence (1940--) Black CHildren Keep Your spirits Free -1972

Jack Whitten (1939-) Asa's Palace 1973

Ed Clark (1926-) Yenom (#9) who was part of the second generation of abstract expressionists (a movement I follow as you know). He was the first American artist to experiment with irregular shaped canvases. He began working with the oval in 1968 using a broom to sweep paint across the canvases...

Noah Purifoy (1917-2004) Untitled 1970
His work includes everday wooden spoons, resembles Ghanaian fertility dolls that Asante women carry on their backs.

Sam Gilliam (1933-) April 4, 1969. This is in reference to Martin Luther King Jr on the 1st anniversary of King's 1968 assassination. The purple could be seen as magisterial while the red suggests blood stains.

Barkley Hendricks (1945-2017) Icon for My Man Superman (Superman never saved any Black People) This was also the poster for the exhibition.

Noah Purifoy (1917-2004) Untitled. Wood, leather, brasse and copper

William T. Willians (1942-) Trane 1969. When he was asked why his interest in abstraction, the reply was that he saw jazz improvisation as abstract music. The painting was named after John Coltrane.

Jae Jarrel (1935-) Centre of Room near and far: (Look closely and you will see a head...)

Joe Overstreet (1933-) We Came from There to Get Here -1970. Joe was closely associated with the Black Arts Movement and painted backdrops for the Jazz musician Sun Ra.

John Outterbridge (1933-) Captive Image (Ethnic Heritage Series) 1971-2

Senda Nengudi (1943-) Untitled 1976

David Hammons (1943-) Flight Fantasy Early 1980's

Senga Nengudi (1943-) RSVP. Xl/2004 Nylon tights, rubber and sand

Randy Williams (1947-) Color in Art -1976

Senga Nengudi (1943) Internal ll, 1977, 2015 - Nylon tights

Installations

I was running out of time - so no stop for a coffee…I had heard of Rachel Whiteread - an English sculptress. Her work is monumental and I left the gallery after 10 minutes…you may understand why!

Then I saw a poster showing this. Fahrelnissa Zeid (1909-1991) was quite unknown to me. The Tate Modern is huge and I could not find out where this gallery was. A rather helpful man showed signs of pity as I turned in circles and kept on banging into him. He took me by the shoulder and off we went

She was born into an Elite Ottoman family in Istanbul and witnessed the birth of Modern Turkey. I wonder how she would find it now? Her life story is incredible. It includes a family murder, the death of her first child, marrying into royalty and a narrow escape from a political assassination! She was one of the first woman artists to study art in Turkey but broke from conventions and very early created monumental abstract paintings. She lived in both London and Paris and yet I would think had remained unknown - or virtually.   Here I was stopped (very quietly I might add) « No photos Madame » I bought a few postcards but they don’t really give the feeling that these paintings are HUGE.