Tate Britian- Muybridge, Whiteread and overall

Two things I noticed about the Muybridge exhibitions as I entered- the lighting was quite poor but the color of the walls(maroon/purple) was awesome. I loved the albumen silver prints of landscapes, the brown and red tinge from that process is so attracting to me. I usually don't enjoy nature photography that much but the Yosemite Valley 1872 prints had a completely different feel to me, they were intriguing and seemed less like photographs and more like etchings. I was especially attracted to the huge book of landscapes with its decorative inside covers, and the panorama of San Francisco. I always thought Muybridge worked exclusively with motion and movement and studied the way things moved, but I think his work is more than that. It is more emotive, like the Infantile paralysis; Child, walking on hands and feet Plate 539 1887. These images are compelling, the dynamic between the child's smiling face and his disabled body is so powerful.

I feel like I am both intimidated by sculpture and appreciate it less because I don't really know anything about it. I didn't know how to read Rachel Whiteread's drawings at first. Once I stopped viewing them as blueprints and more as just drawings I began to appreciate them immensly. The different materials she used like whiteout and varnish caught my attention. I specifically liked the look of varnish on paper. The water tower drawings/collages looked awesome. I would love to experience her sculptures in the spaces they are made for.

The rest of the Tate Britain was overwhelming and haphazard. I understand they were renovating certain galleries/rooms but the placing of the pieces through me off. The overall set up of the building was confusing as well even though it was just one huge floor. I was happy to see more Francis Bacon paintings. I don't know why but I've always been really attracted to his work. His forms and rendering of the figure catch my attention and make me wonder. Some artists that stood out for me were Stephen Willats, Conrad Atkinson, Gary Hume, Stanley Spencer, Naum Gabo, and Lucian Freud.