I’ve been to the Tate Modern a bunch of times. Once, I even had the joy of almost getting stuck in a stairwell there – it was 5 minutes before closing time. The lifts were super busy. We decided to walk down around 14 flights of stairs and when we got to the bottom, the door was locked. We made it out though and obviously it wasn’t that scarring an experience as I decided to go back. This time, I went solo too (I did not use the stairs).

The staircase debacle occurred not long after the Tate Modern reopened last June, which was all very exciting and quite a big deal. This time was no different, in that I went to see something that I was super excited about, and for good reason.  The Robert Rauschenberg exhibition is hands down one of the best I’ve seen. Being a fan of Rauschenberg of course did help with this.

I have no pictures from inside because no photography was allowed, but please take my word for it when I say the experience was above and beyond what I expected. They had such a vast collection of his work, every room I walked into was completely different. It was like a mini museum in itself; there were paintings on canvas, silk screens, video, inventions, eruptions…  It usually costs £18.50 to get in, but with my Art Pass membership it only cost £8.40. I’d go again and pay £18.50 if I had to.

Even if you know nothing about Robert Rauschenberg I would recommend going. I’ve never studied art and to be honest don’t know that much about art history aside from things I’ve picked up visiting galleries myself, but I know if I like something; you don’t need to know everything to have an opinion. Art is art and it’s up to you to make your own judgements. You might not like this exhibition, but it’s pretty cool to see the work of an artist who was among those to make the first piece of art work to go to the moon.

 

 

Robert Rauschenberg made such a mixed array of art, I personally think there’s definitely something for everyone. My favourite piece is ‘Bed’, which is physically made out of his own pillow and blanket (supposedly because he couldn’t afford to buy a canvas). At the time, I believe people were outraged by how harsh it was, but I personally didn’t think of it like that – I saw it as a way of expressing how much emotion there is in a bed, not just through your own thoughts, but also in your dreams and actions that take place there. That’s just what I took from it though – the exhibition is on until April 2nd, so go and see for yourself.

Plus, while you’re there the rest of the Tate Modern is completely free of charge and the views from the window are gorgeous. Go on – it’s still freezing cold outside, have a wander inside and see the world from another perspective. It might be warmer there.

 

Abi

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@travelteatv