chapter 4 - The use of exibition space to create meaning

The use of exhibition space to create meaning was a factor that was considered when I was viewing art work around the Tate gallery. Modern art can seem boring an insignificant and a bit pointless if it is displayed in a traditional way, (hung on a canvas with other art not too dissimilar from each other) because there is so much more meaning, different concepts and opinions in modern art, it is important to package the art correctly.

There was a lot of space to the Art, which suggests that the ideas and the art needs space around it to make room for the viewers ideas, also i found that Cornelia Parker's work on the hanging cutlery was reliant on the space that it was in. Without the cool halogen lighting and the bright white walls the effect of the shiny silverware would have been lost.

Cornelia Parker's work '30 pieces of silver' could be seen as a paradox; these are pieces of delicate and fragile of cutlery suspended precariously on thin wires but the actual cutlery has been brutally flattened by a steam roller, this may suggest violence.

The title '30 pieces of silver' is interesting that it may be related to biblical meaning. the 30 pieces of silver is what Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus with, it seems interesting that a work of art that has no correlation with this concept, yet it would be worded exactly the same.

The use of exhibition space really helped this piece of art because you would expect to find pieces of crushed silver in a junk yard, however because it has been put into a gallery with the appropriate lighting, the status of the inanimate objects has changed. It is now more important and people will take notice of it because it is the only thing in the room.

I do think that I did not get a lot out of the Tate however I do think that with hindsight I respect the art and the artists more for their ideas instead of their artwork.