The Tanks at Tate Modern

The Tate Modern Project occupied the former power station’s cylindrical oil tanks. The Tanks are huge and were designed to hold one million gallons of oil. Now, The Tanks are displaying wonderful works of art. From 18th July to 28th October, Tate Modern will display The Tanks, Fifteen Weeks of Art in Action.  The lineup of artists consists of Sung Hwan Kim, Lis Rhodes and Suzanne Lacy. Through the 15 weeks of Art in Action, you can experience live performances from over 40 artists.  

One of the more interesting pieces at The Tanks is The Crystal Quilt, by Suzanne Lacy. On 10th May 1987, 430 women over the age of 60 gathered in Minneapolis to share their views on growing older. It was broadcasted live on television and attended by over 3,000 people.  Lacy’s The Crystal Quilt was associated with the Whisper Minnesota Project, which was a three-year public artwork encouraging older women to voice their opinion. This component at Tate Modern was very interesting and can be revisited in a variety of forms. At The Tanks, you can view it in the form of a video, documentary, quilt, photographs and sound bites.  

Sung Hwan Kim, artist from South Korea, had one of the largest exhibitions at The Tanks. In one section, where there was a room inside a room, there were interesting pieces on the wall. One that grabbed attention was a tapestry behind a lightbulb, and the lightbulb lit up the tapestry into the seven continents of the world. Also in that room, there was a movie screen playing a variety of documentaries by Kim. One that stood out was a documentary by Kim drawing on a clear screen as the video camera filmed him. He also reads the words displayed on the screen in this unique form of telling a story in which he later said: “Everything I say is real.”  

In the largest section displaying Kim’s work, there was a variety of pieces and forms displaying his work. There are videos, sound bites, personal stories, abstract paintings and slideshows. What makes this exhibit even more intriguing is the lighting of the room.  There is none. It is really dark and it adds a mysterious element to Kim’s exhibit.

All things considered, The Tanks at Tate Modern is a great exhibit. There are so many different forms of art on display. One low note is Lis Rhodes’s display was having technical problems, but it is expected to be back up-and-running very shortly.

Clifton Graves

The Tanks are at Tate Modern from 18^th July until 28^th October 2012. For further information or to book visit Tate Modern’s website here.