Cette galerie est consacrée à une série de photos réalisées à la « Tate Modern Gallery » de Londres.
Voici la description du concept communiqué au Curateurs de cette fameuse galerie :
While visiting the famous and admirable Tate Modern (http://www.tate.org.uk), I decided to create a conceptual piece of art consisting of photographies of objects found in different locations in the Gallery. There are pictures taken on every floor and in every Collection and they are carefully documented so a visitor can actually see the sources. Slight enhancements were made to the shots (framing, color modification) but there are no important modifications of what is already there. The pictures were then printed and pasted in a « Tate book » along with other important stuff like the map where the pictures were taken. Obviously this book is a Conceptual Art Piece and I have named it « AlterTATE ».
The basic question asked by « AlterTATE » is what is modern art ? paintings, sculptures, objects or rather concepts. Many visitors do not realise that art totally surrounds us and is more « a way of looking » than material artefacts. You’ll notice in the AlterTATE that it’s not only architecture and installation but also people, so it goes even further than « a way of looking » and becomes « a way of being ». Two examples : « 06 – Blue Rest – Level 1 », and mostly « 22 – Machine Eye – States of Flux – Room 4 ». In that last piece, the guardian is posing and express at the same time pride and fear. He is proud to make a contribution to Modern Art but he is also very anxious to do something wrong because photographies are not allowed !
Obviously the graphical quality of the photos in « AlterTATE » is rather average and they do not merit to be exposed individually. But this is not at all a collection of photos showing uninteresting parts of the gallery, it’s the concept that Art is not exclusively the selected pieces hung on the wall. Just beside the official art, you can find, if your eyes can see it, if your mind can feel it, some other Art. For instance please go and check what is just beside : « 17 – Pattern – Idea and Object – Room 3 ». The entire Universe is Art for that matter; this is the real message I want to pass with the « AlterTATE » book.
And there is still another dimension in all that: Humor. The entire concept is of course a joke but some pieces are more so than others. For example, « 20 – Hacked – Idea and Object – Room 11 Word-Image » took me really sometime to realize because the random visitor is of course not allowed to play with that little computer and is just supposed to listen to the official tour. Art is not always straightforward and one can easily be lost with these concepts, « 05 – Maze – Level 1 » demonstrates this funny situation…
