Artsy Adventures

On the 18th of May, the Year 10 GCSE Art students went on a trip to London to visit two influential exhibitions: At the Barbican Centre, HotOffthe Griddleby Alice Neel; and at the Tate Modern, EveryTangleof ThreadandRopeby Magdelena Abakanowicz.

Alice Neel and The Barbican

The Barbican arts centre is in the heart of the residential area of the Barbican, located in the City of London and known for its brutalist architecture.

The estate is home to City professionals and business people, as opposed to social housing. The brutalist buildings showcase harsh lines and geometric shapes, which were perfect opportunities for photography.

Alice Neel’s exhibition HotOff theGriddlepresented her life’s work, mainly in paintings. The exhibition was designed clever-

Looking ly to take you through the timeline of her life and how major historical events affected her artwork, which varied from dark and disturbing to colourful, bright and full of life.

The bulk of her work was made towards the end of her life, where she focused on her unique depictions of friends, family, lovers, celebrities and strangers in their most vulnerable and natural state. Sadly, this exhibition is now closed, but I highly recommend checking out her artwork.

Magdalena Abakanowicz and the Tate Modern

The Tate Modern, converted from a power station, is now a centre where contemporary art thrives. The building can be seen opposite St Paul’s Cathedral, across the London Millenium Bridge. EveryTangleofThread andRopewas the main reason we visited the Tate, however, we also had an opportunity to explore many of the free exhibitions on display.

Abakanowicz was a Polish weaver and sculptor famous for her large 3D fibre-weaved creations named ‘Abakans’. The exhibition displayed her transition from flat weavings to uniquely shaped sculptures taking up 3-dimensional space.

These ‘Abakans’ were interesting forms to draw, and we had a chance to observe and sketch with pens and oil pastels. This exhibition is also now closed, but Abakanowicz is definitely worth some research.

At the end of the day, we had a chance to explore the Southbank, an area which sits on the Thames, neighbouring the Tate. Known for its graffiti-filled skatepark, food market and arts venues, the Southbank is a large contributor to London’s cultural scene. This trip gave the Year 10 art students plenty of content to create work for their end-of-year exam, as well as contributing to their sketchbook coursework.

By Matthew Evason-Meece and Nathaniel Reed