Tanked up: the Tate launches new space for live art
Until now there has been little time spent on providing space for ‘live’ strands of art. We still get excited about the Covent Garden dudes that paint themselves gold and stand deadly still on boxes until you tip them. But all that’s about to change, as The Tanks, once old oil tanks (doh) and now a contemporary new arts space designed by Herzog & de Meuron, launches on 18th July at Tate Modern. Film, sound, projection and performance will all be given some much needed attention in the space.
Whilst it’s being dubbed as a home for ‘performance art,’ there will be a whole range of artists and events that also promote the interactive and the immersive aspects of live art. In fact perhaps ‘live art’ would be a more accurate term, considering performance art tends to remind one of Yves Klein’s paint-covered nudes rolling around on a canvas or Marina Abramović cavorting about various galleries.
Expect crossovers between dance, spoken word and audiovisual projections to be prominent, though doubt remains on the pages of many newspapers about how well the opening of The Tanks, a prominent moment in art history and a project that cost £215million, will go. Only time will tell, but one thing’s certain – it is about time the museum-going experience matched the live art experiences one can immerse oneself in time and again, at such smaller galleries as La Scatola in London and La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris.
We’ve listed some of the events we’re looking forward to:
Granny Flash Mob - interactive project
Artist, Suzanne Lacy, famous for her 1987 performance, ‘The Crystal Quilt,‘ will be asking older women to get involved in a ‘granny flash mob’ she is organising for the space, to highlight the views and opinions of women from the older generations.
Anthony McCall – 22nd July
A rare opportunity to see Anthony McCall’s cones films
Sung Hwan Kim - commission
Fusing video and performance art, Sung Hwan Kim takes on the multi-tasking role of director, editor, performer, composer, narrator and poet, gathering and rearranging encounters, sounds, sculptures and images from his changing homes of Seoul, Amsterdam and New York.
Reuters / Luke MacGregor
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The Tanks festival runs from 18th July – 28th October. For the full programme of artists and events at The Tanks, please click here.