Diana Moore

Dr. Dubrasky
Eng. 3010
Response two
7 May 2015
Tate Britain
With the allotted amount of time, I was able to enjoy this gallery to the fullest. However,
I was disappointed by the fact that there was no guides available to enhance the experience of the
gallery. Each room was dedicated to a time period, this provided the opportunity for me to stroll
from room to room and note the changes that occurred between the eras. I found that it was not
the eccentricity of surrealism, portraits, or unrealistic paintings of impressionism that drew my
attention but rather those that depicted realism and even some of the naturalism artists. I have a
deep appreciation for an artist that has the ability to present a cloth that bends on the canvas just
so and causes one to doubt that it is made of only oils.
There were two oil paintings that made the most impression on me, Ophelia by Sir John
Everett Millais and The Lady of Shallot by John William Waterhouse. The painting of Ophelia
held me captive with her realistic eyes and the artist use of vivid colors. I am aware that Ophelia
head will slowly slip under the water but yet there is such a serenest that I feel no emotion of
despair as I gaze upon it. As for the painting of The Lady of Shallot, here too is a tranquil beauty
that reminded me much of the fairy tale readings of my youth.
In regards to Dante Gabriel Rossettis paintings, I did not feel the strong connection with
his work as I did with Ophelia and The Lady of Shallot. But, I thoroughly enjoyed Christina
Georgina Rossettis poem In an Artists Studio. In fact I enjoyed this poem so much that I
sought out more of them to read for my pleasure. I was not disappointed, for each of them are
pleasantly rhythmic. I have never read her work before and will now procure a collection of her
work.
Tate Modern
The Tate Modern Gallery was very interesting and my least favorite. Even the poetry that
was presented in the form of art did not appeal to me. By Thursday, I was feeling the effects of
walking anywhere from eight to thirteen miles a day and I took the opportunity sit down as much
as I could. Embarrassed, during one dark film exhibit I found that I had briefly dozed off. The
only part of the gallery that I remotely connected with was the in another dark film exhibit, there
were three walls that viewed a film that flickered intermittently on each wall. I took advantage
of this moment and proceeded to make shadow puppets on the screen. Thinking that I was the
only one in the room, I was surprised when I heard a little girl say, Look daddy, there is a
bunny. Fortunately my blush of embarrassment could not be seen in the darkness. As for the
exhibits of art, I stood in front of one interesting presentation of an air-conditioning duct in the
middle of the room, my thoughts were, I can use that in my house. I found many of the
exhibits quite disturbing, one in particular was a photo of a naked woman, she had a trickle of

blood that made a path down the inside of her leg. The woman was holding a new born.
Another bizarre exhibit was a collage of small cut up photos, out of order, each depicted ALL the
different parts of one mans body. You really had to look closely at each to determine which
body part it was, some of them I would have been fine without knowing. I left the Tate Modern
with the conclusion that modern art is not my forte.