The Archive

Achim Borchardt-Hume, Albers and Moholy-Nagy  Achim's talk explores Josef Albers and László Moholy-Nagy's shared belief in art being not just an aesthetic but an ethical experience. Both detested romantic notions of art as self-expression and instead were concerned with the contribution art and artists could make to the positive development of modern society. Imbued with democratic aspirations, they challenged traditional notions of art as the preserve of a bourgeois elite, and sought a unity of art and life. Further Reading Albers and Moholy-Nagy: From the Bauhaus to the New World, ed. Achim Borchardt-Hume, Tate 2005

Tim Benton, Le Corbusier  There is a preconception, backed by a growing literature, that Modernist architects had trouble meeting the psychological and physical need for comfort and enclosure of ordinary people. Architects tend to perceive architectural value in visual terms whereas, for most people, the other senses are more important in producing a sense of well-being. Furthermore, Modernism imposed an attitude to the use of 'modern' materials which gave Modernist houses the appearance of being 'unnatural' and abstract.

Paul Wood, On Dreams and Plans  Paul's talk is an introduction to the notion of 'Utopia' and its meaning in 19th century socialism, with reference to how it played in the early 20th century avant-garde. He contrasts idealism and materialism in the avant-garde, with a focus on debates in Russia after the revolution of 1917. Further ReadingThe Challenge of the Avant-Garde, edited by Paul Wood, Yale U.P. 1999 Art of the Avant-Gardes, edited by Steve Edwards and Paul Wood, Yale U.P. 2004 Imagine No Possessions, Christina Kaier, MIT Press 2005 The Artist as Producer, Maria Gough, Univ of California Press 2005

Sophie Howarth, Introduction  This study day explores Utopian beliefs in the power of culture to transform both the individual and society at large.

Steve Edwards, Nigel Warburton, Marko Daniel, Kathe Kollwitz, Frida Kahlo and Frances Morris, Plenary Discussion  At this study day leading curators and art historians discuss the relationship between exhibitions, museum collections and art history

Kathe Kollwitz and Frida Kahlo, The Guerrilla Girls  We're feminist masked avengers in the tradition of anonymous do-gooders like Robin Hood, Wonder Woman and Batman. How do we expose sexism, racism and corruption in politics, art, film and pop culture? With facts, humour and outrageous visuals. Our work has been passed around the world by our tireless supporters.

Marko Daniel and Frances Morris, Tate Modern - A Case Study  This paper reviews the controversial opening display of the permanent collection at Tate Modern which embraced a thematic, as opposed to chronological structure, as well as the principle of rotating displays. It discusses the recent rehang of the collection which departs from the opening display in significant ways while it also continues to address the same challenges and builds on and develops a number of its principles.

Nigel Warburton, Juxtapositions  Art galleries select and display material objects, typically unique works, in specific locations. Viewers experience these, consciously absorbing curators' interpretations from descriptions and captions, often forearmed with preconceptions about what they are seeing. Particular juxtapositions affect the viewer in a range of ways many of them semi- or pre-conscious. Philosopher Nigel Warburton considers some of the issues raised by juxtaposition using examples from the recent Tate Modern re-hang.

Steve Edwards, Displaying Modern Art  Steve Edwards introduces the Open University programme 'Displaying Modern Art', which was made for the course AA318: Art of the Twentieth Century. This programme focuses on the previous displays at Tate Modern and features interviews with Tate curators as well as some of their critics. By showing the previous displays at Tate Modern this session will provide a basis for informed discussion of the current arrangement of the collection. Further Reading Contemporary Cultures of Display, edited by Emma Barker, Yale U.P.

Marko Daniel, Introduction  At this study day leading curators and art historians discuss the relationship between exhibitions, museum collections and art history.

Gill Perry, Discussion  This video recording is the discussion, the final part of the Tate Modern study day Identity and Performativity

Gavin Butt, Just a Camp laugh? David Hoyle's 'Magazine'  In this presentation Gavin Butt considers the place of the sincere speech act within the discourse of contemporary politics and performance. He is particularly concerned to highlight the ways in which such forms of speech may often 'misfire', either as we fail to believe in them or as they leave us cold.

Lara Perry, The substance of the subject: representing identity in contemporary portraiture  Many of the starkest examples of 'performed' gender in contemporary art have been delivered through the genre of portraiture: the works of Cindy Sherman and Yasumasa Morimura can certainly be understood to work in this context.

Gilda Williams, Factory Girls and Superstars: Warhol's Women in the 1960s  Gilda Williams discusses the construction of women's identity in Warhol's Factory, which, despite being often described as a 'boy's club’, counted numerous fascinating, often beautiful women among its regulars, including Jane Holzer, Edie Sedgwick, Brigid Berlin, Ultra Violet, Dorothy Dean, Mary Woronov, Viva and innumerable others.

Gill Perry, Gender, Performance and Play: An Introduction  Professor Gill Perry reviews some of the issues for the day, exploring the relationship between gender, performativity and play. This programme maps out the wide range of practices and theories associated with the labels 'performance', 'performance art' and 'performativity', providing a toolkit with which to explore some of the practices involved.