Ai Weiwei Sunflower Seeds at the Tate Modern. Meh

[editor]

We went along to this on the weekend and it's as dull as dull can be.

It might have been fun if you could walk on the things, but just staring at a room full of what looks like gravel is not very rewarding.

Anyone else been?

More pics:
http://www.urban75.org/blog/ai-weiwei-sunflower-seeds-at-the-tate-modern-meh/

 

[QueenOfGoths]

Yeah, I was keen on going to this....if you could walk on it and scoop handfuls up etc.. It seems a bit, well, dull, if it isn't' interactive'.

 

[Lord Camomile]

I actually thought you were allowed to walk on them, though I did think that seemed rather impractical.

So not a new Weather Project? Still haven't got over missing that one

 

[joustmaster]

its not really his fault though, is it.

 

[gabi]

It looked wicked until health and safety stepped in. what is with the UK and health n safety? no other country ive ever been to is as fucking anal about it

 

[Badgers]

If you took some birds with you it could have been good?

 

[editor]

its not really his fault though, is it.

No, but I'm not sure if being able to walk over it would have made it that much more exciting. However you spin it, it's just a pile of gravelly stuff.

 

[Lord Camomile]

It looked wicked until health and safety stepped in. what is with the UK and health n safety? no other country ive ever been to is as fucking anal about it

And just when did their empires fall?

 

[the button]

If you took some birds with you it could have been good?

I'm sure it would be possible to herd some pigeons from outside into the turbine hall, with a little application.

 

[krtek a houby]

He's under house arrest now

 

[Lord Camomile]

Ok, that is taking Health & Safety too far

 

[DJWrongspeed]

Did you watch the accompaying film ? I think it's a stunning piece, albeit flawed by h&s, the enormity of the exercise, the hand painted porcelain, it's like looking at all the people in China laid before you.

 

[editor]

Did you watch the accompaying film ? I think it's a stunning piece, albeit flawed by h&s, the enormity of the exercise, the hand painted porcelain, it's like looking at all the people in China laid before you.

*looks again

No. It still looks like a gravel driveway to me.

 

[sim667]

It looked wicked until health and safety stepped in. what is with the UK and health n safety? no other country ive ever been to is as fucking anal about it

A guy I work with is freinds with one of the curators at the tate modern....

You are meant to walk on it and crush it all up, but the security guards protested that they weren't prepared to take the risk of standing in there for prolonged periods of time and inhaling the dust.

 

[gabi]

they need to fucking harden up

 

[machine cat]

Who the fuck brings golf clubs to an art gallery?

 

[editor]

Who the fuck brings golf clubs to an art gallery?

Good question.

 

[myname]

when I went you could pick them up from the edges, they're really quite attractive little things in your hand, actually I'm surprised there are many left.

 

[editor]

when I went you could pick them up from the edges, they're really quite attractive little things in your hand, actually I'm surprised there are many left.

There was a very distinct border around the seeds protected by a wire cable that suggested - very firmly - "hands orf, peasants!".

 

[newme]

I dont get it?

 

[MysteryGuest]

I went on the opening day - twas great fun to scrunch around on the seeds. Kids were building seedcastles, lots of groups of people sitting around socialising. I really enjoyed it. A seed accidentally fell into my pocket, which I'm keeping as a souvenir.

Unlike some whatnots who have been putting them on ebay:

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_...iwei+sunflower+seed&_sacat=See-All-Categories

e2a:

I think it really worked as a work of art when I went - not sure if it works properly now.

 

[Badger Kitten]

I went on the second day and you could still walk about on it then.
I found a seed in my sock later.
It was quite moving, the scale of it, all those little handpainted seeds, and there was a good film to watch and an interactive 'questions for the artist' bit.
I was sad when they closed it off.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

I've not been but I really like art that people can interact with so i thought it looked quite good. I hadn't realised it had been shut off though - that makes it pretty pointless really.

 

[OpalFruit]

On the 'imagine' film about him last night they showed poster art from the Mao Tse Tung era showing huge sunflower heads all pointing towards MTT, as sunflowers turn towards the sun.
I would like to see it, even in it's 'hands-off' state.
Amazing artist.
Who would imagine the artist / architect of the Olympic Birds Nest stadium being under house arrest? Shameful.

 

[madzone]

I disagree that it's dull. I found it very beautiful and serene. After I watched the film I went and had another look and found it quite moving. I wouldn't have wanted to walk on it anyway.

 

[clicker]

I went and thought it was really sad ....all that work undertaken by all those people, to realise a dream that never was given a chance...wish I'd gone on opening day, thought we'd miss the stampeding mob....there was a guard patrolling the wire around the edge with zero tolerance and barked 'move away' at regular intervals...a woman next to me still managed to stretch over and liberate one seed while he was barking in a southerly direction...that made me smile....it was so constrictive and hands off.....it would be too easy to liken it to the closed society from whence the seeds were created....but I really believe it was just an almighty fail of quite epic proportions....will it stay for 6 months? I wish not....but the next installation is probably not ready....this should be somewhere, use the seeds for something....just not this....fill huge glass containers with them...house them in grassy areas...anything...just move them, they are sad.

 

[madzone]

It would be interesting to hear what the artists thinks. I suspect he's not half as precious as the public.

How would putting them in glass jars be any different to what they are now?

I suspect the artisan workers who made them couldn't give a fuck if they are walked on or not. They got paid, they had work of that kind in the town for the first time in ages. I would hazard a guess they aren't weeping into their tea every night about the lost dreams of their beautiful sunflower seeds.

 

[clicker]

It would be interesting to hear what the artists thinks. I suspect he's not half as precious as the public.

How would putting them in glass jars be any different to what they are now?I suspect the artisan workers who made them couldn't give a fuck if they are walked on or not. They got paid, they had work of that kind in the town for the first time in ages. I would hazard a guess they aren't weeping into their tea every night about the lost dreams of their beautiful sunflower seeds.

Now that they can't fulfill their intended function....I think they would fill receptacles quite beautifully.....I think they fill, what in essence appears to be a car park floor, less beautifully.

 

[madzone]

Now that they can't fulfill their intended function....I think they would fill receptacles quite beautifully.....I think they fill, what in essence appears to be a car park floor, less beautifully.

The Turbine Hall has never been a salubrious space. The artist knew where they were going. My personal opinion is that they fit the space remarkably well - even as a static exhibit. I had no pre conceived ideas about them and didn't know they were designed to be walked on. Perhaps that's made it easier for me to see them differently. For me they have a memorial garden feel about them. I found it very soothing and contemplative and perhaps enjoyed it more than watching groups of overexcited people scuffing through them and stamping all over them.

I agree about the guards though. I told one off for being over zealous when he stopped someone leaning over the rope just to get a look at them. He wasn't even reaching out to touch them - just looking. I might email Tate Modern and tell them I think it was over the top.

 

[clicker]

The Turbine Hall has never been a salubrious space. The artist knew where they were going. My personal opinion is that they fit the space remarkably well - even as a static exhibit. I had no pre conceived ideas about them and didn't know they were designed to be walked on. Perhaps that's made it easier for me to see them differently. For me they have a memorial garden feel about them. I found it very soothing and contemplative and perhaps enjoyed it more than watching groups of overexcited people scuffing through them and stamping all over them.

I agree about the guards though. I told one off for being over zealous when he stopped someone leaning over the rope just to get a look at them. He wasn't even reaching out to touch them - just looking. I might email Tate Modern and tell them I think it was over the top.

I love the Turbine Hall as a 'space' when the installation works within it......which to date they in my opinion all have...this particular one was meant to be 'interactive'...and as such also would have worked within the space....it would have been bigger than the 'space'. Your memorial garden feeling is interesting, perhaps that goes some way to explain why I find it sad.