Tate Modern
Location: London, England
Phone: +44 (0) 20 7887 8888
Admission: Free
Hours: Sun-Thur: 10-6; Fri-Sat: 10-10
Closed Tues
Website: http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/
Getting There:
Tube Stations: Southwark or Blackfriars
Tate Boat: Board from Tate Britian Museum or London Eye
Local Area Summary:
The Tate Modern Museum is located on the picturesque
South Bank of the Thames River, in one of London's oldest
historical areas. Formerly, the local area was home to many
distilleries, breweries, and wharves. In present day, much of
the industrial activity has diminished yet many of the
alleyways, factories, and slums still remain today. The
modern Millenium Bridge (pedestrian only) connects the
museum with the city of London via St Paul's Cathedral.
Shakespeare's Globe Theater is a nearby 5 min walk from
the Tate Modern.
Convenience Tips
•Avoid visiting the Tate Modern on the weekends when it's the
busiest. Recommend: Visiting during the weekdays or on Fri and
Sat evenings when it's open until 10pm.
•Allow yourself at least 2 hours to cover this museum.
•Take advantage of the Tate to Tate passenger boat that runs every
40 minutes between the Tate Modern Museum and the Tate Britian
Museum. It offers a 20 min scenic ride along the Thames River. It
also makes a stop at the famous London Eye.
•For a great 10 min scenic walk to the Museum, take the Tube to
the Blackfriars station. Then walk across the Thames River on the
breathtaking Millenium Bridge (pedestrians only) which links St
Pauls Cathedral to the Tate Modern.
•The Tate Modern offers free guided tours at 11am, 12am, 2pm, &
3pm. Inquire at the front desk.
•The Tate Modern offers private paid tours for two around the
highlights of their permanent collection or a special exhibition of
your choice.
•The Tate Modern's permanent collection occupies only 2 of the
museum's 7 floors. All other art displays are temporary exhibits that
are constantly being rotated through other museums.
Recommend: For art lovers, check the museum's website in
advance for info on the latest art exhibits on display.
•The museum offers a Multimedia Guide, on a PDA, for a unique
insight to the art on display with artist interviews, interactive games
and art-inspired music. Inquire at the front desk.
•The museum offers applications for your mobile device to help you
explore around. Log on to their free WiFi to access this.
•The Tate Restaurant (Level 7) is open for morning coffee, lunch,
afternoon tea every day and for dinner on Fri and Sat. It offers a
stunning view of the Thames River. Recommend: Calling to
reserve a table because it gets extremely busy.
•The cafe on Level 2 offers offers a good place to grab a quick,
small snack. There is also an expresso bar on Level 4 and a Ground
Floor cafe that serves breakfast.
www.Art-Museum-Guide.com Your free online visiting guides for museums all over the world!
www.Art-Museum-Guide.com
Background:
The Tate Modern in London is Britain's national museum
of international modern art and is considered to be one of
the world's top collections along with New York's MoMA
and the Guggenheim. The collections at the Tate Modern
consist of works of international modern and
contemporary art dating from 1900 onwards. The
permanent collection is on display on levels three and five
of the building, while level four houses large temporary
exhibitions and a small exhibition space on level two
houses work by contemporary artists. The Tate Modern
opened in 2000.
Top 10 Must See Sights
Turbine Hall - The enormous and architecturally impressive main hall
of the Tate Modern that reveals the industrial roots of the museum
that was formerly a power station built in the 1930s. This hall used to
house the power station's huge turbine electricity generators.
Material Gestures Collection - This focuses on abstraction,
expressionism and abstract expressionism, featuring work by Claude
Monet, Anish Kapoor, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, Henri Matisse
and Tacita Dean.
Claude Monet - A founder of French impressionist painting, and the
most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy
of expressing one's perceptions before nature.
Henri Matisse - A French artist, known for his use of color and his
fluid and original draftsmanship.
Salvador Dali - A prominent Spanish surrealist painter born in
Figueres, Spain, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his
work.
Pablo Picasso - A Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor, best
known for co-founding the Cubist movement and for the wide variety
of styles embodied in his work.
Andy Warhol - An American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who
was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art.
Mark Rothko - A Russian-born American painter known for his
abstract impressionist paintings.
Francis Bacon - An Anglo-Irish figurative painter known for his bold,
austere, graphic and often tortured imagery. Bacon's abstract figures
typically appear isolated in glass or steel geometrical cages set
against flat, nondescript backgrounds.
The Crack - The 548ft long crack in the concrete floor of the main hall
that is actually an art exhibit by Doris Salcedo, addressing a long
legacy of racism and colonialism in the modern world.
Updated Aug 2010