The Moment Art Changed Forever

with Aurelie, friend, photographer, translator, fellow blogger and much more, i had the honour to have access to the airy member area of the tate for a light meal and pleasant chat before embarking in the visit of 13 rooms, filled with the most bizarre creations which sprang out of the mind of three (anti)artist - Man Ray, Picabia and Rose Selavie. in november 2005 i saw the dada exhibition at the pompidou centre with other french friend and ex-uni and fellow traveller federica. i remember the date so neatly because it is the same weekend we put the offer on our flat and we entered in a (for me long-distance) mini bid war which we eventually won. paris is for me repository of sweet memories. so, maga and i were quite sure that the london exhibition would have been a copy-cat of the french one. we were so wrong...

the tate presented a career excursus of the three men's career as individual painters as well as initiators of the DADA movement. also, unlike the french counterpart, stuff was not camped in one big room but all the paintings, installations, nonsense, photos and ready-made objects were orderly displayed across 13 topical rooms (objects, light, eroticism, transparency, etc.), which we did not manage to cover in one go! so, we are going back tomorrow - the luxury of being a tate's member.

We spent a few minutes in front of this magistral work which rose much furore when it was first released.

Marcel Duchamp
Nude Descending a Staircase No.2 1912

Marcel Duchamp
Young Man and Girl in Spring, 1911

interesting way to depict a wife - just a tiny bit mysoginist:

Duchamp
The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass) 1915-23

Francis Picabia
Daughter Born without Mother, 1916-17

i love this vampire-like portrait:

Man Ray
Marquise Casati, 1922

Francis Picabia
Conversation I, 1922

the infamous ready-made art:

Marcel Duchamp
Fountain, 1917 replica 1964