Tate Modern

From SLG I moved onto Tate Modern and an internship in their curatorial department. I spent six months here working on the exhibition Juan Muñoz A Retrospective. Although not entirely my cup of tea when it comes to art, it was a great experience working within this highly professional organisation. Exhibition highlights were First Banister (1987) (pictured below) and The Crossroad Cabinets (1999) as they reminded me of cabinets of curiosities and I have always been intrigued by the motivations of people who collect and how a trace of that individual is carried in the objects they acquire.

Juan Muñoz

First Banister (1987)

Wood and Knife

7 x 200 x 8 cm

Private Collection

First Banister was interesting because it communicated Muñoz's practice so succinctly. Often characterised as a storyteller, his sculptures would create scenarios in which the spectator is drawn into imagining what the potential for narrative and often required you to imagine a context for the work to make sense. This piece was of particular interest because it is an object so readily used to support and indeed engenders a sense of physical support. Yet Muñoz furnished his banister with a concealed switch blade, to snare an unexpectant hand. Of course, this was not a participator piece but Muñoz's practice often employed subtle shifts or sleights of hand to transform a meaning of an object or a scenario.



Link to Juan Muñoz A Retrospective on the Tate website: