Anthony McCall: Solid Light at Tate Modern review
The Tate has been showing light as an artistic tool and in this vein McCall’s exhibition replaces Yayoi Kasama’s Infinity Room. He is well and truly back on the scene with four major shows, here at the Tate, the Guggenheim Bilbao, Sprüth Magers in London, and the Museum of Art Architecture and Design in Lisbon in the autumn.
McCall is an influential artist who has upended the conventional passive viewing experience of cinema and pioneered a more immersive form of participation in his practice where the viewer becomes a collaborator.
For this exhibition the Tate dipped into their archives and used their 2005 purchase of his work Line Describing a Cone 1973 from which to mount this exhibition tracing McCall’s developing interest in film and space.
McCall entered the art scene in the early seventies as a pioneer of experimental cinema and installation art honing his skills during his involvement in London’s Independent film community then moving to New York in 1973 with his then love interest, performance artist Carolee Schneemann. At this time the American art scene was bubbling with ideas in the spheres of radical avantgarde film making and performance art by the likes of Andy Warhol, Michael Snow and Yoko Ono. But he pondered on his belief that performance art can only really becomes art if it is recorded.
The exhibition starts with a room showing line drawings and the meticulous planning that goes into his solid light work. “At its heart every piece is a line drawing the drawings never go away and are embedded in the work and are what produce the 3 dimensions forms.” - Anthony McCall
The line drawings are followed by a room with his film Landscape for Fire performed to a small audience at dusk on 27 August 1972, on a disused airfield in North Weald. A carefully choreographed outdoor performance of participants in white uniforms lighting fires in a geometric grid formation against a soundtrack of foghorns, wind and burning. It is hard to discern where this piece sits in the exhibition, except that it demonstrates early recorded performance art and highlights McCall’s shift from conventional cinema to “art”.
His beams of light works were originally shown in old New York lofts previously used for light engineering, millinery, or sweatshops. All being places with enough dust in the air to catch the light as well as numerous people smoking, as was allowed back then. The combination of the dust and smoke gave solidity to the projections hence did not lend itself well to being shown in clean slick galleries leading to the failure to reproduce the effect at an exhibition in Sweden. This combined with the realisation he needed to make a living led him to retreat from making art in the late 70s only to return to the practice in the new millennium enticed by the artistic potential of emerging technology. This explains the gap between his Line Describing a Cone piece (1973) and his next piece Doubling Back (2003).
The fun begins in the darkened main room beginning with his foundational work and three additional works of large-scale, immersive sculptural light installations. Upon entering you find yourself pondering the strong white lines drawn by projectors on black walls and realise the lines are slowly moving, then one notices the mist is making the beams of light solid and that gallery visitors are beginning to interact with the art. Each person is having their own unique experience and creating their own piece of “performance art”.
Split-Second Mirror (2018), the most recent work on show, is the first time McCall has used an intervention using a wall sized mirror creating a double projection. When you are inside one of the cones you are looking at half of what is actually there, and the other half is virtual and you cannot tell with ease which is which.
There is an importance to the “slowness’ of his work. Everything moves intentionally slowly. If you make a sculpture form and it is moving fast the natural tendency is to stay stock still and watch it whereas if you make it move slowly it is almost as if you are looking at a sculpture that is not changing, and the visitor brings the movement to it. As McCall said, “The spectator should be the fastest object in the room.”
There is no prescribed way to enjoy the art. It is the job of the spectator to find ways to engage with the work and bring their own meaning and experiences to it. Find what you want from it. Stay as long or as little as you wish, and that freedom is as it should be.
Date: 27 June 2024 – 27 April 2025. Location: Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG. Price: £14 Under 12s & Members FREE. Book now.
Words by Natascha Milsom
London Cocktail Week · Esther Mahlangu: Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu · My English Persian Kitchen · Decorative Art Fair · András Schiff: Haydn, Schubert & Mozart · Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland · Barter and Bazaar: The Journey of Exchange · Nicola L. · Mike Kelley: Ghost and Spirit · Sonia Boyce: An Awkward Relation…
Frieze London and Frieze Masters · Halloween at Kew Gardens · BFI London Film Festival · LAPADA · London Literature Festival · Princess Essex at Shakespeare’s Globe · Fabric at 25 · András Schiff: Haydn, Schubert & Mozart · London Cocktail Week · Wildlife Photographer of the Year…
Eugene Onegin, The Royal Opera · British Art Fair 2024 · Rasheed Araeen’s Discosailing: A Ballet on Water · Edward Gardner Conducts Rachmaninov · Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Royal Ballet · Debenhams Exclusive One-Day Luxury Pop-Up Spa · Free Pizza from Yard Sale Pizza · Chelsea History Festival · Friday Late: Fashioning Futures · Christie’s Late: Voices of Black Artistry · Yayoi Kusama….
Bermondsey Street Festival · Frieze Sculpture 2024 · London Design Festival 2024 · Future of Food Festival · Ara Malikian · Totally Thames 2024 · La traviata, The Royal Opera · Qudus Onikeku’s Re:INCARNATION · Michael Craig-Martin · Yelena Popova: Of Dust and Breath · Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum: It Will End in Tears · Lap-See Lam · Tracey Emin: I followed you to the end · Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers · Eva Rothschild · …
Slice teams up with Yard Sale Pizza for free Pizza on the 24 September at their Hackney Road Store….
The exhibition ‘MARY MARY’ will feature sculptures by nine women artists on the roof terrace above Temple tube station from October 2024 to September 2025…
Hayu FanFest will make its debut in London on 26 October, featuring exclusive panels, star-studded meet-and-greets, and a special appearance by Andy Cohen…
London's bustling art week returns next month, with Frieze London and Frieze Masters launching at The Regent's Park from 9 to 13 October 2024. During this time, several other art fairs will also be taking place across the city…
Queen’s Park is set to bid farewell to summer with a vibrant street party on Lonsdale Road, scheduled for Friday, 13th September, from 4-10pm. This exciting event will unite the local community with a lively set by Hed Kandi DJ John Jones …
London Podcast Festival 2024 · Birkenstock 250th Anniversary Exhibition · Rolf Hind: Sky in a Small Cage · Totally Thames 2024 · Unlimited Southbank Centre · London Mural Festival 2024 · Cornelius + Ichiko Aoba · The Marriage of Figaro, The Royal Opera · Rooftop Book Club · The Vinyl Factory: REVERB · Ernest Cole: House of Bondage · Roger Mayne: Youth …
A significant piece of London’s nightlife history is making its way to the new London Museum, set to open in 2026. The iconic sign from the renowned nightclub fabric, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019, will be featured in the museum’s permanent installation…
Babur is a respected family run restaurant in an unassuming neighbourhood which opened back in 1985 and has clearly stood the test of time. The kitchen is led by two talented chefs (formerly of the renowned luxury Oberoi Hotel Group) head chef Jiwan Lal and sous chef Praveen Kumar Gupta, who both helped Babur receive London’s Best Asian Restaurant at the Asian Restaurant Awards in 2022.
One Tree Hill Nature Reserve offers a peaceful retreat from busy London. Located in Honor Oak It can be reached by the Overground train arriving at Honor Oak, a small reserve of 7 acres with interesting history, wildlife and stunning panoramic views towards the city.
Lumen Studios present NONOTAK’s ECLIPSE in London with a 1,000-square-metre immersive light and sound exhibition.
Shifters, currently on at The Duke of York’s Theatre following a sold-out first run at Bush Theatre, is the story of Dre and Des: two childhood friends who reunite at the wake of Dre’s Nana after eight long years apart.
Kinnari Saraiya is a London-based Indian artist, curator, and researcher whose work focuses on trans-altern and post-humanist ideas from the Global South. She is currently a curator at Somerset House and has held positions at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Frieze Art Fair, and Bowes Museum....
Arte Povera at Bourse de Commerce · retrospective of Jackson Pollock’s Musée National Picasso-Paris · Barbara Crane’s photography at Centre Pompidou · Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann & …, at Fondation Louis Vuitton · Petit Palais Palais de Tokyo…
Berlin, Berlin: 20 Years of the Helmut Newton Foundation · Alexandra Pirici and Nama Tsbar at Hamburger Bahnhof · Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley: The Soul Station · Luis Roque: Estufa · Galli: See How You Get On · Akinbode Akinbiyi: Being, Seeing, Wandering · Frans Hals: Master of the Fleeting Moment · Dream On—Berlin, the 90s...
Wilhelm Sasnal: Painting as Prop at Stedelijk Museum · Matthew Wong: Vincent van Gogh: Painting as a Last Resort at Van Gogh Museum · Point of View at Rijksmuseum…
On the last Saturday of August, Tate Modern Lates will present a unique collaboration with the acclaimed rapper, singer, and actor Little Simz, who will curate an exclusive evening of music, conversations, workshops...
Classical Music Opening Weekend Southbank Centre · CelebrASIA Festival at Battersea Power Station · Rooftop Book Club · Qudus Onikeku’s Re:INCARNATION · London Design Festival 2024 · Totally Thames 2024 · Open House London · Art Exhibitions · Voyages Extraordinaires at Gothic Bar · Waterworks Festival · The Last Night of the Proms · Unlimited Southbank Centre · London Mural Festival…
National Prosecco Weekend · Fiddler on the Roof · Hospitality In The Woods · All Points East Festival · Hogarth’s House · Afternoon Tea Week 2024 · Wellness in Nature · Homelessness: Reframed · Peter Kennard: Archive of Dissent · Hockney and Piero: A Longer Look · Banksy’s in London · POoR Collective: Together We Rise…
Andi and Miquita Oliver introduced Wilderness Festival goers to a selection of European cheeses, sharing culinary tips and insights during a live podcast with special guest Matt Tebbutt….
Marc Quinn: Light into Life · Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere · Roger Mayne: Youth · C. Rose Smith: Talking Back to Power · Rheim Alkadhi: Templates for Liberation · REVERB by The Vinyl Factory · Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection · Design Discoveries: Towards a DESIGN MUSEUM JAPAN · Gavin Jantjes: To Be Free! A Retrospective 1970 – 2023 · Francis Alÿs: Ricochets · Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence …
We were keen to receive an invitation to tour this year’s 13th Edition of Sculpture in the City. There is something about public sculpture, which is extremely appealing, with each sculpture displayed with its own unique back drop…
Official Team GB Fan Zones · King’s Cross Fan Zone · Battersea Power Station Fan Zone · Grosvenor Square, Mayfair Fan Zone · Old Royal Naval College’s Summer Big Screen · Bishops Square, Spitalfields · Hammersmith Summer Festival · Lower Marsh, Waterloo · Summer in the Square, Marylebone · Summer Screens, Canary Wharf · Summer by the River….