Event at a glance
Venue: Tate Modern, London
Date attended: 10 October 2015
On Until: The permanent exhibition is always on
Ticket Cost: free
My brief review: a panorama of modern art; crowded; recommended for a weekend event with friends or family
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Strolling along South Bank by Thames River on a sunny weekend afternoon, and then dropping in Tate Modern for an immersion in modern art, this makes a pleasant and productive weekend with friends or family.
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| Tate Modern by Thames River |
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| Tate Modern: the lobby |
Today I would like to share my little thoughts on two of Richard Hamilton's paintings: Tribute to Chrysler Corporation and $he. Both paintings are themed on women, presenting women together with metal work: cars and household appliances. Tribute to Chrysler Corporation seems to present women as a decoration to enhance the image of the car, which is traditionally owned by men. Differently, $he, as the smart name of the painting suggests, is an irony of female role and identity. It is probably saying that women spend money but do not make money, as they just stay at home with household appliances, doing housework. On the other hand, it can also be taken as an implication of sex: "the fleshy plastic and smooth, fleshier metal". Women are compared with metal or plastic on physical features, being presented as the symbol of sex. Neither interpretation is a compliment to women.
To sum up, women are portrayed as decorations, consumers or sex symbols in these modern paintings. In 1950s and 1960s, this was not surprising as the female is traditionally taken as inferior, while the male as superior. Nowadays, as women are gaining higher and higher family and social status, sexism is less severe but still ubiquitous. For example, in language, words are dominated with male elements:
husband and wife: husband is always said or written first;
Mankind: there is no such a word as womenkind.
Words with man as suffix: policeman, salesman, etc.
Language reflects the society, while sexism has always been a fundamental issue in the society. Nowadays, as women are gaining higher status, language also reflects the change. For example, job titles are presented as salesperson, instead of salesman. However, there is still a long way to go. These questions however are wandering in my mind: is sexism the nature of human being? Is it necessary or worth it to fight for gender equality? Let me simply end this post with the famous catchy song: the answer is blowing in the wind...
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| Tribute to Chrysler Corporation |
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| Brief description of Tribute to Chrysler Corporation |
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| $he |
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| Brief description of $he |
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Summary of useful vocabulary from this
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| Learn English in the context of Global traveler's blog |
