A Day of Liverpool Living
Liverpool is an 810-year-old city nestled in the north west of England and is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom.
Known for its rich maritime history and culture, it was awarded the European Capital of Culture in 2008 and several of its locations have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is a diverse city with a booming art culture – it was for this reason that Cheveners visited the Tate Liverpool for a day of immersion in the art world.
The Liverpool Tate is plays hosts to an array of exhibitions of international and British contemporary art. Upon arrival, we were given a collections talk about the art on exhibition. During this session, we were challenged to think about different questions such as: ‘how do we to interpret art pieces?’, ‘what qualifies as art?’, and ‘how do artists provide commentary through their work?’
After this information-packed session, we could answer these and learned the basics of art interpretation and how to use our own intuitions to appreciate art. One profound lesson was ‘do not use (only) what is held as popular standard to judge art; appreciate things based on your own taste.’
We got a chance to explore the exhibitions which were cleverly arrayed as ‘constellations’. We went from being intrigued by the dancing robots to revelling in the presence of Picasso.
‘My bed’ by Tracey Emin turned out to be the most captivating piece for the scholars. Looking at it, it was no wonder why – at first glance it was a dishevelled bed and bedroom that depicted the signs of someone who had been living without much care for tidiness, but when challenged to apply an interpretation it became evident why it had such a critical acclaim in the art world. It was baring someone’s personality and soul – a snapshot into one of the most intimate aspects of their life. The work is aptly described by the Tate as ‘a self-portrait without the individual’.
Proceeding the lunch was a history lesson on Liverpool and a guided tour of all sections of the Tate by staff member Jeanette. This time, we could ask questions and learn more about the pieces that piqued our interests on the previous self-tour. This session also gave history lessons on how Albert Dock was constructed, and how its architecture evolved over the centuries.
A trek to the Liverpool John Moores University was how we capped off the day. Here we were treated to tea and scones in true English fashion. In a building named after their most famous student, John Lennon, scholars were introduced to the work conducted by the Artistic and Research Technology Lab plus additional talks about the institute by the host professors.
The Roscoe Boardroom hosted a drinks reception for the cohort, appropriately accompanied by pictures and laughter. It provided the perfect networking atmosphere to close the day.
