The first major temporary exhibition at Tate Modern examines key moments of cultural
creativity in nine great cities across the world. At different times in different places through the twentieth century, the energy of the
modern metropolis peaked to produce a cultural explosion in which art, architecture,
cinema, dance, fashion, music and theatre flourished in a dynamic and radical
interchange. The reasons for these creative flashpoints are diverse, but each city, at its
particular time, can be seen to become trans-national, acting as a magnet for artists from
different countries and continents as well as from their own regions.
The cities and periods are:
Paris 1910s: The French capital became the centre of an international avant-garde,
following the explosion of the Fauves onto the Parisian art scene in 1905. Paris during
this period is where the Cubism of Picasso and Braque evolved in parallel with the
innovative music of Debussy and Stravinsky and dance of the Ballet Russes.
Vienna 1910s: In the city of Freud, the development of a singularly Austrian form of
Expressionism, with its emphasis on psychological introspection and frank sexuality, was
reflected in the art of Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, as well the music of
Schoenberg.
Moscow 1920s: In the red heat of the Russian Revolution artists seized the opportunity to
give their work social relevance. A flood of newspapers, posters and pamphlets engulfed
the city, designed in dramatically new ways by leaders of the avant-garde. The painting
and sculpture of the Constructivists and Suprematists expressed a utopian vision of the
future.
Rio de Janeiro 1950s: In the post Second World War era Latin America could be seen as
a collection of cities rather than individual countries. Rio de Janeiro emerged as the
leading cultural centre embracing the new possibilities of the time. Architecture, art and
design were suffused with the sounds of the Bossa Nova, whose rhythm seemed to drive
the city forward.
Lagos 1955-1970: By 1960 Lagos was becoming a postcolonial site of great social and
cultural as well as economic and political importance. A focus was the pan-African and
international Mbari Club, founded by a seminal group of Nigerian artists, writers,
musicians and designers. The popular music of the time was Highlife which captured a
strong sense of emergent African nationalism, and as prosperity amongst the growing
middle classes grew, so a vibrant culture of studio and domestic photography, fashion
and magazines grew alongside. The exhibition also looks at the work of Lagosian and
British architects in constructing the infrastructure to serve the new state.
New York 1970s: Often seen as post-movement or post-modern, the period 1969-1974 in
New York was one of intense artistic and social experimentation. Numerous underground
clubs, alternative spaces, artist-run journals, and the city itself, were catalysts in a frenetic
cultural scene in which Pop, Minimalism, and Conceptual art, laced with feminism and
radical politics, clashed and interacted to create a rich and extraordinary mix. Moving out of
their studios and into the world, many artists sought to reinsert the content that
Minimalism had earlier sought to expunge, and investigate the collapsing boundaries
between art, performance, film, fashion, and architecture.
Tokyo 1970s: During the post-war era, Japan underwent dramatic changes on many
fronts. The convergence of political, economic and cultural activities was to result in
important structural changes. Nowhere was this more evident than in Tokyo. The period
1967 - 1973 was especially vital, as cultural developments spurred a decisive shift away
from modernism to a new contemporary understanding. Tokyo's urban scape offered a
backdrop for these cultural interventions. The sub-title for this section of the exhibition, 'I
have no umbrella', is taken from Inoue Yosui's 1972 song of the same title, and suggests
the mood of this period, in which city dwellers felt` a need for introspection as well as an
urgency to move forward.
Bombay/Mumbai 1990s: Bombay had already embarked on a course of vigorous
economic and cultural globalisation when it was racked by intercommunal rioting in
1992-3. This resulted in changes to the visual culture of the city, which continued to
flourish, resulting in an outpouring of new architecture, art, and literature - the Dalit poetry
movement - and perhaps best known of all, the Bombay film industry, all of which have
attained a worldwide audience.
London 1987-2001: Against the backdrop of extreme economic swings from boom to bust
and back again, the exhibition takes as its starting point the notion of the city as a work of
art, collectively created by all its citizens. Rather than focusing on the fashionable London
art scene in the 1990s, this section looks at how artists and designers and other cultural
producers use city life as both inspiration and raw material. Alongside the development of
a self-confident DIY, 'anything goes' culture amongst artists, the exhibition reflects the
importance of London's style magazines in imagining and representing a pluralistic and
inventive society.
Century City will provide an exceptional insight, with a global perspective, into defining
moments of modern art and culture. Each city section will be selected by a curator with
specialist knowledge of the city and of the period. This inaugural major exhibition at Tate
Modern will be accompanied by a fully illustrated book with an essay by each curator, and
will occupy the whole of Level 4 and the Turbine Hall.
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