I met up with Garry on the southbound train to Kings Cross. It surprised me that he had not left his seat and poked his head out of the door to check that I was there. Any way we headed towards our destination when Garry said that Jon would be delayed because he had to divert to Liverpool St
I suggested that we rearrange our days agenda, all go to Liverpool St. and decide what to do then. Jon and Nick duly arrived and we sat down in Starbucks to discuss the world and have a few laughs.
The next decision came, what to do next. I suggested Tate Modern and all concurred. We headed that way with Garry guiding us. At the beginning of the path down to the millennium bridge sits the headquarters of the Salvation Army.
On Nick’s recommendation we stopped here for lunch. I had an enormous salad which was very nice. We discussed the arrangements for our trip to Latvia and Estonia and agreed our route.
After lunch we crossed the bridge and entered the Tate Modern. In the Turbine Hall hung a very large plastic sheet which presumably red presented the latest in modern art. We all agreed it represented nothing but a lot of old bollocks.
We then climbed the stairs to the Philip Guston (1913-1980) exhibition. I was impressed by the variety of styles he had encompasses through his creative career. The images below illustrate this. I preferred his earliest works.
There are very few times that the text next to a picture mean anything to me but beside one painting there was a quote from John Cage with these words:
- When you start working everyone is in your studio – the past, your friends, enemies, the art world and above all your own ideas…But as you continue painting they start leaving one by one, and you are left completely alone. Then, if you are lucky, even you leave.
After touring the exhibition we crossed back over the bridge and found a pub called the Cockpit (7 St Andrew’s Hill, London EC4V 5BY) and had a couple of drinks here before John left for Moorgate and the rest of us walked onto Farringdon and from there Garry and I took the Metropolitan Line to home.