HENRI MATISSE: THE CUT OUTS. TATE MODERN.
25th May, 2014. London.
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| My good friend and Matisse enthusiast Christy outside the Tate Modern. |
As it does
every year, the arrival of September signals the start and end of many things:
the start of autumn and the end of summer; the start of another school year and
the end of tanning on beaches. For art
lovers, it also means that the exhibition of Matisse’s cut outs at London’s Tate Modern is about to close and make the tip over the ocean to be reopened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. I saw the exhibition quite a while
ago now— near the start of its run, in May. However, the coming move has
reminded me of how truly wonderful it is, so I thought I’d post a little
throwback.
With a bit
of distance, I can say without qualification that Matisse: The Cut Outs is a spectacular exhibition and one of the
best anyone is likely to see anytime soon. It has been extensively hyped, but for once, the hype is justified. If you get one thing from this post,
let it be that. You, no matter who you are, should go see this exhibition. I went with my boyfriend, Jimmy, and, while he has
many charms, he’s not usually one for fine art museums. He’s always happy to go
along with me, but it’s not often that we enjoy something in equal measure. The Cut Outs managed to appeal to both
of us equally,
managing to be edifying without patronising the artistic aficionados. They
did just enough to make it accessible to those without a background in art
while still engaging with the visitors who were more familiar with Matisse and
modern art.
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| Christy in front of The Parakeet and the Mermaid (1952) |
It’s easy
to get caught up in the formal, academic aspects of the cut outs,
thinking about their relationship to sculpture, painting, and Matisse’s earlier
work. While that is certainly an important aspect of them, it isn’t what The
Cut Outs focused on. Instead, through the wall texts and videos of Matisse
working, it really encouraged the viewer to think about the process of creation
and what it meant for Matisse, working on this incredibly innovative and
youthful form of art at the end of his life. It was a reminder that joy and
grace are always accessible and can be made from everyday materials‑ that it
is always possible to create happiness around you.
This, of
course, can be found in the reproductions. It can even be found in the story of
their creation, when Matisse, confined to a chair and no longer able to go into
his garden, found a way to overcome his age and disabilities to continue making
art. When he was longer able to go into his garden, he created a garden on the
walls of his home from paper and pins, finding a way to keep the things he
loved in his life.
When you see the originals though,
this becomes so much more evident. They show so much movement, depth, and
colour that you can’t see in reproduction. On each piece, you can see where
Matisse placed pins, changed his mind, and traced shapes in charcoal. The way they were made is so immediate and
skilful, and you can see from the videos and from the amount of them produced
that they clearly held a lot of importance for Matisse.
It is just a
brilliantly curated exhibition, and I hope that the MoMA will be able to
replicate it. The Cut Outs guides you
along chronologically, through his early experiments, to his first full sized publication (Jazz), to the large pieces that started on the walls of his home. This approach allows you to go on the same
journey Matisse did, discovering this new art form, finding its potential, and eventually maximising it. It was such a peaceful, joyful journey for them that I’m
struggling to put it in words. Rather than keep trying, I’m going to go back to
my original point: go see this exhibition, whoever you are. I promise it’ll
make you happy for a long time to come. I promise you’ll be inspired.
The Cut Outs closes at the Tate
this coming weekend, 7th September. In order to accommodate as many
people as possible, the Tate has extended their hours, even hosting a special “all-nighter” on Saturday night. Don’t miss it! For those of us State side, mark
your calendars for the 12th October.
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