TATE KIDS

Do you remember we reported that there were lots of strange banging noises going on at Tate Britain, behind a big black curtain? We know what it is, and now that the curtains have been opened, you can come and see it too . . .

It’s Harrier and Jaguar, the new artwork by Fiona Banner. Oh, and it’s made of two real fighter jet planes. Amazing!

Banner has chosen to install two fighter jets in Tate Britain, one upside down on the floor, and one hanging by its tail from the ceiling.

She has been fascinated by jets ever since she experienced their raw speed and energy as a child. She was walking with her father in a very beautiful, quiet part of Wales when a jet flew overhead, making an incredible noise and cutting through the sky.

Now these two planes, both of which have been used by the military, are filling the Duveens gallery space. They look like the could take off at any moment, but like they’ve been trapped. Just like the Harrier Hawk and Jaguar they are named after, they’re like wild animals.

What else do they remind you of?

They’re even more impressive in real life – come and see them if you can!

Tags: Duveens, Tate Britain

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Bang bang bang . . . there’s rattling and clattering and the occasional muffled shout – but what’s it all about? Something exciting is going on behind the big black curtains at Tate Britain. I wonder when we’ll get to see the results? I can’t wait!

Tags: Tate Britain

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Lily van der Stokker is a Dutch artist based in Amsterdam and New York, who is being exhibited at Tate St Ives at the moment (it’s the largest exhibition of her work in the UK so far!).

She explores ideas that are usually avoided in art, like being decorative, sentimental or nice. Her style can be quite challenging to people, because there is a set way of thinking about art, and she is doing something which is completely different and very feminine. Her artworks are often about beauty and love, relationships, family and the everyday. She designs them on A4 paper using felt tips, highlighters and pencil crayons, and then paints them directly onto the gallery walls.

She creates large wall drawings in pastel or luminous colours and often includes pieces of furniture and rugs in the same colours. She also includes short sentences that sound like things that might just cross your mind, like needing to buy a winter coat but worrying that your size might have run out:

In the beautiful location of St Ives, these pieces look wonderful! The sun coming through the big, curved windows makes the colours seem their brightest. They look like dolly mixtures – good enough to eat! They were certainly an inspiration to the kids who took part in the half term activities in the family area, as you can see by these pictures that I found on the drawing wall:

(If you drew these pictures, let me know in the comments!)

Tags: Lily van der Stokker, Tate St Ives, Who is . . . ?

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As part of my trip to St Ives, I went to have a look at Barbara Hepworth’s Garden. I’d never been before, but I really felt like I’d been there from playing our Barbara’s Garden game! It was beautiful and sunny, and the most amazing thing was listening to the birds and the rustle of the trees – it made me realise how well the game has  brought the garden to life online. Sound really makes a big difference.

My favourite part was the comments book, which is made up of postcards written to Barbara. Here are my favourites:

Here someone’s drawn their favourite sculpture. It’s a great likeness!

Some people loved it so much they could only write I LOVE YOU and AMAZING!

And everyone used their best handwriting. Very good indeed!

It was really inspiring to read everyone’s comments, and a little bit sad, because Barbara died in 1975. Have you been to visit the garden, or played our game? What would you say to Barbara about her beautiful sculptures?

Tags: Barbara Hepworth, Barbara's Garden, Tate St Ives

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I just got back from a trip to St Ives! It’s a really lovely place, full of good things (beaches, fudge, ice-cream, lots of delicious fish, and of course Tate St Ives).

When I arrived it was a bit of a grey day. The building is very cool, there are circles everywhere. It feels like being inside a bicycle wheel or in a fishbowl!

Here’s the view from inside, looking at the beach. See how close it is? This is about lunchtime, and it was still very grey and rainy. Someone mentioned that, when the weather is really bad, the waves crash right up against the front door!

With all that talk of rain, I had to have a hot chocolate to warm myself up! This hot chocolate was so delicious, I drank all of it before even thinking that I should have taken a picture, oops. It came with lots of whipped cream and marshmallows, yum yum.

After that, the weather started to get better . . .

And better!

Look at the beautiful colours of the water and sky. No wonder St Ives is full of artists, it’s one of the most beautiful places in the country and it must be very inspiring.

Have you ever been to Tate St Ives? We’ll have lots more news from them in the next week, so keep reading!

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