After nearly 40 years, Bodyspacemotionthings by Richard Morris returned to the Tate Modern in London. Despite strict safety procedures, the returning interactive exhibit has proven to be just as risky.
When it was originally exhibited in 1971, the response to the interactive display was widely described as "pandemonium." Despite sustaining many minor injuries - splintered bums and small flesh wounds - the 2,500 visitors ran wild. The curator closed Bodyspacemotionthings after four days because the overly excited public was literally trampling the exhibit and tearing it apart.
 |
| Visitors clamber up the large props of the 1971 Bodyspacemotionthings. This wooden piece was the source of many of the splinters that kept the first aid staff tweezing. |
This time around, it appears the art has fought back. After its wild first run in the '70s, the Tate decided to undertake several safety measures. Even with disallowing use of several of the more dangerous installations, and informing visitors of safety issues, injuries proved to be inevitable. According to theGuardian, 23 people were injured in just one week. Doling out cuts, rope burns, head injuries, and bruised ribs to the interacting audience, the exhibition seems to have done far more damage to the public than vice versa.
 |
| Today's visitors experiment with the tube at the 2009 exhibition. The tube is meant to make you aware of your own movements. |
The exhibit was originally meant for a four-day run during the May bank-holiday weekend, but it was extended two extra weeks because of popular demand. Eventually seen by 340,000 people, the exhibition's mean reputation apparently did not make it unpopular.
Sources:
Originally published on the website of Circa Art Magazine on July 15, 2009. Link here.
No comments:
Post a Comment