I have this idea of behaving like a tourist around London, there's something exciting about it. Although both the Tate's are serious institutions, I can't help but feel light hearted and like I'm on holiday when I visit either of them. This is also fuel for preconception of the works on show, not a dismissal but an assumption that I'm about to look at a load of old paintings, the same view I would of had on a school trip back in the 90's. Martin's exhibition seemed to somewhat eradicate this notion for me. Huge overwhelming, dramatic landscapes covered in fire and mythological chaos, his work really made me look for longer than 30 seconds, and read too, I wanted to know more about what I was looking at. Other artefacts, books and papers also made for interesting historical additions. The second to last part of the exhibition was a would be recreation of a travelling show of Martin's paintings which gave good insight into a time before imax's and Odeon's. Although this work was quite exciting and visually overwhelming, it doesn't inspire me regarding my own work, not on a concious level anyway.
