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Course: Tate > Unit 7
Lesson 3: Art and Memory- What role does memory play in art?
- Michael Landy and Jean Tinguely: Art that breaks down
- Cyprien Gaillard: Memory, nostalgia, and anachronism
- Katie Paterson: A map of every dead star in the Universe
- Do Ho Suh's memory of a staircase
- Johno Verity, avalanche survivor, on "An Avalanche in the Alps"
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Johno Verity, avalanche survivor, on "An Avalanche in the Alps"
This video brought to you by Tate.org.uk
In 2008, professional snowboarder Johno Verity was being filmed when he was taken by surprise and nearly buried by an avalanche. To see if an artist’s depiction could measure up to his own experience, Verity took close look at Philip James de Loutherbourg’s 1803 painting An Avalanche in the Alps. Looking at the painting gave Verity the chance to reflect upon the memory of his own avalanche survival experience–and to point out any inconsistencies in the artist’s depiction.
In 2008, professional snowboarder Johno Verity was being filmed when he was taken by surprise and nearly buried by an avalanche. To see if an artist’s depiction could measure up to his own experience, Verity took close look at Philip James de Loutherbourg’s 1803 painting An Avalanche in the Alps. Looking at the painting gave Verity the chance to reflect upon the memory of his own avalanche survival experience–and to point out any inconsistencies in the artist’s depiction.
While the billowing clouds of snow and debris evoke the feelings of being in an avalanche, Verity rightfully points out that this painting is just an artist’s impression of such an experience. On the other hand, it is important to remember that every time we look at art we are undertaking an act of interpretation—we all bring personal experience to an artwork, and this influences the way we see and think about it. Do you think an artist capture the feeling of being somewhere without actually having been there him or herself? Does this make their work somehow less effective? And what about artists that depict things that aren’t even real?
. Created by Tate.Video transcript
what I really like is I think this here is what what I kind of feel of the ad lunch and that for me was my avalanche I knew that I was in something really big it was about two football fields wide there was a lot of snow moving and we were right in the middle of it and I just felt this mean credible weight of snow coming down on top of me it all went really black what the artist is done wrong here is really the timing this this here is what you see in the aftermath what you've got here is what happens at the forefront of the avalanche so he's put the aftermath in the foreground I suppose so you can see these people may be an artist's impression of what an avalanche might be night that part of it is is it does in in so many ways bring back these kind of emotions that had spoon it is quite apocalyptic there's an image the end