Tate Modern Museum

When we first walked up to the Tate Modern museum I noticed that the structure of the building was obviously modern. It did not fit it with all the other buildings you see around London, because most of them are very old. You can tell that this building is not very old at all, at least when considering it's surrounding buildings.
I have never really been in a museum of modern art. When I walked into the museum i noticed that everything was very plain looking and bland. Even the colors were bland and there was nothing appealing at it at all. Maybe the point of this was to direct the attention towards all of the art instead of the building itself. Or perhaps it is an art statement in itself, trying to make a point. Either way, I was surprised by the overall appearance of the building.
A specific painting that I noticed was in the very beginning, in the National History section. This painting was called "The Reckless Sleeper" and was painted by Rene Magritte. At the top of this painting there is a figure sleeping in what looks like to be a wooden box. Underneath it appears to be a dark and cloudy sky with a large tablet with various pictures on it. The pictures consist of a handheld mirror, a lit candlestick, what appears to be an apple, a crow, a black hat, and a black crow in the middle of the rest, which are forming a circle. This may be representing what the figure above is dreaming about in their sleep. In my opinion, the tablet strongly resembles that of a tombstone. The dark sky and clouds in the background add to that dreary effect and make what seem simple and ordinary pictures suddenly seem eerie and mysterious.
I also noticed this small room where all of the pictures were fairly small but all of rock formations in nature all in black and white. Usually when someone takes pictures of nature, the color is an important aspect of the picture. I found it interesting that these pictures did not have any color. Perhaps the intent was to focus on the structure itself and to not get distracted to smaller means of lesser importance, such as the color of the picture.
Another section was by Brice Marden and was called Etchings for Rex Roth: Energy of Nature. In this display there were a bunch of collaged pieces of paper with etchings of mushrooms all over them. The collaged sheets of paper had a messy look to them, and was not neat or organized at all. It looks as if someone was just etching on scratch paper and not at all as if it were meant to be on display. I think through this, Marden was trying to express the energy source coming these mushrooms. Maybe mushrooms represent something to him that he feels strongly about. Perhaps even a reference to drugs.
A display that really made me stop to ponder was The Pack by Joseph Beuys. This was a display that had a Volkswagen with 24 wooden sleds around it, each with a survival kit containing a roll of felt for warmth and protection, a lump of animal fat for energy and sustenance, and a torch for navigation and orientation. When reading about it I learned that Beuys had been in a plane crash during World War Two and used animal fat to wrap around him to stay warm to survive. This was very interesting to me because this artist was reflecting on a tragic experience that occurred to him, and it seems as though he wants to make sure that everyone has the first aid attention they would need if this situation were ever to occur again.
I found the Tate Modern Museum to be very interesting and unique from any other art museum I have even been to. I really appreciate the different forms of art and I find it extremely interesting. I really enjoy reading the information about the works of art so that I can look artist's mind to see where they are coming from. But before I read the information on it I also like to try and interpret it myself. I find it to be a great way to look into your soul and to discover what moves you and what you think of when you see certain things. I really enjoyed going to this museum and I appreciate the different and unique displays of art that are featured there.