London March 1 2020

Hi,

The day started with a swim in the little hotel pool and lots of energy. Sharon and I got a cab to the Tate to see a couple of things there first. Mainly we were interested in a commissioned piece by Kara Walker called Fons Americanus. We weren't disappointed.

It is a monumental fountain and in it "Walker explores the interconnected histories of Africa, America and Europe. She uses water as a key theme, referring to the transatlantic slave trade and the ambitions, fates and tragedies of people from these three continents. Bringing together fact, fantasy and fiction, Fons Americanus stands as a representation of this narrative in the form of an allegory or fable." It was incredibly impressive.

The details are worth depicting so I am going to let you explore it in more depth.

We went on to see a Steve McQueen show of video art that I didn't understand and the Dora Maar show. She was famously Picasso's lover for a while. She was an artist in her own right too so this was mainly a show of her work but of course some Picassos slipped in as well. She was a legendary beauty and many artists captured her image.

Here are some examples of the early fashion photography. They are mostly from the 1930s.

Shampoo commercial

This is one for an anti aging cream.. ha ha.

She was taken by Surrealism and started hanging out with that crowd. The idea of the play Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry led her to take this image of an animal creature of some sort. Calling it Ubu Roi.

Collaging was big at the time so here is an example of one of hers called Dawn.

After this she did some paintings which were ok but a bit derivative or not too interesting. See what you think.

And then we get to Picasso... first his portrait of her.

And then an image called The Conversation that depicts the relationship between Marie-Thérèse, who Picasso had been lovers with a long time and who had a child with him and Dora Maar. I wonder what they would have to say to each other?

After a little lunch at the Tate restaurant we walked back to the Somerset House for a look at the other wing of the fair that I didn't get to yesterday. On the way it was pouring rain and then suddenly the sun came out so we saw this magical rainbow.