What Can The Matter Be?
The Materials Library presents What Can The Matter Be? an audio tour of Tate Modern for those interested in the stuff of art. We have approached the art from a scientific perspective as well as a senso-aesthetic point of view by touching, tapping, and smelling it, to produce the Materials Library take on Tate Modern. In this pursuit we have been aided by illustrious guest speakers, such as mathematician Professor Marcus du Sautoy and chemist Dr Andrea Sella.
The tour consists of sixteen tracks, each of which considers either a piece of art from the permanent collection or a part of the building. For example, one track takes 'Artist's Shit' by Piero Manzonni, and follows an analysis of the work by a materials scientist and a designer, to ask if we can tell whether there really is the artist's shit is in the can or not. Another track investigates the hum audible in the turbine hall whilst another ponders the possibilities afforded by the 33 second journeys of the Tate Modern escalators.
The tour was launched at the Tate Modern on the 13th April at a live event called the Sound of Materials. This was a demonstration lead exploration of the materiality of sound from both a scientific and artistic perspective, with guest speaker, acoustician Professor Trevor Cox.
What Can The Matter Be? is free and can be listened to on-line at the Tate website or downloaded onto your computer and transferred to your portable listening device so that you can experience them within the gallery in front of the relevant artworks.
Collaborators and Sponsors of these Events
Audio tour was devised and created by the Materials Library
Produced by Hannah Andrassy
With special thanks to Jane Burton (Tate Modern), the Tate Conservation Team, Beau Lotto's Lab.
Educational Consultant, Justin Dillon from King's College London.
We are extremely grateful to the Materials Library Sponsors for being able to put on these events.
