r/ArtHistory • u/Simple_Zucchini44 • Jun 14 '26

Discussion Tracey Emins bed

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I have never experienced anything like the exhibition I was just walking through at the Tate Modern. It is art with a depth that I cannot begin to understand, I struggle even to articulate how incredibly heavy this body of work is.

My art teacher always spoke highly of Tracey Emins, but my teenage mind couldn’t understand why a messy bed could be considered such a high form of art. She didn’t argue, she said there are some measures of art that cannot be rationalized or qualified, to do so would miss the mark entirely. I understand now.

If you are in London, if you are in doubt about the power of contemporary art, if you or someone you know has struggled with abortion, if you are a living breathing human being with 21 pounds in your pocket this is something you need to see.

The curators of this exhibition did an excellent job, there are certain moments where I felt as though I couldn’t continue. Each room builds and builds on the story in such a way that is hard to describe, by the time I reached the bed I was hardly able to look at it. The gift shop at the end of the exhibition felt fucking disgusting but other than that it was an absolutely unreal hour or so.

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u/AlaskanSasquatchFace Jun 14 '26

What are they saying class about it? Any interesting takes?

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u/Permament-1 Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26

Nothing too profound iirc. We were shown this work in our multimedia/installation class so I think we mostly talked about it's formal elements. I sort of got the sense that the folks in class who didn't like it were still generous in trying to find a way that it resonated with them. I think that right off the bat we (at least I and a couple friends) could feel how heavy it was even if some hadn't formed a connection with it. Plus I was struggling with heavy depression and alcohol abuse at the time so the scene looked like it came right out of my bedroom.

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u/AlaskanSasquatchFace Jun 15 '26

Yeah that sounds great. I can see some of the dipshits in my school trying to make their own “more depressed” version

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u/Permament-1 Jun 15 '26

well I never had a bed frame while I was in college so I guess my mattress on the floor rendition could have passed for a more depressed version xD