I recently visited Tate Liverpool to see Tracey Emin’s award winning bed. Upon seeing it i had many mixed emotions regarding the subjects she features in her work. having gone in being slightly skeptical, I left with a completely opposite opinion having seen it in the flesh. I then rediscovered an artist called Joseph Cornell from a photograph pinned up on my wall, and I started to see comparisons between the two artists, despite their end products being polar opposite.
Emin’s artwork is a three dimensional piece consisting of an unmade bed and its surroundings. The bed is on a plinth to give the piece status and power within a room. There are many objects cluttered around and on her bed, which all have a specific meaning or purpose behind them. For example, she has a blue rug in the piece, and her bed is normally showcased against a red background which has connotations with the British flag, and therefore she is telling the viewer that she is a British artist. However, I am not sure that Emin is proud of her British heritage, as the flag is something that is associated with pride, whereas here it is surrounded by a physicalisation of a woman at her lowest point who has turned to alcohol.
Although at first glance, this bed looks as though it should be in a poor, rundown house, however when you look more closely, you see items that suggest Emin’s rich background. For example, you can see a bottle of Orangina, which at the time could only have been bought abroad in America. Therefore we know that Emin is wealthy enough to travel, or to import luxury products even before she was a well-known artist. This makes me see the bed of a person at a time of depression, instead of a person in financial crisis. Likewise, she has included a Financial times newspaper to tell the viewer that she is intelligent. This subverted my original assumptions about the bed belonging to a stereotypical poor alcoholic recluse, and made me think that everyone regardless of wealth, education or background will have low points in their lives. I think that Emin has done this to allow the viewer to place themselves in this bed and relate to her dark moments, and also remember their own. She has also done this by removing her own personal narrative from the scene, so that the viewer sees the bed as a scenario that anyone can experience rather than feelings that are specific to her only. For example, there was originally a noose hanging above the bed, however this is such a drastic step for someone to take that it becomes the focal point of the piece, and therefore it could be difficult for a viewer to look past this and identify themselves within the artwork.
All the objects in Emin’s piece are purposefully placed to engage every group of people that could be viewing it. Particularly by choosing a bed as the focal point, which is such an everyday item, she automatically connects with everyone through a familiar yet personal object. A bed also has connotations with the circle of human life – not only will most people sleep in a bed every night of their lives, but also the bed is where most people are born, reproduce and eventually die. It is thought of as a place of rest, yet here Emin contrasts this preconception with the busy clutter covering her bed. This makes the viewer think of not only the everyday use for a bed, but also all the other moments that happen there throughout a life. Also, a bed is timeless and so connects with every generation of people, for generations to come. When creating artwork it is important to first catch the viewer’s eye and intrigue them to have a closer look, which Tracey also considers within her work. For example, she has included a Teddy to attract the youngest of viewers.
Every time Emin’s bed moves to a new gallery she remakes it in a different way. Each time she throws the same set of objects at it to keep it looking fresh and recently lived it. This changing nature of the appearance of the bed reflects the changes in life. A bed can never physically look the same two days in a row, likewise the person lying in it will be different each time they go to bed after another new day of experiences. Our beds evolve and change with us, which makes them a very intimate object to choose for a piece of artwork to really engage with a viewer.
Upon first seeing the bed in Tate Liverpool, I found that I was slightly repulsed by some of the objects on display. For example, there are many used sexual products around the bed and underwear stained with blood which made me wonder how she could let her bed get that messy. However then I realised that there are times when I myself have left blood stains in my bed and wrappers from binge eating, but the difference is that only I see these things whereas thousands of people have seen Tracey’s bed. This made me see how brave Emin is to let the public see such a personal area of her life, in particular, one that shows her in a negative light. For me personally, art should cause an emotion within the viewer, and I believe that Tracey has achieved that with her bed. Whether you love her work or see it as unskilled rubbish, this is still a strong emotion that she has evoked within you, and nobody leaves the art gallery with a passive opinion. Seeing her work in person gave me a new found respect for Emin due to her boldness and honesty. I also found myself opening up more, since she has shown the worst side of herself and is still a published artist, and therefore I felt like I could let go more of the privacy that is held so dear in today’s society, and be more honest about myself.
A similar artist is Joseph Cornell who creates ‘Memory Boxes’. His pieces are miniature installations that are contained within a box or frame. Like Emin, his work takes seemingly unrelated objects, but when all combined they form a theme or mood. Generally he collects objects and photographs from vintage shops and groups them into related objects. My favourite box is entitled ‘Gallery Three’, which contains a miniature suitcase, a key, a photograph of a young boy, and a Houdini poster which has an image of a person handcuffed on it.
Even though both installations are a snapshot frozen it time, Emin’s bed has more movement and change to it, due to her repositioning her items every time the bed is relocated, whereas Cornell’s objects are fixed in place within the box. Also, although both artworks are reflective of the time they were made, Emin’s seems more relevant today – perhaps because of the use of the universal bed as her focal point, or perhaps because Cornell’s work was produced using objects that were already vintage at the time, making his work feel very dated today.
Both artists work has a very different mood about it. The subject of Emin’s work is depression and her destructive habits, whereas Cornell focuses on hopes and fantasies for the future, but also reflection and memories. However, the creation of these atmospheres is achieved in similar ways – they both take physical, pre-made objects and use them to make artwork about themes that are greater than the sum of their parts. With Emin’s work, on the surface it is simply a messy bed, yet clearly it is about something deeper than that: depression. Cornell’s work is comprised of random objects, yet combined he creates a feeling of nostalgia and dreaminess.
Although these themes could not be more different, there is still an idea of self-indulgence that both the artists touch on. Emin’s work looks at her love of alcohol, sex and smoking, and Cornell’s work often features his personal dreams of places to travel to and famous ballerinas to meet.
Both pieces also have a feeling of being trapped or enclosed, as before Tracey decided to turn her bed into a piece of art, she had become a recluse living solely in her room. I think that perhaps instead of choosing to stay inside her bed, she felt like she was trapped and unable to leave her bed due to being so depressed. Cornell’s box also has a theme of being trapped: not only has he chosen a box as the base for his artwork, which physically encases his ideas into one small space that can be closed up, but he has also used imagery that emphasises this feeling of being trapped. For example, he has used a Houdini poster as the background which reads “Nothing on Earth can hold Houdini”, accompanied with a picture of handcuffs. However, both pieces are not behind glass like a traditional piece of artwork and in addition, Emin’s bed has many objects sprawling out and onto the floor of the gallery. By having each artwork open to the viewer without barriers, I feel that you are able to connect more with the thoughts and ideas portrayed within the pieces.
Alice's Art Adventures 