Art and Power
I’ve always felt uneasy about Bankside power station’s refunctioning as the Tate Modern museum of 20th century and contemporary art but never come across a critique of it. In practical terms it was an excellent choice - it offers a huge amount of space to display work and it sits in a great location, especially with the addition of Norman Foster’s bridge connecting it to the city. It also resulted in an impressive industrial building being recycled, revitalised and reused as a major cultural centre. Although the art in the Tate is the main focus of attention, the context is (and can be argued increasingly) important. Architecture is a three dimensional visual language and speaks to us in its own terms. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed Bankside as a cathedral of power. Scott came from a family of architects and his grandfather, Sir George Gilbert Scott was a Victorian Gothic revivalist who designed many churches and worked on Westminster Abbey. In his twenties, Giles Gilbert Sc