TateShots is a new, monthly art programme, available online, featuring highlights from Tate’s exhibitions, collections, public events and performances which will go live today. Sponsored by Bloomberg, this pioneering programme is free of charge, from Tate’s website, and can be viewed on your computer, or downloaded as a videocast (vodcast) for viewing on an iPod or similar device.
Changes in digital technology, including the growth of broadband, mean that many people can now access high-quality video content from a computer. Taking advantage of this opportunity to make art more accessible to vast audiences through the internet, TateShots will present around six short videos a month, with a focus on modern and contemporary art. Showcasing the rich range of activities at the four Tate sites, the programme will include interviews with artists, studio visits, behind the scenes tours with curators and conservation experts and clips of unmissable artist performances.
In the launch issue, Gilbert & George invite us into their studio to discuss a new group of pictures, Six Bomb Pictures 2006, made specially for their current retrospective at Tate Modern. As well as providing a fascinating insight into their working methods, they reveal why they want to de-shock rather than to shock people. Mark Wallinger talks about his dramatic re-creation of peace campaigner Brian Haw’s Parliament Square protest, State Britain, currently on display at Tate Britain, and outlines his own political stance on the Iraq war. Turner Prize winner, Martin Creed takes to the stage with his inimitable band for a sell-out performance, and we explore Tate Liverpool’s latest exhibition, Centre of the Creative Universe: Liverpool and the Avant-Garde, with poet Paul Farley. Other items include the extraordinary story behind Rodin’s Kiss, and a platform for Tate visitors (including Billy Bragg immediately after his ride down the slides in The Unilever Series: Carsten Höller Test Site) to have their say.
TateShots is an extension of Bloomberg’s ongoing sponsorship of interpretation at Tate Modern, which includes a range of award-winning Multimedia Tours, and an interactive Learning Zone, launched in May 2006.
To download and subscribe free of charge visit www.tate.org.uk/tateshots