Shibboleth (artwork)

Shibboleth was the title of a temporary art installation by the Colombian artist Doris Salcedo in Tate Modern. The work took the form of a long crack in the floor.

The work

"Shibboleth" by Doris Salcedo was a £300,000 [Reynolds, Nigel. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/08/ntate108.xml "Tate Modern reveals giant crack in civilisation"] , "The Daily Telegraph", 9 October 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2008.] installation, the eighth commission in the "Unilever Series" (sponsored by Unilever), which takes place annually in the Turbine Hall, the main entrance lobby of Tate Modern in London. Salcedo's installation took the form of a 548 foot (167 meter) long, meandering crack in the floor of the Turbine Hall, initially a hairline crack and eventually widening to a few inches and around two feet deep.Alberge, Dalya. [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article2617536.ece "Welcome to Tate Modern’s floor show – it’s 167m long and is called Shibboleth"] , "The Times", 9 October 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2008.] The crack was made by opening up the floor and then inserting a cast from a Colombian rock face. A Tate spokesperson said, "She’s not specifying how it’s been done. What she wants is for people to think about what’s real and what’s not." Salcedo said of the workTate Director, Sir Nicholas Serota stated, "There is a crack, there is a line, and eventually there will be a scar. It will remain as a memory of the work and also as a memorial to the issues Doris touches on." Charles Thomson of the Stuckists said, "This important work highlights an issue of concern to many people—shoddy builders." The work has gained the nickname "Doris's crack".O'Keeffe, Alice. [http://www.newstatesman.com/200710180036 "Conceptual art should be allowed to speak for itself"] , "New Statesman", 18 October 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2008.]

The exhibition took place from 9 October 2007 to 6 April 2008.

Health and safety

Prior to the exhibition's opening, the Tate's head of safety and security, Dennis Ahern, had warned of the danger of visitors tripping on the crack "with the potential for significant leg injury," but that "physical protection measures which would normally be applied to a gap of this nature are not deemed appropriate due to its artistic nature." [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article2943217.ece "Crowds are suffering for their art at the Tate Modern] , "The Times", 26 November 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2008.] In some places it was wide enough for a small child to fall into. The Tate placed warning signs and designated staff to monitor the exhibit and hand out leaflets. In the first month of the display, fifteen people were injured, mostly minor, but four of the accidents were reported to the Health and Safety Executive.

References

External links

* [http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/dorissalcedo/default.shtm "Shibboleth" on the Tate web site, including video]