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Robert Morris to Reinstall 1971 Work in Tate

Published: April 6, 2009
LONDON—Thirty-eight years after Robert Morris first installed his Bodyspacemotionthings in the Tate Gallery (now known as Tate Britain), the artist and the museum are teaming up to reinstall the work, the Independent reports.

The obstacle-course-like artwork allows visitors to climb walls, ride seesaws, carry bricks, balance on wooden stilts, and crawl through tunnels. When first installed in the museum in 1971, it proved extremely popular, creating a “pandemonium” among early visitors, according to press reports of the time.

On May 22, the work, re-created in its entirety, will be open in the Tate’s Turbine Hall, which has hosted several popular interactive works, such as Carsten Höller's slides in 2006.

“It was a landmark moment in Tate’s history. The idea was to encourage viewers to become more aware of their own physicality. Contemporary audiences have changed, so will have very different expectations to those of 1971,” said assistant curator Kathy Noble.

Still, the Tate is taking precautions for a work that caused a number of splinters and bruises on its first showing. Safety signs and museum staff will urge caution, and the 2009 version of the work will be made with smooth contemporary materials rather than the rough wood of the original.

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