Carel Weight
Allegro Strepitoso 1932
Oil on Wood
Source: tate.org/uk
ArtMaps is a project that combines visual art and geography run by the Tate galleries throughout the UK. Of the 70,000 artworks in the Tate, 23,000 of them are “‘tagged’ with a location using information in their title or their description,” as described on the ArtMaps website. The project is interactive and involves participation from anyone who is interested. One simply looks at a piece of art and places it where he or she feels it is located on the interactive map, leaving a comment as to why they feel the artwork should be tagged there.
In 2012, the ArtMaps project was awarded a RCUK Digital Economy Theme grant called the Telling Tales of Engagement Prize, which supports digital economy research and promotes wider participation of audiences. Along with the grant, a study was done that explores the ways in which the art triggers memories in the participant’s mind, which thus affects where the participant places the artwork on the map.
Allegro Strepitoso is a painting that was inspired by the artist Carel Weight’s childhood memories of the London Zoo, though there is nothing explicit in the artwork or its title that suggests that the work is in fact depicting the London Zoo. Interestingly enough, the majority of participants evaluating this work located the painting not only where the London Zoo is located, but “precisely […] where the lions’ cage is.”
Be sure to read about other really interesting results from this study here!