Alice in Wonderland at Tate Liverpool

Art As I await the time to see the Magrite exhibition at Tate Liverpool, they've posted news of the next exhibition, and it's a pleasant surprise:

"Lewis Carroll’s timeless novels, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, have fascinated children and adults alike since their publication over 150 years ago. Alice in Wonderland at Tate Liverpool is the first exhibition of its kind to explore how Lewis Carroll’s stories have influenced the visual arts, inspiring generations of artists. The exhibition will provide insight into the creation of the novels and the inspiration they have provided for artists through the decades."

Rather like the season at the BFI recently which did much the same with film, the show takes Alice and its original manuscript as the starting point to show Lewis Carroll's drawings, photographs and the work of the various artists who were later influenced by his stories.

Sometimes the word "accessible" is rudely thrown about to suggest dumbing down, often with the RSC puts on a musical for children or some such.  But something like this does have the capacity to bring crowds to venues and make them seem rather less forbidding.  Well done Tate.

Seems obligatory at this point to include the BFI's restoration of a 1903 silent by way of illustration. Perhaps the Tate will also have a film programme to accompany the show.



This Sight and Sound article offers an enthralling history of Alice on film.