The above image is ‘old school’ in comparison to the screens, flashing and kinetic works which follow but I really liked it. It is made of paper/card, so that helps. It’s by Vera Spencer and entitled Artist versus Machine from 1954. The punched cards are patterns followed by automated looms, early binary storage and the forerunner of computer coding.

Still clinging to the notion that art is physical, I was drawn to these works which celebrate the use of strange materials, the artist’s capacity for playing with a viewer’s perception and looking at a ‘flat’ artwork and seeing it appear to move. On the left is The Bride by Liliane Ljin using blown glass, ostrich feathers and croched stainless steel. In the middle is White Field by Guner Uecker, painted nails on canvas and on the right is a work from 1964 by Almir Mavignier.

And just a few more examples of the more ‘accessible’ art on surfaces which are mounted on the wall. But you can see how the artists are channelling abstract ideas and using unusual materials to create art. In the centre is a bright work by Atsuko Tanaka from 1957.

And these are some of the kinetic pieces which I can only show as stills. They twirl, flash, twiddle and mesmerise. Really fun room.

So, in conclusion, I really don’t understand the thinking behind much of this art but I can appreciate the playful, creative minds which created it. And now, in our digital age, we have these pioneers of playfulness to thank for the astonishing, surreal and fantastic images we tend to take for granted in our entertainment and media.

The show is at Tate Modern until 1st June 2025.