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| Another Place - Antony Gormley |
The other day I went a bit off track. I trailed after Gormley and then hit the scandal at Ampleforth College. Well this latest diversion was well worth it. I traced a path through Gormley's work, questioning why did his statues have to be of his own bodily form. I understood his motive about the relationship of the space we occupy in regards to our bodies. But all I could think about was those statues, quite a few of them on the Crosby Beach, staring out to sea. It was on the whole a tranquil scene, the mind could fall into that state of peace. His four horses and men down in the muddy waters of the Thames again had that feeling of eeriness and maybe loneliness but I began to see in his art work repetition of a singular idea.
The Angel of the North is a large undertaking, apparently when it was moved to the spot it now lives in, the convey was huge, the pavements lined with people. It has of course an industrial message. The death of industry, the great shipyards of the North-East became bankrupt and business moved to other countries.
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Space as a concept, and as something that we fill, is seen by Christopher Alexander an American architect as something that is alive, his death seems to have cut short his latest book on latent centers but he has written several other books exploring ideas.
I was first introduced to him by my son who had on his reading list for university (computer course) Alexander's books 'A Pattern Language and the four volumes of 'The Nature of Order'.
These four books were filled with photographs of many things, to do with the house, household and the very fabric of creating everything, I suppose. And indeed I looked at the books more for the photographs than the words. But of course there are many patterns in life from physics and the make-up of all those quarks and things from outer space. And who hasn't been surprised at the mathematical Fibonacci numbers, a sunflower will explain it to you because I can't.
But the reason I turned to Alexander was because of his thinking on space which developed from his career as an architect. How do you fill space in your life? what makes you happy?
Those cast iron statues looking out to sea from eyes that cannot see. Our minds are whisked to eternity as we contemplate them, the endless movement of the tides, the life that flows through the water - the world is a living breathing being. Our ability to destroy it is obvious but then simple logic tells us, humans in their greedy grasping way will destroy it anyway and in so doing will eventually destroy themselves and the Earth will recover albeit in a different form maybe but then for now it has shucked off those annoying ant like creatures that have been tickling its surface.
Will technology save us, or a quick lift up to the moon? I doubt it. So I will leave it there, and see if Alexander has anything to offer.
"For Alexander, feeling alive is tied to being in spaces or environment that have an inherent quality of life. Space that resonates with humans, that are harmonious and evoke a sense of well being, make the occupants feel more alive. The feeling of aliveness is the core benchmark with which Alexander measured the quality of human made artifacts."
To be continued:
Just inside Cambridge University's Downing Site are two cast-iron feet set in the pavement. It is called "Earthbound" and is the work of the sculptor Anthony Gormley. It is said to be a life-size statue of a man buried upside down with only the soles of his feet showing. I'd really like to dig it up to check!
ReplyDeleteWell unless Gormley wanted it dug up, I bet it was just two feet and enough leg to secure it. It says to me humour and don't take the world too seriously John. Lovely to see you and we all miss your walks, I hope your illness is not too gruelling.
ReplyDeleteI love the Angel of The North and where it sits - such a great example of how art is relevant and accessible to all.
ReplyDeleteIt is a direct reflection of the North Mark, in the way it faces outward stubbornly challenging the world. Construction must have taken many man hours.
DeleteI am not quite sure what Alexander was getting at but I know that I was very enthused by Another Place and went back to see it a second time when the tide was out. With boots on, I made it to the furthest man. Though each steel figure was essentially the same when installed, with the passage of time they had each taken on a slightly different character. Some were buried deeper than others. Some had rusted differently. Others had barnacles or dark green seaweed. A few had suffered graffiti. All quite brilliant.
ReplyDeleteHaving established a template of his own body, Gormley rather exploited the idea but it must be brilliant to first come upon those figures washed by the sea and then covered by it Neil. The patina of aging adding to the experience.
DeleteImmediately recognisable as Gormley.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen as you describe in The Angel. I see things, like Gormley's statues in the sea north of Newcastle, and I like them, but I don't think about what may be symbolism or anything else. I just like them for what I see. Perhaps this lack of imagination about art is a character defect I have.
I think we all imagine our own thoughts onto the subject Andrew, just as the artist does. What so often lies behind anything is just past history and what is in the mind of the artist or viewer.
DeleteI have seen that art before and loved it. This is also a favorite: https://ourfiresidestories.com/2021/05/23/the-immigrants-void/
ReplyDeleteThat is clever Debby, missing parts of the body but even the sculptor has to admit to gravity and the need to anchor the leg.
DeleteThe whole 'missing piece' thing resonated with me. There is a similar piece entitled 'grief'
DeleteInteresting, Thelma. I didn't know about any of this at all.
ReplyDeleteWell a lot goes on Ellen in the world. I just like looking at interesting ideas.
DeleteJust before we moved here there was a lot of controversy about a proposal to put up some metal trees on the beach. The were a reference to the legend of Cantre Gwaelod, the drowned forest of which the preserved tree stumps can be seen at low tide. I think the main objection was that they would be an unnatural addition to the landscape. This on a beach that has a stream emerging on the beach through a metal sewer type pipe, old wooden groynes, 25,000 tons of shingle added to the back of the beach to protect the houses and I don't know how many thousands of tons of rocks used to make reefs (with green witches' hats) all the way down the beach and out to sea. And the Victorians rerouted the river that used to flow into the sea turning it sideways to run like a canal parallel with the beach for four miles. The result is a very unnatural and not very pretty beach and personally I think the metal trees would have been an improvement.
ReplyDeleteLots of wrong decisions I suppose Ruta, the beach acquired all sorts of things over time, we hardly leave anything pristine. I would be interested in as to why the Victorians rerouted the river, lots of digging out there must have been required. Those preserved tree trunks are quite something, tracing back old landscapes.
ReplyDelete(I don't know what happened to my earlier reply.) The river was rerouted in order to drain the wet bog land so that a railway could be built running parallel to both the sea and the river. We're luckily to still have the train (and station) which stops at Aberystwyth in one direction and goes out to Shrewsbury in the other. Just a shame there is no line to South Wales.
ReplyDeleteWell maybe a line will be built the Welsh government is asking for its bit of the HS2 money which was not spent Ruta.
ReplyDelete