“The Angel of the South” is a proposed public art sculpture of a horse to be built at Ebbsfleet in north Kent, England, to be ready in time for the 2012 London Olympics. A figure of a white thoroughbred horse would be depicted standing on its four hooves. At 33 times life-size, it would stand at about 50m, as tall as “Nelson’s Column” and over double the height of the “Angel of the North” sculpture by Antony Gormley in Gateshead.
As Part of the Ebbsfleet Landmark Project, the idea of a white horse came from the Turner Prize winning artist Mark Wallinger. It was accepted on 10 February 2009 over competing designs presented by artists including Richard Deacon and Daniel Buren. “The Angel of the South” was originally planned to be a counterpart of Gormley’s “Angel of the North.” It was also required to be observable from at least 20 miles away and be twice the width and height of the Angel of the North. The title, “Angel of the South”, would be appropriate, as Ebbsfleet is the southern gateway to London. The site of the sculpture is at Springhead Park, Swanscombe, close to the Ebbsfleet International Eurostar rail station. “The Angel of the South” would represent north Kent’s regeneration, as well as London’s growth towards the east.
“The Invicta,” the motto of Kent, is a prancing horse, and though a proposal of a prancing horse submitted by the Kent County Council was rejected, Wallinger’s horse will remind observers of Kent’s and England’s association with the white horse. Incidentally, the model of the proposed white horse sculpture from Wallinger was modeled on the artist’s own racehorse, Riviera Red. This concept from the artistic mind of Mark Wallinger would be a striking and representative masterpiece of England.
The author of this blog works with Artists’ Blank Canvas who sell premium Canvases for art constructed with kiln dried stretcher bars and pre-primed 100% cotton canvas.
Showing posts with label Public Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Public Art. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
The Singing Ringing Tree: A Futuristic Art Sculpture
Appearing like an artist’s imaginative rendering on the blank canvas of nature, the “Singing Ringing Tree” is a futuristic art sculpture in England. Set in the Pennine mountain range in Lancashire, overlooking Burnley, the project is one of four sculptures that are part of the Panopticons project of the East Lancashire Environmental Arts Network (ELEAN), and funded by organisations including the Northwest Regional Development Agency and the Lancashire Economic Partnership.
Not only do the steel pipes that make up the sculpture look futuristic and like the result of a berserk brush on an artists’ canvas, they also produce sound in the wind. The sculpture is therefore named after the East German children’s film of 1957, “The Singing Ringing Tree.” The 3m tall sculpture made from galvanised steel is designed by the London-based firm Tonkin Liu’s architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu with assistance from Jane Wernick Associates. The sound produced covers many octaves and is a penetrating and mildly discordant choral noise. The variation in the noise is a result of the interaction of the wind with the structure.
Designing a musical sculpture posed quite a few challenges as it was the first of its kind attempted by Tonkin Liu. The site for which Tonkin Liu submitted the proposal offers a panoramic view and, in extreme cases, experiences winds blowing at speeds reaching 160km/hr. This sparked in the designers a desire to create something striking and musical. Costing £60,000 to build, the “Singing Ringing Tree” was awarded the National Award of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 2007. This futuristic art sculpture, looking fresh out the blank canvas of an artist’s imagination, is a perfect symbol of Lancashire’s renaissance, as the Panopticons project was intended to be.
Not only do the steel pipes that make up the sculpture look futuristic and like the result of a berserk brush on an artists’ canvas, they also produce sound in the wind. The sculpture is therefore named after the East German children’s film of 1957, “The Singing Ringing Tree.” The 3m tall sculpture made from galvanised steel is designed by the London-based firm Tonkin Liu’s architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu with assistance from Jane Wernick Associates. The sound produced covers many octaves and is a penetrating and mildly discordant choral noise. The variation in the noise is a result of the interaction of the wind with the structure.
Designing a musical sculpture posed quite a few challenges as it was the first of its kind attempted by Tonkin Liu. The site for which Tonkin Liu submitted the proposal offers a panoramic view and, in extreme cases, experiences winds blowing at speeds reaching 160km/hr. This sparked in the designers a desire to create something striking and musical. Costing £60,000 to build, the “Singing Ringing Tree” was awarded the National Award of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 2007. This futuristic art sculpture, looking fresh out the blank canvas of an artist’s imagination, is a perfect symbol of Lancashire’s renaissance, as the Panopticons project was intended to be.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
B of the Bang: A Public Art Project in Manchester
Thomas Heatherwick’s brilliant artistic imagination conjured up B of the Bang, a public art project in Manchester, leaning more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and depicting sparks flying from a core. But more down-to-earth structural and safety issues concerning the artwork have forced the Manchester City Council to decide to dismantle the structure and store it in order to assemble and install it again at an alternate site (possibly the Sport city location), if a feasible option for installation exists.
B of the Bang is a sculpture commissioned by the City of Manchester to celebrate the success of the 2002 Commonwealth Games held in the city. The design for the sculpture submitted by Thomas Heatherwick was approved and construction due to complete in 2003. However, the engineering challenges associated with the design delayed the official unveiling until 12 January 2005. Built by Thomas Heatherwick Studio, Westbury Structures, Flint and Neill and Packman Lucas, it also exceeded the budget. Ultimately costing £1.42m, the tall and massive sculpture was named after a quotation of Linford Christie, British sprinter, who said that he started running in a race not at the ‘bang’ of the pistol but at the ‘b’ of the ‘bang’.
Built of Weathering Steel, the sculpture originally consisted of 180 tapered slender pikes branching out from the core and is 20 stories high, inclined at a 30-degree angle. Standing 184 feet (56m) tall, it is taller than the Angel of The North in Gateshead. However, one of its spikes fell off six days before B of the Bang’s unveiling in January 2005. Further structural issues and safety doubts resulted in 9 of its spikes removed for testing for signs of wear.
Dismantling has begun in April 2009, following an out-of-court settlement in which Thomas Heatherwick Studio Ltd paid the Manchester City Council £1.7m in damages. The distinctive public art sculpture will eventually disappear from the Manchester skyline until plans are laid to install it again.
Artists Blank Canvas sells Art Canvas made from 100% cotton canvas mounted on kiln dried fir wood stretcher bars. The canvases are in two different depths; 19mm Deep Canvases and 38mm Deep Edge Canvases.
Visual Arts Directory. We are listed under Drawing and Painting Supplies category
B of the Bang is a sculpture commissioned by the City of Manchester to celebrate the success of the 2002 Commonwealth Games held in the city. The design for the sculpture submitted by Thomas Heatherwick was approved and construction due to complete in 2003. However, the engineering challenges associated with the design delayed the official unveiling until 12 January 2005. Built by Thomas Heatherwick Studio, Westbury Structures, Flint and Neill and Packman Lucas, it also exceeded the budget. Ultimately costing £1.42m, the tall and massive sculpture was named after a quotation of Linford Christie, British sprinter, who said that he started running in a race not at the ‘bang’ of the pistol but at the ‘b’ of the ‘bang’.
Built of Weathering Steel, the sculpture originally consisted of 180 tapered slender pikes branching out from the core and is 20 stories high, inclined at a 30-degree angle. Standing 184 feet (56m) tall, it is taller than the Angel of The North in Gateshead. However, one of its spikes fell off six days before B of the Bang’s unveiling in January 2005. Further structural issues and safety doubts resulted in 9 of its spikes removed for testing for signs of wear.
Dismantling has begun in April 2009, following an out-of-court settlement in which Thomas Heatherwick Studio Ltd paid the Manchester City Council £1.7m in damages. The distinctive public art sculpture will eventually disappear from the Manchester skyline until plans are laid to install it again.
Artists Blank Canvas sells Art Canvas made from 100% cotton canvas mounted on kiln dried fir wood stretcher bars. The canvases are in two different depths; 19mm Deep Canvases and 38mm Deep Edge Canvases.
Visual Arts Directory. We are listed under Drawing and Painting Supplies category
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
