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Artist would put ordinary souls on pedestal in Trafalgar Square
Tuesday, January 8, 2008 | 3:51 PM ET
CBC News
A proposal to have ordinary Britons stand atop a plinth in Trafalgar Square, alongside the famous statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson on his column, is among six works of art being considered for one of London's most prominent public sites.
A model of Tracey Emin's Something for the Future, which features a group of meerkats, stands on display at the National Gallery in London on Tuesday.A model of Tracey Emin's Something for the Future, which features a group of meerkats, stands on display at the National Gallery in London on Tuesday.
As many as 8,700 volunteers would be needed to take an hour-long shift on top of the pedestal over the course of a year according to a proposal by British sculptor Antony Gormley.
The six pieces competing to fill a plinth in iconic Trafalgar Square were unveiled Tuesday at London's National Gallery.
The winning design will go on to an empty pedestal built in 1841 for an equestrian statue that was never completed.
Patrick Brill, who uses the name Bob & Roberta Smith, has proposed a solar- and wind-powered sign that says Faites L'Art, Pas La Guerre (Make Art, Not War). Patrick Brill, who uses the name Bob & Roberta Smith, has proposed a solar- and wind-powered sign that says Faites L'Art, Pas La Guerre (Make Art, Not War).
Since 1999, new artworks have been erected on the spot, which shares the square with a statue of the famous naval hero Nelson, and statues of King George IV and military commanders, Gen. Charles Napier and Maj.-Gen. Henry Havelock.
"I wanted to make the simple gesture of taking people from the street, and putting them in the formerly elevated place of art and see what happens," Gormley told the Guardian newspaper.
"It could be this is actually no longer about people being heroes and more about how we can be responsive and responsible citizens in a globalized world."
Gormley hopes to attract a diverse group of volunteers, and lift them into place with a crane.
The other contenders are:
The winner will be selected by a committee and announced in the spring, then erected in 2008.
Models of the artworks will be display at the National Gallery in London until the end of March.
With files from the Associated Press
Tuesday, January 8, 2008 | 3:51 PM ET
CBC News
A proposal to have ordinary Britons stand atop a plinth in Trafalgar Square, alongside the famous statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson on his column, is among six works of art being considered for one of London's most prominent public sites.
A model of Tracey Emin's Something for the Future, which features a group of meerkats, stands on display at the National Gallery in London on Tuesday.A model of Tracey Emin's Something for the Future, which features a group of meerkats, stands on display at the National Gallery in London on Tuesday.
As many as 8,700 volunteers would be needed to take an hour-long shift on top of the pedestal over the course of a year according to a proposal by British sculptor Antony Gormley.
The six pieces competing to fill a plinth in iconic Trafalgar Square were unveiled Tuesday at London's National Gallery.
The winning design will go on to an empty pedestal built in 1841 for an equestrian statue that was never completed.
Patrick Brill, who uses the name Bob & Roberta Smith, has proposed a solar- and wind-powered sign that says Faites L'Art, Pas La Guerre (Make Art, Not War). Patrick Brill, who uses the name Bob & Roberta Smith, has proposed a solar- and wind-powered sign that says Faites L'Art, Pas La Guerre (Make Art, Not War).
Since 1999, new artworks have been erected on the spot, which shares the square with a statue of the famous naval hero Nelson, and statues of King George IV and military commanders, Gen. Charles Napier and Maj.-Gen. Henry Havelock.
"I wanted to make the simple gesture of taking people from the street, and putting them in the formerly elevated place of art and see what happens," Gormley told the Guardian newspaper.
"It could be this is actually no longer about people being heroes and more about how we can be responsive and responsible citizens in a globalized world."
Gormley hopes to attract a diverse group of volunteers, and lift them into place with a crane.
The other contenders are:
- The Spoils of War (Memorial for an Unknown Civilian), the remains of a car destroyed in Iraq, by Jeremy Deller.
- Sky Plinth, which would use five mirrors to reflect the sky to passersby, by Anish Kapoor.
- Something for the Future, a sculpture of a group of meerkats as seen on Meerkat Manor, proposed by Tracey Emin.
- Nelson's Ship in a Bottle, a replica of Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Victory, by Yinka Shonibare.
- Faites L'Art, Pas La Guerre (Make Art, Not War), a sun- and wind-powered illuminated peace sign by Bob and Roberta Smith, the pseudonym of artist Patrick Brill.
The winner will be selected by a committee and announced in the spring, then erected in 2008.
Models of the artworks will be display at the National Gallery in London until the end of March.
With files from the Associated Press
