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Guardian Sat. 20th Jan., 2001 |
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Two angels here, the little one dances around the feet of the big one at Gateshead's Angel of the North.Viewers of BBC1
will see the footballers playing in that field below with the angel as a backdrop. A marvellous piece of electronic knitting, as those footballers never went further north than Cricklewood and the Angel was
a colour slide provided by a local photographer for pennies. The massive angel stands on the top of a mound adjacent to the main A1 trunk route to Scotland. |
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From the 16th century to the 1960s coal was mined in this area. Team Colliery, named after the nearby river, was worked from
1720s. A modern baths complex was built here in 1939. Mining ceased on this site in 1968.The plot lay derelict until reclaimed in 1989. In July 1990 Gateshead Council's Art in Public Places Panel decided
to earmark the site for a future landmark sculpture and by 1992 the landscaping of site was completed. After a competition for artist and structure, sculptor Antony Gormley was selected by the panel and
design proposals were agreed with world renowned engineering consultants, Ove Arup & Partners. |
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In April 1996 funding of £800,000 was secured for the sculpture: £584,000 from the Arts Council Lottery Fund, £150,000 from
the European Regional Development Fund, £45,000 from Northern Arts, plus private sponsorship. Work continued in Hartlepool, and the prefabricated structure was finally placed on its special plinth in
February 1998.Long piles were driven into the hilltop, like massive roots, and the whole encased in concrete so as to support the weight and lateral forces of the huge sculpture. |
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The artist, Antony Gormley, is seen here with a scale wooden model of the project. He produces figurative pieces, almost all
based on his own body. The final sculpture flatters him greatly, if it is seen as in any way as a self portrait!The Angel was conceived at the same time as the Millennium Dome but the differing status of
the two structures could not be more striking. While the Dome continues to be seen as a reckless use of money and a triumph of style over content, or worse, as a blot on the landscape, the Angel of the North
has gained a place in the hearts of almost everyone in the North East. Some still consider it a waste of money that could have been better used on hospitals or schools, but I wonder if that cash would have
had the same regional and lasting impact had it been swallowed up in the Health or Education black holes? |
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The artist said, "The hilltop site is important and has the feeling of being a megalithic mound. When you think of the
mining that was done underneath the site, there is a poetic resonance. Men worked beneath the surface in the dark. Now in the light, there is a celebration of this industry.
"People are always
asking, 'why an angel?' The only response I can give is that no-one has ever seen one and we need to keep imagining them. The Angel has three functions - firstly as an historic one to remind us that below
this site coal miners worked in the dark for two hundred years, secondly to grasp hold of the future, expressing our transition from the industrial to the Information age, and lastly to be a focus for our
hopes and fears." |
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Antony Gormley was born in London during 1950. He spent several years in India, where he developed an interest in Buddhism,
before returning to London to study sculpture. His works include the Field series, made in collaboration with communities around the world. He lives and works in London.
His creation of
figurative pieces using his body as a model sets Gormley's work apart from the more abstract sculpture of many of his contemporaries. References in his work come from history, mythology, and religion -
the latter perhaps inspired by his strict Catholic upbringing. This 20 metre high Angel of the North could be a Christ figure on the cross, Icarus longing to fly, or a modern man's flight of fancy.
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Antony Gormley was interested in more than simply building a monument upon a meaningful site. He was interested in the notion of a site
becoming transformed into a place, more than just a static location where art stands, or is hung. He wanted a place where art interacts with its surrounding, and where people can in turn interact with the art. This
element of Gormley's design has surely worked beyond his wildest dreams - the football pitches next to the Angel are seldom empty, grandparents and children huddle around it, climb the structure or measure their size
against the Angel's base.Here the view from its base is of the River Team valley and its industrial and retail centre, with the dark foothills of the Cheviots, many miles to the north of Newcastle, beyond. Below
the houses at the southernmost part of Allerdene are dwarfed by the Angel. Do the residents feel a part of the artistic experience, or are they complacent, becoming oblivious to the daily presence, in the way that those
on the airport flight path never hear the planes? |
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I think that the angel has come to life as a watchful, benevolent spirit guarding the North Easterners and protecting us from
chaos. It is a human on a large industrial scale with wings where there would be arms. The arms of compassion have been replaced by the wings of technology, and we loose that compassion at our peril.
Its triumph is twofold - as a public sculpture, a tangible body, a 'thing' in the real world, it is beautiful and richly symbolic. As a work of art, it is haunting, magnificent and a warning. Perhaps most
meaningful of all; London hasn't got one. |
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