Plinth Support...
I wonder each day, in many moments, how it is for whichever Plinthian is on the 4th plinth. My hour was at 11am on Sunday 12th July and the 'come down' goes on despite the absence of a cherry picker.
I've watched our art swell through rain and shine, night and day and through it all, have been in awe of the wonderful people who have been involved. So I am stealing this page of the One & Other blog to thank the behind-the-scenes people for their enthusiasm and support. Having made contact with other Plinthians, I know it isn't just me who was reassured by those in red T-shirts who dwell behind the green wall.
That support has really helped at times where I thought I would be better not bothering; I am terrified of heights. My fear was pretty well under control right up until I saw the face of the 10am Plinthian, Michelle. It was then that the cherry picker thrust skywards to clear the safety net and my comforting view of grey plinth and Michelle-smile was lost, along with my nerve.
I turned to the nice red T-shirt man and rambled on about how high we were going and the absolute necessity for him to go first and get the pole in place.
Ah, the pole.
Such a comforting piece of equipment that was (for me) Dumbo's feather, Linus' blanket, Maggie's pacifier.
Supplemental support was in place too at the base of the Plinth, where I found the faces of those who came, waving red umbrellas (or in the case of Jill, Plinthian 3/2004 - her trademark green balloon) so I could more easily see them.
I watch in admiration as fellow Plinthians dance, pace, jog and generally move about up-there, as if it is down-here. Without the fear, the experience would have been sheer delight from the start.
My time is done but my attachment to this project goes on and I think I am jealous. Jealous of each new Plinthian who is just hearing that they have an hour; I know the buzz of excitement, anticipation and exhileration that goes with the notification.
Must also take this opportunity to thank both the artist, Antony Gormley and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson too; for their creativity and faith in the project.
I can't wait to see how this looks at week 6, week 12 and then the final week. What will change, what will surprise and what in the world will be going on in the world beyond the plinth?
Unlike other shows that claim 'reality', One & Other poses no questions, sets no tasks and has no plan for an outcome - this is moment by moment human-on-plinth reality. This tiny focus in Trafalgar Square is part of a larger art and a larger happening... humans, being.
And personally, I find this fascinating.
80 Responses
leave a responseI can count on one hand how many people were actually worth watching up there (Elvis, man in cocoon, lady with large black sculptural cloth). I have tried to watch as much as possible and have been disappointed. Its not OK just to sit and eat a sandwich and look bored after five minutes. This project that I am sympathetic to in the main is starting to look like a middle class middle age pursuit with various people who are not being creative. I have been told that there is a ban on flames of any kind now. There are so many health and safely regulations that have really taken the edge off it for me. It seems that the project is run by solicitors and insurance companies.
Sorry to read you are not entirely delighted with this project, Anonymous; but not all can be pleased.
The expectations of the onlookers are every bit as varied as the offerings of the Plinthians and I think if the artist and his art are being true to themselves, then we can ask for no better outcome. I would hate to see a contrived project with predictable outcomes.
I echo absolutely what you say Tina, afterwards is as fun as before, and the support team are marvelous. I am not sure whether those who feel they have failed to be 'entertained' are jealous, or just don't seem to understand the project!
Tina Louise...you said it all in your plinth support piece....I've not been on yet and already have that let down feeling of when it's all over...already jealous of those to follow. But it's our hour in the sun - live in the present etc ...just being part of it is good.
to; Tina Louse
'I would hate to see a contrived project with predictable outcomes.'
Oh, My dear you are watching one;)
To Bla bla bla...
Sweetheart, I am watching through my eyes... not yours :)
Hey, i want to go on the plinth, so ive applied and got a place. Ive no idea what i'm going to do, but i love Antony Gormley!
Cue a month of fear and panic but still not enough time to work out what to do to make it individual to them.
I'm forever blowing bubbles...pretty bubbles in the air!
arrrrrgh!!!!!!
last post (honest)
To Futuresonic:
Was there a point or intent to that comment? Should I understand it?
Everyone who gets on the plinth just has to get up there and do what they feel comfortable doing. If you go to an art gallery with 2400 paintings/sculptures/installations/photographs are you going to like them all.....I doubt it. Everyone will how their own favorites as we all see things different.
Nothing specific to you.
I'm sick of reading people applied because they love Antony Gormley.
Just as much or more so, it's more about being recorded to feel valid, which is an understandable thing..we all like to feel we have some worth and that somewhere we'll be part of something longer lasting than our flesh.
Everything else seems to be an after thought though. Be on the plinth first and work out what to do later...sometimes they don't even get to the last bit, which is the biggest gripe. We all have a responsibility to eachother, it's a group art project, so make some effort.
My observations only, I'm allowed to be frustraited with other plinthers, I'm involved!
Hi Futuresonic:
Happy it wasn't specific to me... because I barely knew of Antony Gormley before this project, so :
"I'm sick of reading people applied because they love Antony Gormley."
...certainly doesn't apply to all Plinthians and where you say:
"Just as much or more so, it's more about being recorded to feel valid, which is an understandable thing..we all like to feel we have some worth and that somewhere we'll be part of something longer lasting than our flesh."
...your interpretation, not mine. I entered to show support for what I felt was a wonderful, unique and unpredictable event; and I accpeted a place because it would be an adventure I have never had before.
You also say:
"We all have a responsibility to eachother, it's a group art project, so make some effort."
...and I agree whole-heartedly with the first 7 words :)
Of course you are welcome to your observations just as all who participate ore welcome to their interpretation of what it means to be a Plinthian.
Fraud Cor-TINA
Sweetheart, I would guess that if I saw the world through your eyes then I would have to blind myself so I see.
I'm sick of reading people applied because they love Antony Gormley, too! But i don't even think they know his art. I think it's all about there own ego. I do think for most it was like buying a ticket to win the lottery, to be on a game show.
I would rather stand at my favourite bus stop, and watch the world. I would see more, learn more, there would be people from other ethic groups, Oh... I am going to my bus stop!!
I hope the bus stop brings you joy and stimulation :)
Thanks for the explanation of the pole Tina- I was wondering about that. I'm not sure it's the height that would worry me the most about being up there. A blindfold would probably help more... or headphones... or both!
I'm happy to see what anyone does, however little. Even the people who don't do much do it differently and without the ebb and flow, the 'interesting' people wouldn't stand out.
Perhaps this might give an insight into AN ARTS PROJECT
I cannot comment on 'What its like to be a Plinther, or indeed ....a Plinther to be ....I still wait in anticipation.
However some of the questions I have addressed myself from reading these blogs over the last 2 weeks.. are ...Would I still want to be on the Plinth?
...Be subjected to voyeristic comments whatever they might be?
...Would I read them ?..
perhaps more TROUBLING....
... Would I be able to resist reading them? AND
... Would that experience change me? and how?
Questions I would not have immediately given thought to if offered one of the first places.
Having given this some thought whilst reading through the blogs today and I have come to this conclusion.
Yes I would as .....
The 4th Plinth ... whilst it seems to be THE PROJECT .... is in fact only 100 days of RESEARCH for the project .....One & Other. The project like any other project undertaken has a methodology .... this is part of that.
OUTCOME OF THE PROJECT????.....well we shall have to see.......... will it be a video, a book, an exhibition, a piece of sculpture for the 4th Plinth, a history document, or a series of .... ???? or indeed anything?
So being part of a research project I would have to be true to ME. Not what I think I should be to others.
So to the random audiences .... who turn up to see the 4th Plinth for random appearaances by random persons take it for what it is .... a Researach Project in Action enjoy it ..... you have a free ticket to the Open Air Gallery to watch a snapshot of an ART PROJECT IN ACTION ..... THE FINAL INSTALMENTS/S who knows............. Any suggestions.
Tina - it's fascinating hearing people's post-plinth thoughts and feelings, which are now starting to trickle through to us at the office. As you mentioned, the team who are working on this project put in a lot - of time, energy, work, themselves - to make One & Other happen and it's so nice when we hear that plinthers have come away with positive memories!
Deeply depressing to learn that Marie Antoinette is just a corporate shill whose stint on the plinth was just some cheap publicity whoring for a Sunday newspaper...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/19/thorpe-plinth-gormley-trafalgar
You may want to leave a comment to tell her what you think of that, from a media group which is the first to criticse Sky / The Times / The Sun for such promotion.
Hi Futuresonic,
I feel I must respond to your comment...'Just as much or more so, it's more about being recorded to feel valid, which is an understandable thing..we all like to feel we have some worth and that somewhere we'll be part of something longer lasting than our flesh.'
I did not realise I would be recorded or that I may become something '...longer lasting than our flesh.' That has not, does not enter my head at all. I enjoyed what I did with no thought of Antony Gormley, or posterity, it is only the thoughts of family and friends, both new and/or old that concerns me and if they think I did OK - then I did!
I also agree with Antoinette, that nobody would like 2400 bits of art if was chosen by somebody else and was paraded in front of us, the surprise, is we liked any at all!
I have added some of my post-plinth thoughts to my "participants" page and I will remember my hour in many years to come. I am glad I applied before it all started as had I left it till after the project started I probably would not have applied as I would have felt that I had to put on a show. MANY THANKS to the staff as they really were fantastic.
ps. to Holly - do you know why I can't view my 1 hour, I can see others but not mine.
Hi Antoinette,
A few people have had the same problem. I don't know all the technical ins and outs but I believe it's due to the server that usually automatically uploads videos needing a reboot on a daily basis - then the poor person whose slot it reboots during needs to have their video uploaded manually. The tech team are working through all those they know about and I've just checked and your name is on the list, so it should be up soon!
The hour i was on the plinth playing chess was crazy. the best bit was being heckled by an american shouting"you're not art". How did she know? Maybe it was a play, maybe i was making it up. Pawns go backwards not forwards. maybe there was no-one on the phone! Maybe I was pretending to be someone who was pretending to be a chess player. Thats got to be art. I sould have mimed my moves in the style of Manet. Damn it!
I'm on the plinth on Tuesday at 9am and looking forward to it.
I did not apply because I thought it was a lottery ticket or a game show, nor did I apply because of my ego. I applied because the opportunity to do something like this does not happen very often and I thought i would give it a try. I was lucky and got a place.
I often wonder why people who don't like something or think something else will be more interesting keep watching or contributing. If it bores you or you don't like it turn it off!! Nobody is forcing you to watch it!! I, on the other hand, will be watching London go by for an hour on Tuesday and that is an opportunity I couldn't pass up.
Yes. it's all about you isn't it. Nobody else matters.
Selfish!
How is is selfish Anonymous? The hour was given to individuals to do with as they choose - not to do what an audience would choose.
For me, I took my hour as a gift to be enjoyed by me. It was given to me, not to anyone else and I didn't want to divide it up and share it out.
What would you do Anonymous, if you had an hour?
I am in a suburb of Dallas, Texas, USA. My wife and I have never been to London or the UK but have found this experiment interesting. Most of it is not entertaining, but is Art entertainment? Is Entertainment art? I think a lot of the world are checking in perodically and wondering about the self indulgent, the 'cause' perpetrators, and of course the audience that gather. I wonder in our Reality TV world if we have come accustomed to expecting the ordinary to be fascinating - thanks to the internet, texting, you tube and blogs we have all become media creations.
Actually yes it is all about me. My hour for me to do as I please. If you are so bothered by it enter and try to get yourself an hour, or maybe that is the problem here.
I'm not anon, i forgot to write my username.
Best solution: Carry on with it, but stop filming. It's all about the plinther, not anybody else, so why waste time filming it for others, or would nobody bother applying if it wasn't being filmed? I'm trying to get to the root of the plinther/viewer relationship and the duty on both sides.
If it's a celebration of an ordinary person on a plinth doing nothing and giving nothing of themselves, why should people tune in?
Futuresonic:
Does there have to be reason to everything? Can a thing not simply be... just because it is? It seems the problem is categorising - labels create expectation and that ruins surprise.
It's been billed as an event. God knows how much money and time has been invested in it. For it to have no meaning and reason for it's existence is tragic is it not?
Stop being selfish and seeing it as your hr and see it as everyones hr in which you have the power to make others think or feel. You won't do that by ignoring the audience and just observing. I walk amongst thousands of people everyday i know nothing about. Raising on on a platform and not having any idea of who they are 1 hr later is a waste of time.
If standing on the plinth doing nothing is a waste of time why do you spend so much time talking about it?
Those who do nothing have been discussed more than those who did something 'meaningful'!
A waste of your time Futuresonic... not mine though. I have enjoyed the event in all its diversity.
You say it is tragic for the event to have 'no meaning and no reason' - I didn't say it had no meaning - just that it did not require a label. A label would not work for individual interpretation and that feels like an important part of this.
Like any art, we will all see differently from unique perspectives.
Why did you enter?
To see Trafalgar square from a different level? To feel special like a dead war hero without doing anything?
Happy observing. I'll remember not to bother tuning in when you're on.
I'll chat to a stranger in the street and get to know them instead.
I entered for the adventure :)
You gave spirit and personality to your hr, even if it was to do with chucking sweets and singing songs. You gave something of yourself. I admire your all embracing attitude to other plinthers, but i think it's wrong. Gormley has given the green light to do nothing, so theres no point anyone else trying to convince people otherwise. Enjoy doing nothing people.
Why do you assume that I will be doing nothing? I said I would be able to watch London go by which is true but I am capable of multi-tasking.
If you don't want to tune in to watch me then that is your choice just as it is my choice to do whatever i please on the plinth.
I think it is very sad that you feel the need to berate those who do not have the same opinion as you.
Why not enter to see Trafalgar square from a different level? How about feeling special like a living war hero? Who are you to judge me on what I have or have not done?
I'm being very specific to people who spend a whole hr doing nothing. Anything else is acceptable, big or small, performance or token gesture, but give a little of yourself.
Why can't you see my point and that this is as much about the audience as it is you or any other plinther. It's a two way relationship. You hr is everyones hr.
Anyway, off to bed. Enjoy your time whatever you do. I hope someone else gets something from it too.
You used exactly the right word Futuresonic, it is indeed ABOUT the audience too ...but not FOR them.
Our reactions to the project as the 'audience', should surely not be the concern of the person on the Plinth? I think that would make it no longer representative of their selves, but of a self they felt required to project.
Just by doing nothing they have stirred up the viewers like yourself into a big ongoing debate. So really they have done something and their hour has lasted much longer by the constant discussion about them.
Good night Futuresonic, sleep well :)
Interesting reading, having just returned home from my plinth hour!
Prior to taking part, I was full of excitement and nerves, which is me all over, so I have been giving a little bit of myself to the project, since recieivng the email offering a place way back on June 1st!
I believe I have previously written, that I applied, because I admire the work of Antony Gormley and I have visited several of his exhibitions and some pieces, frequently.
If I was not aware of his work, or aware of what takes place within the art world, would I have received a place?
The simple answer is no! I agree that I am very fortunate and priveliged, to have been allocated an hour, and within this hour I did what I wanted to do, but to have the smallest chance of being involved, I had to put in a little effort of my own.
To some this is seen as a lottery, but to me it's not! I don't play for money or to be part of a Big Brother Spin off - if I did, would I be an artist?
the plinter before me sat and read the bible (not outloud) , the plinther after me had a newspaper but . mostly just stood. i thought they were both beautiful .if you want to see a boring statue look at the other plinth with George 4th on a horse.
Right now - A Human Bee-ing!
Right now - It's a Human Bee-ing!
Just got back to my friends house after being on the plinth at 5am this morning. I had a fantastic time and I must thank the staff, they were great and really put me at ease. It really was a truly magnificent experience that I will never forget!
www.oneandother.co.uk/participants/aurorablue
If I don't enjoy anything I don't watch it so what's with you Futuresonic - leave the rest of us alone who do enjoy it.
I find wondering what will happen next part of the interest in this project. I don't enjoy reality TV shows and don't watch them but happily dip in and out of this project to see what is happening!
Go Plinthers and enjoy your hour in the sun (hopefully!)
Ummmm .... Sounds like some of the viewers are after instant gratification........... TRY LOOKING AT THE BIGGER PICTURE......
Question more about what Antony G will be doing with the 100 days of 2,400 visitations to the plinth ...as research ....that is going on at the moment.?
Audience .....you are as much to do with and participation of the research project as anyone else.
ASSUMPTIONS are already being made that about plinthers past and those to come.... KEEP OPEN MINDED ....... stay on the FENCE for a bit longer....
..... START THINKING .... what you would do with the research............ As an artist, painter, sculptor, film maker, as a dramatist, writer /poet, as a social scientist, as a town planner, as a psychologist, as a musician, as a curator, as a? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? whatever
That is being creative and possibly where some of the REAL ART will be found ...... in the inspiration created for others to create.
Rachael_F
I agree with you. Though viewing a portrait is not quite the same, it’s a canvas not a real person, there’s the possibility of empathising with a person on the plinth who is substantially passive in a way that is not possible when they are trying to interact with you. And passivity shows another facet of the human experience.
We might be very good a shouting and jeering and poking sticks thought the bars, but are we any good at seeing things from the other side? Not really – it all has to become another Princess Di or Jade Goody – the world made plastic, so it doesn’t really hurt.
In viewing a passive plinther we are able to contemplate the essential human condition, a lost and lonely soul in a crowded world. And if we are sincere there’s no let-up. We live that seemingly endless sixty minutes with them – passive and isolated.
Now. Is that a good enough reason?
Yes, well put, but we don't need to keep pondering on that one. A tiny handful of passive plinthers is more than enough thanks.
I would still encourage people to aspire to inject who they are in their hr in any way fitting to them. I have faith people will keep doing that.
So now we have Mrs Mopp (Rachael) with her bucket, scrubbing brush and mop. A brilliant idea!
Are you open for marriage proposals?
Well done Rachael - I can see you will be pleasing many art doubters - cleary you have 'talent' it shows in your 'brush stokes!'
Fine, but the current crop aren’t injecting who they are, are they. They’re hiding behind a façade of their own creation. They’re showing us what they would like us to see not who they really are. What I would like to see is some honesty and vulnerability.
We don’t do naked though, do we? Either to reveal our own emotions or be exposed to others.
Loving Rachel up there now, when I was up there I was thinking it would be a great idea for someone to go up there give the plinth a good clean, goodness knows it needed it !!!
I only know a little about Anthony's work so I am not a "fan" but applied for the adventure of the whole thing and nothing to do with being filmed or fame for an hour. I think its also very hard to "inject who you are on the plinth" to please those watching on the web and those watching down below is impossible as they are at different viewpoints. Those on the web can hear you talk and those on the ground can not unless you can shout really loud. "inject who they are" - this is an interesting question as who are we - are we the job we do, is it our religion, is it our ethnicity, is it our hobbies or the way we dress.
Thanks Holly for the update re my clip.
Honesty - YES!
Vulnerable - I think not - it can be a big bad world out there, why would anyone want to put down their defense in order that a stranger can then violate them?
I don't believe it. You wait for someone to come up with something fresh and original like cleaning the plinth then two come along at once (see Holly at 7-8am). I hope someone doesn't come up with my idea of laying a deck otherwise I will have to think of something different when my time comes around.
Amazing isn't it - we had the Knitters the other day too - that's random selection for you!
I love it :)
“…why would anyone want to put down their defense…”
You seem to be getting to the crux of the matter.
And yes, Mrs Mop is wonderful. Not selling, not promoting, not self-engrandising, just being normal. Mind you, given the tradition of throwning the water over the step or down the gutter, I’d be careful down below when she’s finished. What did they used to cry…?
The Bee lady at 5-6 made the most of a dead hour, played to the tiny crowd that were there and got an important message across to people at home as well as looking like she was enjoying herself. I wish I could have "saved" one of her bees.
Anyone going to go onto the plinth and use 'SIGN LANGUAGE'.?
Nothing really matters, anyone can see
I just got home from London - did the 11pm - midnight slot last night. My cheeks hurt from smiling! It was brilliant! Beautiful evening in London - lovely view and so much support from the ground. Loved every minute in spite of a few mishaps! Got all my messages out (posted on my website under 'philosophy'). The most fun I've had in ages!
Sign language would be good - I signed 'I love you' to my daughter - all I know, I'm afraid.
It maybe an idea for the organisers to offer the participants a framed photograph of themselves, much like you get when going down the water shoot at Blackpool amusement park, as a souvenir - might stop some of the need for endless photographs.
'''louder ya scream the faster we go'''
I'm beginning to think it boils down to wether you like other people or not.
Thank you to everyone for your very positive comments re: my cleaning hour today. Disappointed to see another cleaner before me though, even on the same day, how likely was that? Sorry Ray from Devon, I'm married, but if things start to go wrong......
To all those plinthers yet to go on, it's a great great way to spend an hour, no need to feel nervous. Enjoy. x
Why so many adverse comments?
Why not take photographs from the plinth? - I guess that 95% of all snaps are really to say "I was here" and these photos must be unique, as only 2400 people will ever take them.
Also remember that most people do live very ordinary humdrum lives without much, if any interest, in art/philosophy so why expect anything of that nature?
My only slight gripe with the project is that, though randomly selected, people do need to apply. This inevitably will attract extroverts and show-offs.
PS I loved the lady spinning wool.
" it boils down to whether you like other people or not"
Im not sure about that. I agree that some bloggers are thinking that the critics are personal. To me they are not.
Plinthers are a piece of Gormley's art installation and as a participant they become their own artwork. But there are not limits (apart safety) to what they can bring or do on the plinth. So its up to them to expose themselves to some degree. Those doing nothing are totally exposed and then they consider the critics highly personal.
Im afraid the critics are just about their interpretation of art and their own artwork exposed to the public eye. Gormley's provides an art gallery where the participants come and hang their work. Visitors to the art gallery are entitled to give their opinion about what they see and its exactly whats happenning. Keep looking at that as an art installation and not as a self achievment. Artists are used to the critics and they know they have to cope with them but its about the artwork not about the person.
(This inevitably will attract extroverts and show-offs.)
Have you been watching the same project?
It attracts middle britain who don't want to show anything.
Take this women now for example. She loves to tell you how involved she is in the arts yet she is standing writing a letter to antony as living sculpture. I want to slit my wrists.
@ Museum Rat
Very nicely put!
Absolutely, I agree with museum rat entirely. It should not be a judgement about the person, although I guess it would be hard not to take it personally sometimes. I met a plinther today who was going on the plinth to publicise a charity (now that's original) that wasn't even close to her heart. A friend had asked her to wear the t-shirt. If this is a comment upon society as a whole, I guess I kind of get it, but if each piece/plinther has a responsibility to make art, then it is a disappointing comment. Having now been on the plinth, I think the recorded interview beforehand and all the material around the actual event is probably the more lasting piece of 'art' if you like.
I rarely love all art on display in any museum or gallery I visit - and the same goes for the Plinthians. Some I love, others I struggle to understand - but, hey isn't that what this is all about? Even my (elderly) parents are discussing art in all its' various guises and are totally hooked on the 'change overs'!
Long Live the Plinthians!
I was on the plinth on Saturday 18th July 2 - 3pm. I had no idea how it was going to be up there. How could I? In fact only 2400 people will experience what it's like.... I watched people openly. What struck me was the similarities, I did not notice age, sex, race or any of the normal "labels" we so easily attach. All I saw was humans doing whatever it is they do, experiencing their lives. When I came down off the plinth I became part of the same crowd I had been watching. For me this has been an invaluable experience, instead of seeing differences it has made me aware of what we have in common with ONE ANOTHER...
The plinthers are applying first and working out why later.
It's not about some you like, some you don't. If you see them being giving in some way, i embrace them, no matter who they are and what they are doing. You appreciate them all for what they bring to the plinth and see it as adding layers to the rich and diverse projectF
Gormley is brave and/or stupid to allow 2400 people to shape his sculpture. Maybe he's 'big' enough to be able to walk away from this unscathed if it goes tits up and he can just can blame it on the participants. After some thought, he's rich and powerful enough to go back to relying on craftsmen to carry on making images of himself without too much damage if it goes tits up.
Sorry, drunk, but you get the gist.
I think plinthers are thinking in isolation, but it's been worded and advertised as such, so who can blame them There seems to be no sense of a responsibility to other plinthers or Antony.
I would love to know what the current occupant is chanting - what the words mean. How can I find out?
MJ wrote:
"I am not sure whether those who feel they have failed to be 'entertained' are jealous, or just don't seem to understand the project!"
Don't be stupid, no one is jealous, they don't want to be entertained... Now... To understand the project...
Even when Antony is confused in his interviews, how are the people on the plinth to know what to do, and how are the views to view?
Antony has no single direction, the project has sadly been underminded by his lack of experience of working with people. He says, "This projects purpose is to capture Britain as it is now, the plinth is the lens." He goes on to say, " That the people on the plinth are not important, it's the processes that are important!!" So as Antony sees it, and says it, is very different...
If people sit doing nothing on the plinth and they try to say, oh that's what I do at that time... Oh just knock them off!! That's a joke...
I wonder sometimes whether some posts are ever read.
So I post again
Ummmm .... Sounds like some of the viewers are after instant gratification........... TRY LOOKING AT THE BIGGER PICTURE......
Question more about what Antony G will be doing with the 100 days of research with 2,400 visitations to the plinth ...Research that is whats going on at the moment.?
Audience .....you are as much to do with and participation of the research project as anyone else whether you want to be or not just by posting here...
BUT
ASSUMPTIONS are already being made about plinthers past and those to come.... KEEP OPEN MINDED ....... stay on the FENCE for a bit longer... AND
..... START THINKING .... what you would do with the research............ IF YOU WERE an artist, painter, sculptor, film maker, dramatist, writer /poet, musician OR ...as a social scientist, as a town planner, as a psychologist, as a curator, as a whateverr ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? whatever
THAT IS BEING CREATIVE and possibly where some of the REAL ART will be found ...... in the inspiration created for others to create.
This discussion is fascinating and, as Museum Rat describes, ultimately it comes down to what you regard as 'art'. And that's a question that is beyond answer so travels round and around kicking up dust and even more questions. That is why some of us are involved in the making of art in the first place. When it gets easy it gets boring.
A while back Futuresonic raised the issue of CCTV and whether that should be regarded as a better social survey than One and Other. I think it probably would be and many other artists agree, because so many of them have used CCTV in their work. I have seen countless pieces of art that use found footage from CCTV or contrived footage, live footage or photographs and even paintings of CCTV cameras. I think the point was raised as a dismissal but the reality is CCTV surveillance can and often does become art in the hands of an artist. Just as someone on the plinth being themselves in whatever way that is expressed, without judgement, is also part of this art.
There is something still to be discussed about whether Gormley is a curator of 2400 pieces on the plinth or if One and Other is a single piece of art. My view is with the latter. I don't believe each contribution is a work of art in it's own right.
Thanks Tim for your comments great to get some dialogue going on something other than .... dull, boring, disappointment, is it art, this is not art. Life is full of GREY areas that eventually become coloured one way or the other. Good dialogue can throw some light on projects like this for those who are new to contemporary
on the edge art works. Yes... often experimental, but then experiments and making mistakes are what we learn from, make judgements from and form informed opinions and decisions for which we can justify.
From what I'v noticed there has not been much dialogue from other artists on this site or have there?
What are you views?
Perhaps you feel this is not the site to discuss this if not
is there another site that discusses these issues rather than here.
Anyone know of a site worth viewing?
Keep on thinking creatively
Plinth Charming - I've deleted your comment - please post again without the personal abuse. Criticism's fine, but keep it clean!
No censorship then eh? *sighs*
Just like this plinth debacle can't be anything else but, with the endless elfin safety restrictions, not least the outsize safety net and supporting steels. That shouldn't be there: if people have a problem with heights, then tough! It is not more excluding those that would apply than it would someone who is painfully shy.
It's all served up as self-important drivel and commented on by pseudo-intellectuals anyhow. Art was ever thus.
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