New Fourth Plinth Commission
Nicola McCartney, Thursday, 29th July 2010
“It’s that time again, when the art world braces itself for a spurt of bold ideas for what is surely the premier public art spot in Britain.”
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
On 19 August 2010, new proposals and maquettes by those shortlisted for the Fourth Plinth will be unveiled at the Crypt of St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, which will undoubtedly spark debate over the value of public art, yet again. The shortlisted artists are Elmgreen & Dragset, Katharina Fritsch, Brian Griffiths, Hew Locke and Mariele Neudecker.
From 1841 to 1999 there was nothing on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, but it is now an internationally recognised location for commissioned contemporary artworks by leading artists. Controversial pieces have included Antony Gormley's One & Other, a living monument in which every hour, 24 hours a day for 100 days, different people occupied the plinth. Together they led a series of protests, dances and even silent observation, subverting the traditional sculptural monument and provoking the tired old “but is that really art?” question. Marc Quinn's Alison Lapper Pregnant also caused public concern – the 3.55m-high sculpture of the disabled eight-and-a-half-month pregnant artist proved a steep learning curve for the British public, whose protests over her lack of ‘beauty’, her nudity and the subversion of the traditions of sculpture were promptly shut up when it was pointed out that Nelson himself was no Adonis and had only one arm, let alone the plethora of ancient, limbless, scantily clad statues held in the National Gallery just a few metres away. Alison added a touch of femininity to the otherwise male-dominated statuary in the area and illustrated a different, personal form of conquering and heroism to that of Nelson.
The current Fourth Plinth commission is Yinka Shonibare’s Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle (see above), which seems relatively tame by comparison. This is the first work to directly reference the historical symbolism of Trafalgar Square, whilst the sails’ fabric references the expansion of British trade and multiculturalism. Though Shonibare’s work isn’t due to come down until the end of 2011, the race is already on for the next commission – head down to the Crypt on 19 August to place your bets on what could be the next generation of the ‘monument’!
Image credit: James O. Jenkins
Previous
ShareThis | LATEST NEWS & COMMMENT
Around the galleries
Now in its 30th year, the London Park Lane Arms Fair returns with its annual array of fine arms and armoury. Elsewhere in the capital, impressive surveys of Freud, Hirst and mid-century British art can be found.
Architecture
George Gilbert Scott described the dome as ‘the noblest of all forms’, and it appears as a powerful symbol in secular and religious architecture throughout history. On the island of Malta, however, the craze for dome-building reached astonishing heights.
Comments
There are currently no comments for this article.
Post a comment