James Russel Cant

                     

Aid and Abet

Aid and Abet is an artist centred, peer led organization and provides a testing ground in the form of a warehouse for artistic contemporary practice and an opportunity to develop concepts and ideas. It was co-founded by Sarah Evans, David Kefford and CJ Mahony in 2009. They try to distance them selves from traditional works of public art, usually bronze sculptures, to create dynamic and innovative art works. Their work is very conceptual and tries to develop an alternative response from the viewer. This organization commissions artists to create public works of art whether that be in collaboration with other artists or solo sculptures. The warehouse which is based in Cambridge near the railway station brings artists together and encourages the exchanging of creativity, ideas and socializing. In this space exhibitions are also held, these exhibitions are temporary like some of the public art created by their artists. Many people have preconceptions of public art being permanent sculptures but the use of projection art is a temporary form of public art used David Ward. 

The artists include David Ward who uses 'projection' and lighting in much of his work, he created a temporary light projection for the iconic mill building at the centre of the CB1 site.

Antoni Malinowski uses this idea of using natural light by using materials like glass. On of his public pieces consists of hundreds of small glass inserts across the brickwork of the new student accommodation which responds to the changing light with reflections and shadows that create a large subtle drawing on the surface of the building. 

Dryden Goodwin is known for his intricate drawings, often in combination with photography, film, large-scale screen-based installations and soundtracks. One of his ideas for a series of possible future public art pieces consists of faces of people he has sketched in Cambridge, his idea is then to transfer these sketches on to metal plates and position them near the train station on the pavement. Usually we think of drawing as a traditional, flat medium and is not associated with public art because of this. I like the way he has created an unlikely combination between the contemporary nature of his pieces and the traditional way they are created using sketching. A very traditional way of recording observations.

Jem Finer's supercomputer is a functioning computer made from a series of beautifully constructed and designed pipes, enclosed in a glass fronted pavilion, similar to the mainframe computers of the 1970s. Much of the work is experimental and on a personal level seems quite contrived. 

I found the talk quite rewarding as it gave me an insight into public works of art. It opened my eyes to the fact that public art industry is no longer just traditional sculptures but can take on many other forms of mediums from lighting through to integrating new technologies. Public art is moving away from traditions to more experimental and contemporary pieces. It was also fascinating to find out that any new large scale building that uses outdoor public space need to allocate 10% of their budget in to creating art as an integral part of the architecture. This is really good news for artists all around the country because it encourages artists to create new and interesting works of art, new creative ideas are having to be developed as new construction is developing. Before our talk from a couple of members of Aid and Abet I didn't realize quite how experimental and conceptual public art is now. I appreciate the beauty of contemporary sculptures with in public art and like some of the new ideas this company's artists are developing however I don't think Aid and Abet's work necessarily translate very well into public art because it is too experimental and conceptual in some areas where the sculptures are not visually pleasing or provoke a response from the public like other contemporary artist I like such as Antony Gormley or louise bourgeois.

Louise Bourgeois

Antony Gormley

This is a sculpture called 'waste man', it is made out of recycled materials like old chairs and tables and old bits of wood. This links into my sculpture design and creation as i also need to use recycled materials.

Starting to develop ideas

The sculpture we have been commissioned to make needs to express the visual arts department because it is the departments centre peace, it is the first piece of work the public will see when entering this area of art study. Here are some words i have thought of that express the art department, this is a starting point for further development of concepts and ideas.

expression
growth
community
stress
dexterous
anxiety
frustration
creativity
mistakes
development
worry
refine
friendship
colour
shape
vision
beauty
understanding
knowledge
thoughtful
innovative
form
texture
contrast
experimentation
process
individual
dynamic
inspiration
technique
materials
joy
surprise
seeing
freedom
routine
expanding
traditional
contemporary
historical
nature
abstract
representative
symbolism

Antony Gormley- Horizon

Antony Gormley- Horizon

Antony Gormley- Angel of the North

Health and Safety

When creating or designing a public sculpture you have to consider Heath and safety. Health and Safety will effect the way you develop your designs because you need to take sustainability into consideration along with the structure, the shape, the size, materials used and the possible use of electricity. All these factors will impact your decisions so that the public's health and safety will not be at risk. In relation to shape you can't design a structure that contains sharp edges that are reachable to the public, no sharp corners that can be easily brushed past and cause injury. The structure and the strength of the structure is important because it needs to with stand time and not brake or collapse so the material of the sculpture also needs to be considered. Sustainability also ties into this, the material needs to withstand time and be long lasting if this is the intention of the sculpture. It also needs to be made of a material that isn't poisonous or can cause a hazard in relation to chemicals. It needs to be safe to tough if it is in reach of the public. The sculpture needs to be placed securely in position so it does not fall or dismantle and injure the public. Sometimes the public can be harmed or injured by a public sculpture this is why the designers of the pieces invest in public liability insurance which makes it so if the public are harmed the insurance company pay for compensation.

Definition of public Art

'The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physically public domain, usually outside and accessible to all. The term is especially significant within the art world, amongst curators, commissioning bodies and practitioners of public art, to whom it signifies a particular working practise, often with implications of site specifies, community involvement and collaboration. The term is sometimes also applied to include any art which is exhibited in a public space including publicly accessible buildings.'

Micheal Ayrton

Peter Randall-Page

Sculpture trail

For our public art Unit we went on the Cambridge Sculpture Trail. To help us explore and develop our understanding of public art. The first sculpture we visited was the ‘Doors of the Guildhall’ which was a bronze series of panels set into the doors. The sculpture was commissioned by C A Cowls Voyesy and consists of ten panels on the doors of the Guildhall and depicts scenes from rural life of that time. The plinths on either side of the entrance include seahorses which also feature in the Cambridge city coat of arms. They were designed by Lawrence Bradshaw in 1933.

The second sculpture we visited was in Guildhall Street. Talos was the guardian of Minoen Crete. He was the giant man of bronze who protected Europa in Crete. Micheal Ayrton depicted this man without arms to show the anger and bewilderment felt by many of the post-war generation British sculptors. This sculpture was erected on the completion of the Lion Yard and Fisher House in 1973. I personally liked this sculpture because it is abstract and quite gothic by nature. The way it loosely depicts a male figure but is quite a rigid piece, the use of jagged edges shows this anger and strength. 

The next sculpture we visited is a very contemporary piece and is more modern then the previous sculptures visited. It is a new piece of public art and was carved from a granite glacial boulder. This sculpture is very obviously a piece designed by Peter Randall-Page because of his recognisable style. He has undertaken numerous large scale commissions and exhibited widely and is known for his abstract, geometric forms carved in stone. Although his style is very contemporary his work can still obviously be derived from natural forms and shows this link between the stone of the surrounding area and the undulating form of the sculpture. It brings an element of natural forms into this area which is surrounded by developed, man made sculptures. I think Peter Randall-Page has inked the two in an interesting and visually pleasing way.

Next we visited the famous ‘Corpus Clock’ which was made in 2008 by John Taylor and Mathew Lane Sanderson. There are always crowds standing outside this gold plated mechanical clock. The mechanism is driven by a large and slightly demonic looking grasshopper. LEDs light up to tell the time in a completely different and innovative way. It is a very modern piece using movement and light. While taking pictures of the sculpture. While i was observing and photographing the sculpture i noticed that the small crowd surrounding the sculpture had very mixed views. I heard one person say that it was 'offensive and awful' and another said they 'liked it'. I agree that it is an interesting and strange sculpture, because it is unlike any other sculpture i have seen. I dislike the use of gold and blue lights because i think it makes it look tacky. Even from a distance it is very noticeable because of this. The fact that it does not fit in with its surroundings could be thought of as an asset because it draws attention to the piece. However it could be thought of as a negative as part of public art is responding to the environment and surroundings. 

Eric Gill carved the next sculpture we visited in 1933. It is called the ‘Cavendish Crocodile’ and has been engraved into brick wall on the Mond Building on Free School Lane. Eric Gill worked as a stone mason and the crocodile is meant to reflect the nickname of the Physicist Lord Rutherford who is meant to be the father of nuclear physics. This piece was fairly hidden and required time finding it. Once found my immediate response was to dislike the sculpture positioned above my head on this hidden wall. I disliked it's childlike simplicity and  stiffness and lack of movement. However it has a level of intricacy with the use of darker shading and relief. 

Antony Gormley created the next sculpture which shows two feet in cast iron into the pavement at the entrance to Downing Site. This was meant to be an upside down human figure buried into the ground with just his feet sticking upwards. You would not really know this if this was not written down as it looks more like a pair of footprints in the stone. It was installed in 2002 and is titled ‘Earthbound: Plant’. This reflects Gormley’s fascination with the human body. The small sculpture is hard to find because of its scale and subtleness. It blends into its surroundings almost seamlessly until you suddenly notice the sculpture below your feet and then it becomes an interesting piece to then study and observe. 

Finally we visited the ‘Bears’ outside the Sedwick Museum of Earth Sciences on Downing Street not far from the Gormley installation. These fit into the curved stair that take you to the museum entrance. These look like they have been carved into the stair from hundreds of years ago but in fact they were created in 1904 although the sculptor is unknown. They seemed more part of the staircase rather than a stand-alone sculpture. They seemed quite traditional but were nicely made and very realistic.

Brief

I have been been commissioned by Mike Junkoviv to produce a dynamic and expressive pond feature/sculpture/fountain for use in visual Art pond, using sustainable and or recycled materials. The purpose of this assignment is to increase skills and understanding in responding to the design brief, using materials, techniques and knowledge.