Tatton Park Biennial 2012 programme announced

Concept design for In Other Worlds, I Love You by David Cotterrell 

Tatton Park Biennial in Cheshire once again looks to have an intriguing programme lining up for its third event. Arts Council confirmed their financial support at the end of January, and the event is due to open on 12 May and run until 30th September 2012.

The Biennial theme, 'Flights of Fancy', considers 'the human urge to fly, to accomplish the impossible in fragile times'. The artists are 'considering the impact of experimentation on delicate eco-systems, looking backward and forward for guidance, wisdom and/or humour. Their proposed results are experiments in time and space.'

Concept design for Vex by Dinu Li

Up to 20 artists are being commissioned for 2012 including David Cotterrell, Juneau Projects, Simon Faithfull, Jem Finer, Ultimate Holding Company, Tessa Farmer, Dinu Li, Charbel Ackermann, Brass Art, Field Broadcast, Project Pigeon, Aura Satz, Sarah Woodfine, Olivier Grossetete [is that really his name?! - Ed] and Hilary Jack. 

concept design for Gleaners of the Infocalypse by Juneau Projects

Architects Pointfive have been selected to produce the Biennial kiosk, the design for which is based on the black box flight recorder used to record flight information in planes.

Kiosk design by Pointfive

Projects include a miniature planetarium screening a live feed of projections based on raw data received from radio telescopes at Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics by David Cotterrell, a film by Simon Faithfull made with the support of Manchester Airport and their emergency simulator, and a flying saucer by Dinu Li based on the design of flying saucers in B movies of the 1950s.

concept proposal for Empty Nest by Hilary Jack

John Maine artwork for Green Park underground station

Image copyright Daisy Hutchison

I'm a bit late with this one as it was unveiled last October but thought it was still worth adding to the blog.


Royal Academician John Maine was commissioned by Art on the Underground to develop Sea Strata, a permanent work integrated into the walls and flooring of the new station buildings above ground.

Image copyright Daisy Hutchison

There are two related elements of the artwork: the Portland stone cladding of the station buildings with related walls and coping; and the granite pavement, which has been incised with a sequence of spirals. 

Image copyright Daisy Hutchison

According to Art on the Underground, the work is 'grounded in the natural world, reflecting the location between the urban character of Piccadilly and the more rural Green Park beyond.' 


The artist said:
'I wanted to the use the Portland stone of the walls to explore the natural composition of the rock and to draw out the internal structure of the material, revealing the fossil remains of marine creatures from 150 million years ago. I imagined the four small buildings as outcrops with strata linking across from one to another. By rounding the corners of the buildings, they take on a more solid feel, and the various bands wrapping around the walls emphasize the 
natural layers, which you would find in a Portland quarry.'

Image copyright Daisy Hutchison

To find out more, visit: http://art.tfl.gov.uk/projects/detail/3948/  

Frieze awarded funding for 6 Olympic public art commissions

Gary Webb's proposal for Greenwich

Frieze have received grants enabling them to commission one permanent artwork (pictured above) and five temporary projects for boroughs in East London for the Olympics, for a new venture called Frieze Projects East. The artworks are the first Frieze has commissioned away from Frieze Art Fair, which attracts international collectors to Regent's Park in London every October. 


The artworks will be made by artists who have either lived or studied in east London, and include:  a permanent playground climbing frame sculpture by Gary Webb in Greenwich; inflatable sculptures by Anthea Hamilton and Nicholas Byrne which will fill the disused pool at Poplar Baths in Tower Hamlets; billboards by Sarnath Banerjee recording the artists lifelong sporting failures; and magical silver doorknobs by Can Altay which record the touch of people who use them situated on buildings around Waltham Forest including the town hall, council housing, and the YMCA. 


Two more projects are yet to be announced, once the curator Sarah McCrory and mystery artist succeeds in overcoming ‘engineering issues and battling the laws of nature and physics.’


Frieze were approached for the project by Create, whose aim is to connect artists with the communities of east London. The project has been financed by Arts Council England, who contributed £100,000; and the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor, who contributed around £350,000.


To read the full source articles visit: http://www.artlyst.com/articles/frieze-given-olympics-cash-for-public-art  and http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/culture-blog/2012/feb/22/frieze-london-2012-art-east-end?newsfeed=true

Latest Fourth Plinth commission is unveiled

Powerless Structures Fig.101 by Elmgreen and Dragset

This morning the latest Fourth Plinth sculpture commission in Trafalgar Square by Michael Elmgreen (b.1961) and Ingar Dragset (b.1968) was unveiled to the public. ‘Powerless Structures Fig. 101’ is a sculpture of a boy astride his rocking horse.

According to the project website: 'A child has been elevated to the status of historical hero, though there is not yet a history to commemorate – only a future to hope for. Cast in bronze, the work references the traditional monuments in the square, but, with its golden shine, it celebrates generations to come.'
The artists said "We wanted to create a public sculpture which, rather than dealing with topics of victory or defeat, honours the everyday battles of growing up.” Elmgreen and Dragset are known for their architectural and sculptural installations.

The artists are a Danish-Norwegian team who have been collaborating since 1995. They live and work in London and Berlin. They have completed several other public works, including a 2008 memorial to homosexuals persecuted by Nazism (pictured below) which is in Berlin.

They are probably best known for creating a permanent replica Prada boutique in the Texan desert in 2005 (below).

The Fourth Plinth sculpture is one in a long running series called Powerless Structures, in which the artists have in the past subverted the conventions of the 'white cube' gallery space, by creating galleries suspended from the ceiling, sunk into the ground or upside down.

There is a short video about the project here:

Michael Pinsky climate change public art project launches in London

Seven Dials Sundial Pillar

Artist Michael Pinsky launched PLUNGE in London on 7th February. Plunge exists in three areas in London, where blue neon rings encircle three London columns: the Sundial pillar in Covent Garden, the Duke of York column, and the Paternoster Square column next to St Paul's Cathedral and the London Stock Exchange.

The project is intended to highlight the issue of rising sea levels, with the blue rings illustrating how high sea levels will have climbed (28 metres) in a thousand years' time, should we fail to heed the threat of global warming.
PLUNGE has been created by Michael Pinsky and produced by Artsadmin and LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre) as part of the Imagine 2020 network programme. It has been supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, the European Culture Programme, Trust Greenbelt, WWF-UK and the Big Give.
The artwork will be on display until 4th March 2012. Debate around the issues is encouraged on the project website at http://www.plungelondon.com/

Michael Pinsky is a British artist specialising in installation and public art. He has exhibited extensively in galleries and festivals including TATE Britain, the Saatchi Gallery, the ICA, London; BALTIC, Gateshead; Centre for Contemporary Art, Glasgow; Modern Art Oxford, Liverpool Biennial, Archilab, Orleans; CCC, Tours; France, Armory Centre of the Arts, Los Angeles and the Rotterdam International Architectural Biennial. He has undertaken many residencies that explore issues which shape and influence the use of our public realm and combines the roles of researcher, urban planner, activist, concerned London resident and artist. Through video, performance, mapping and programming, Pinsky responds site-specifically to physical and sociological space, frequently to highly dramatic effect.