Recently I have started
working a new piece, as a gift for a friend who runs an opticians in the Midlands....
It will be in time, a
glasses stand, lost wax cast in stainless steel with a fabricated
stainless steel stand. When complete, I hope it will exude an air of
grace and elegant simplicity - it's loosely styled around a modern take on the art
deco ethos (clearly the mock up doesn't portray the intended elegance
at this stage!) with razor sharp edges and super smooth flat angular surfaces.
What has struck me during these early stages, despite
the size and relative simple design, is the number of processes that
as a sculptor, I have no control over but have total reliance upon.
Thus far, I've had to employ the services of a foundry master,
pattern maker and an engineer, all for a piece less than 6” tall.
In days gone by of course,
more traditional sculptors would have the facilities (and skills) to
complete works entirely in house, perhaps with apprentices in schools
– all well and good for bronzes and works in marble or stone. I
guess this is still true of some sculptors, the lucky ones will still
be surrounded by the elements needed to create works from inception
to completion.
However, the majority of more modern works
require an entirely different set of skills, so the sculptor is more
likely to rely on external service providers.
The Angel of
the North (AntonyGormley) suffers
sometimes from clichés and over analysis, it’s certainly a
favourite of mine, for its scale if nothing else.
Ignore for the
moment the piece itself, whatever your opinion of it may be. What
struck me more than anything else when I went was the
engineering….the weather was such that just standing up was a
significant challenge and yet the piece, with it’s enormous wings
(50 tons each!) was entirely un-ruffled by the British climate.
Surely, although the
artist clearly deserves credit, the forgotten heroes in the piece
have to be the manufacturers, Hartlepool Steel Fabrications
Ltd - it’s the talent from this workshop that ensures the sculptors
vision is still there for all of us to form an opinion on.
