New Conrad Shawcross sculptures arrive

[maxxi]

Prior to being unveiled officially on 18th April they are squatting inside plastic fencing near Court Lane entrance but on separate sites and more visible than in this photo. I didn't think I'd like them - but I do.

http://conradshawcross.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/CS-Three-Perpetual-Chords-in-progress-2015-e1427370925794.jpg

[maxxi]

more pics

[Sue]

I like them!

Thanks for posting the photos!

[phobic3000]

I like them but they look a bit like Ebola!

[uncleglen]

They are about as useful as ebola....and I daresay, just as costly.

[Trevor Moore]

The formal 'launch' of the Shawcross work is on 18 April at 2pm - everyone is invited, see attached.

[alice]

they were bought with the insurance cash from prev. theft.

[hpsaucey]

Conrad Shawcross usually does very thoughtful and thought-provoking work so personally really looking forward to seeing these.

More about them and a video:

"A new series of sculptures by Conrad Shawcross will be unveiled in Dulwich Park in London on 18 April 2015.

The sculptures, entitled Three Perpetual Chords, have been commissioned by Southwark Council in partnership with the Contemporary Art Society, as a public art legacy to the Two Forms Divided Circle Barbara Hepworth sculpture stolen from the park in 2011.

Three Perpetual Chords draws from the artist?s ongoing study of harmonics and represent The Octave, The Fifth and The Fourth within the Western harmonic scale. They will form a trail in the northern end of the park, with each just visible from the last, and will rest lightly on the grass, emphasising the juxtaposition between an industrial material and its arcadian environment.

The knot-like sculptures are cast in spheroidal cast iron ? a ductile material used within urban settings ? which in time react to their environment, forming colours of deep red, blue/blacks and browns, and areas of polished silver where they are frequently touched or sat on.

Conrad Shawcross said: "It has been a great pleasure to make a new, permanent commission for Dulwich Park. Three Perpetual Chords are a counterpoint to a traditional civic sculpture in that the loops invite approach, play and physical interaction. These knot-like forms host a void within them and this is a subtle reference to Hepworth?s work, in which the hole is ubiquitous. I hope they become meeting points, romantic destinations, and encourage playfulness while remaining beguiling and provoking figures on the horizon."

The musician and composer Mira Calix will be composing a musical response to each of the sculptures which will be performed live at the launch by London Contemporary Orchestra."

For more information and a short video about the making of the work, please click here: http://www.contemporaryartsociety.org/news/video-conrad-shawcross-reveals-the-making-process-of-his-three-perpetual-chords/

[ruffers]

I went to have a look at these yesterday and think they're great.

The statement above about them inviting "approach, play and physical interaction" is promising as well, they look great for kids to sit and climb on. I just hope the first time one falls off and bangs their head (as is certain to happen) the sculptures don't get fenced off which would spoil the whole thing.

[Applespider]

The description says they will only just be visible from one to thd next so assume this isn't their final positioning.

I do hope I can still see them from the carriageway as I cycle through

[ruffers]

They are bolted to sunken concrete foundations so I'm pretty sure these are there final resting places. (Assuming these ones aren't nicked as well)

[Sue]

uncleglen Wrote:

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> They are about as useful as ebola....and I

> daresay, just as costly.

Art isn't supposed to be "useful" :))

[jimbo1964]

I thought they might be something to do with the flood prevention works (philistine red face).

[chuff]

I really don't like them, I want to but I don't. Part of it is the positioning I think. If they were in the more wooded sections of the park, in amongst the trees and showing the scale then I'd probably like them more. As it is, they look a bit like rusting disused playground equipment stranded in the middle of the fields.

[Earl Aelfheah]

It'll be nice when they develop shiny silver spots (where people touch and interact with them). Bear in mind that they are designed to change and in texture and appearance over time.

[Help-Ma-Boab]

Look like giant worm casts.

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

I don't like them.

[Pocket]

So? from that brilliant list of proposed artworks, this is the winner? Was this the one voted for the majority, or was the decision based on other factors (such as cost)? Personally really disappointed - there were other more exciting and engaging options presented, and it seems the safest (and most bland) concept was picked. All in all rather dull...

[Burbage]

Pocket Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> So? from that brilliant list of proposed artworks,

> this is the winner? Was this the one voted for the

> majority, or was the decision based on other

> factors (such as cost)? Personally really

> disappointed - there were other more exciting and

> engaging options presented, and it seems the

> safest (and most bland) concept was picked. All in

> all rather dull...

Yes, they won. And rightly so, to my mind. They have a certain mystical presence, albeit a turd-brown mystical presence, and they're approachable. The other entries - a sort of tin spider, a concrete stump and, to be uncharitable, a hole in the ground - had their merits, but weren't noticeably more interesting.

The hole (or amphitheatre) was quite popular, especially among those from the bottom end of the park, mainly, I think, because it was well away from the bottom end of the park. It was a nice idea but fundamentally just a hole. The selling point was the threat of theatrical and artistic activities that would go with it and that, I think, is what did for it.

[DulwichFox]

Well the Orange netting does not add anything aesthetically ...

Presumably it will be removed allowing access. Normally a piece of this type invites

people to touch. This may also encourage small children to climb. That's what kids do..

Considering the rules and regulations surrounding purpose built Adventure Playgrounds

I'm wondering if the same considerations should apply.

Any usual Health & Safety issues have surely been ignored.

DulwichFox

I am genuinely concerned that a open park is not the best place to display these pieces.

[edcam]

Each to their own but I think they're awful.

[Bellerophon]

Reminds me a bit of this stuff....

[uncleglen]

I meant useful in an artistic sense....

[ruffers]

I like 'em.

I hope they age as intended with shiny bits and rusty bits.

I hope people sit on them and kids climb on them.

I hope kids have the opportunity to fall off them!

I hope they become an established and loved feature of the park.

[Seabag]

I'm going to have a look, i'm glad to see something considered for the park

I'm not sure 'art' is meant to be as black and white as like/dislike tho

As for the Barbara Hepworth piece; I miss it very much. However, I admit I was a little non-plussed by it originally. Then I saw it again and again, touched, helped my children down off it, and slowly it grew on me. I've got a beautifuful picture of my eldest sitting within it, and that alone pulls at my heart strongly (his loss of youth, her stolen piece, my sulky teenager/young adult/whatever)

So these sculptures will no doubt be engaged with in similar ways, become part of a generation's landscape, taken to heart, touched, explored, photographed, fallen off even

I'm good with all that, i'm sure the 'committee' and the sculptor would anticipate that as positive for a public work of art

And really if you don't 'like' then fine, you have a view, it's indifference to stuff like this that kills me slightly