Sculpture Prize Winner is Eco-friendly
by Bonnie Alter, London on 06.24.08
The fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square is an empty pedestal that has been empty since 1841. For the past 8 years there has been a changing exhibition of different sculptures on it, created by contemporary artists, each on display for almost a year. The latest competition featured an eco-option: an illuminated peace sign: 'Faites L'Art, pas La Guerre (Make Art, Not War)' powered by sun and wind. But the winner is Anthony Gormley's "The One and the Other". Over 100 days, members of the public will stand on the plinth 24 hours a day. Each person will take a one-hour shift. It's been called a cross between reality t.v. and speaker's corner.
You couldn't get more ecological or environmental than this. No materials will be used, nothing to recycle, no paper wasted, no paints or pollutants, no freight, no air miles. The only danger to the environment is for the volunteer, breathing the air from the traffic for an hour. As the winner, Mr Gormley, commented: "Through elevation onto the plinth and removal from common ground, the body becomes a metaphor, a symbol and allows us to reflect on the diversity, vulnerability and particularity of the individual in contemporary society." Anthony Gormley is famous for his sculptures using his own body as a model, the most famous being the Angel of the North in Gateshead. :: BBC News
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Great story. However, you could argue that Gormley's idea is the antithesis of green -- people will be travelling from all across the UK to stand on the plinth, generating carbon emissions in the process.
A one-off sculpture, on the other hand, would generate some carbon from its manufacture but would only need to be transported once.
no materials?
whats the safety net and struts to support it?
I'm actually really upset that this is on here. Being an art student, I've seen the stupid things people do and call it "art." The fact that this guy won anything at all makes me even more bothered. It's not any more environmentally friendly than the same person walking down the street, so what's the point of making a Treehugger article out of it?
This is not art and I want everyone to understand this. It's a bunch of people standing a pedastal. Even calling this one a so-called "preformace piece" wouldn't even work out as well, but it is DEFINITELY NOT a sculpture. Art is about making soming, something important--whether it be to make a statement or if it's just important to the person who made it. It made from something other than oneself. Art is material.
Environmentally friendly art would be art made out of scraps that would have been throw out anyway, or making a statment with a non-toxic paint such as watercolour.
It's not art, and that's that. It's BS, and it can't be environmentally friendly art if the art isn't there. Then it's just bogus.
to seanan:
Perhaps next you could define love or maybe you would like to tackle what it means to be in a supreme state of happiness. People for thousands of years have been trying to ultimately define these things (including art) and there is still no consenses. So when you say that you know for sure what is art and what is not, well, you can guess what you sound like.
Just because there is no consensus on what is art doesn't mean that there isn't a plurality that helps to shape the state of perception.
I agree with Seanan, this is not art and should not have won a contest. This is what you do when you can't find a winner and decide a course of action by committee.
A nice example of eco-art (if there really needs to be such a thing)? A metal column installed in front of the entrance to the Burton Barr library in Phoenix, Arizona. It is actually a mold for the concrete used to build the columns that support the library it stands in front of. Looks nice and is kept ready just in case it's needed again. IMOO-YOMV