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London Olympics: Orbit towers over debate on purpose of public art London Olympics: Orbit towers over debate on purpose of public art
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The ArcelorMittal Orbit is visible for miles. But for the residents of Wilmer Lea Close, clumped up against the boundaries of the Olympic park, it is a constant companion, the first thing they see when they open their curtains each morning. A tangle of scarlet steel 115 metres tall, it looms down on the modest houses of the Carpenters Estate in Stratford, east London. For Dolores John-Phillip, who lives on the estate, it is "just a lump of nothing. It doesn't signify anything. What does it say about the area, the community? It's just towering over us."The ArcelorMittal Orbit is visible for miles. But for the residents of Wilmer Lea Close, clumped up against the boundaries of the Olympic park, it is a constant companion, the first thing they see when they open their curtains each morning. A tangle of scarlet steel 115 metres tall, it looms down on the modest houses of the Carpenters Estate in Stratford, east London. For Dolores John-Phillip, who lives on the estate, it is "just a lump of nothing. It doesn't signify anything. What does it say about the area, the community? It's just towering over us."
The Orbit, by artist Anish Kapoor and engineer Cecil Balmond, will officially open during the Olympic Games, when a trip to the viewing platform for visitors to the park will cost £15. And, long after the Games are over, it is hoped that the tower will continue to bring in visitors, providing a landmark for east London and a boost for the local economy.The Orbit, by artist Anish Kapoor and engineer Cecil Balmond, will officially open during the Olympic Games, when a trip to the viewing platform for visitors to the park will cost £15. And, long after the Games are over, it is hoped that the tower will continue to bring in visitors, providing a landmark for east London and a boost for the local economy.
But for Carpenters resident Joe Alexander, the Orbit is a "vanity project" orchestrated by the London mayor and its funder. In a story that already has the ring of folklore, Boris Johnson, persuaded the steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal to provide £19.6m of the £22.7m cost during a chance encounter in the lavatories at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "Art is a nice thing. But in this area, there is a lot of room for improvement before you get to art," says Alexander. But for Carpenters resident Joe Alexander, the Orbit is a "vanity project" orchestrated by the London mayor and its funder. In a story that already has the ring of folklore, Boris Johnson, persuaded steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal to provide £19.6m of the £22.7m cost during a chance encounter in the lavatories at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "Art is a nice thing. But in this area, there is a lot of room for improvement before you get to art," says Alexander.
Keith Green, who has lived in the London borough of Newham for 70 years, is more positive. The tower could become a valuable tourist attraction, he argues. "I wrote to the people who made it and said how pleased I was we had it: it's something nobody else has got. Any bonus like that – the Olympics, [the new shopping mall] Westfield – is a blessing. I am not overawed by the design. Maybe it will grow on me." It is, he believes, a powerful landmark comparable with the Monument, he says, referring to Wren's column commemoration of the Great Fire of London. For resident Hiren Patel the Orbit is "perfectly fine", but he has other things on his mind: the fact that his house in Wilmer Lea Close is due for demolition, another legacy of the Games. Keith Green, who has lived in the London borough of Newham for 70 years, is more positive. The tower could become a valuable tourist attraction, he argues. "I wrote to the people who made it and said how pleased I was we had it: it's something nobody else has got. Any bonus like that – the Olympics, [the new shopping mall] Westfield – is a blessing. I am not overawed by the design. Maybe it will grow on me." It is, he believes, a powerful landmark comparable with the Monument, he says, referring to Wren's column commemorating the Great Fire of London. For resident Hiren Patel the Orbit is "perfectly fine", but he has other things on his mind: the fact that his house in Wilmer Lea Close is due for demolition, another legacy of the Games.
Within the art world, similar questions are being raised to those asked by the residents of Wilmer Lea Close. Does the design of the tower have any merit? As a piece of public sculpture: what, precisely, does it contribute to the public realm? Will time soften the response to the Orbit into affection, just as it did with the Eiffel Tower, loathed when it was built? What does its commissioning say about the politics of art in Britain today? And why has Britain become so obsessed with gargantuan sculpture?Within the art world, similar questions are being raised to those asked by the residents of Wilmer Lea Close. Does the design of the tower have any merit? As a piece of public sculpture: what, precisely, does it contribute to the public realm? Will time soften the response to the Orbit into affection, just as it did with the Eiffel Tower, loathed when it was built? What does its commissioning say about the politics of art in Britain today? And why has Britain become so obsessed with gargantuan sculpture?
The Orbit has a powerful supporter in the form of Tate director, Sir Nicholas Serota, who sits on the board of the Olympic Delivery Authority. The tower's creators, he says, have conjured "a beautiful and arresting sculpture" that will "provide points of memory and incident in the landscape". The artist Bob and Roberta Smith, who can see the sculpture from his home, is also a fan: for him, its very disconnectedness from the landscape is part of its appeal. "I love the fact that this is just a huge piece of art that's not contextual, is just a visual exploration of space and fantasy." He is convinced it will become a landmark and a symbol for London. "When you think about red buses, black cabs, Tower Bridge – I think it's much superior, actually, to all those things." As for its vaunting ambition, he says: "If artists can't be hubristic, then who can? You don't want artists to be meek. It would be rubbish if Michelangelo's David were a figurine." The Orbit has a powerful supporter in the form of the Tate director, Sir Nicholas Serota, who sits on the board of the Olympic Delivery Authority. The tower's creators, he says, have conjured "a beautiful and arresting sculpture" that will "provide points of memory and incident in the landscape". Artist Bob and Roberta Smith, who can see the sculpture from his home, is also a fan: for him, its very disconnectedness from the landscape is part of its appeal. "I love the fact that this is just a huge piece of art that's not contextual, is just a visual exploration of space and fantasy." He is convinced it will become a landmark and a symbol for London. "When you think about red buses, black cabs, Tower Bridge – I think it's much superior, actually, to all those things." As for its vaunting ambition, he says: "If artists can't be hubristic, then who can? You don't want artists to be meek. It would be rubbish if Michelangelo's David were a figurine."
Not everyone is convinced by this argument: should not public sculpture be more communitarian, and less vainglorious? Artist Jeremy Deller – whose own joky sculpture for the Cultural Olympiad, Sacrilege, is a bouncy-castle version of Stonehenge – calls the escalating size of public sculpture in Britain an "arms race". First Antony Gormley's 20-metre tall Angel of the North was erected in 1998 in Gateshead. Then, in 2009, the design for Kent's "angel of the south" – a 50-metre sculpture of a horse by Mark Wallinger – was unveiled. In 2010 came Temenos, Kapoor and Balmond's series of five sculptures on Teesside, claimed as the "biggest public sculpture in the world". Later this month, the designs for Richard Wilson's Slipstream will be revealed. Described as "the longest sculpture in Europe", it is destined for Heathrow's new Terminal Two in 2014. But the Orbit towers over them all: "the tallest sculpture in the world", say its creators. Artist Richard Wentworth, head of sculpture at the Royal College of Art, detects a "comical and awful rivalry" between Gormley and Kapoor as each outsculpts the other. Gormley was, along with Kapoor, shortlisted for the ArcelorMittal project. Not everyone is convinced by this argument: should not public sculpture be more communitarian, and less vainglorious? Artist Jeremy Deller – whose own joky sculpture for the Cultural Olympiad, Sacrilege, is a bouncy-castle version of Stonehenge – calls the escalating size of public sculpture in Britain an "arms race". First came Antony Gormley's 20-metre tall Angel of the North in Gateshead in 1998. Then, in 2009, the design for Kent's "angel of the south" – a 50-metre sculpture of a horse by Mark Wallinger – was unveiled. In 2010 came Temenos, Kapoor and Balmond's series of five sculptures on Teesside, claimed as the "biggest public sculpture in the world". Later this month, the designs for Richard Wilson's Slipstream will be revealed. Described as "the longest sculpture in Europe", it is destined for Heathrow's new Terminal 2 in 2014. But the Orbit towers over them all: "the tallest sculpture in the world", say its creators. Artist Richard Wentworth, head of sculpture at the Royal College of Art, detects a "comical and awful rivalry" between Gormley and Kapoor as each outsculpts the other. Gormley was, along with Kapoor, shortlisted for the ArcelorMittal project.
"It is," says Deller, "all about people wanting to brand places and regions." Everyone has wanted to repeat the success of the Angel of the North, which has become a symbol of the region and a beloved landmark. But for the "wow" factor to succeed time and again, the only way is up. By coincidence, or not, the designers of these vast works are all men. Polly Staple, director of the Chisenhale Gallery in nearby Mile End, remarks drily: "I work with a lot of women artists who aren't interested in working vertically.""It is," says Deller, "all about people wanting to brand places and regions." Everyone has wanted to repeat the success of the Angel of the North, which has become a symbol of the region and a beloved landmark. But for the "wow" factor to succeed time and again, the only way is up. By coincidence, or not, the designers of these vast works are all men. Polly Staple, director of the Chisenhale Gallery in nearby Mile End, remarks drily: "I work with a lot of women artists who aren't interested in working vertically."
Like Stratford's Joe Alexander, many question the manner of the tower's commission and the haste with which it has been realised. Douglas Murphy, an architecture critic who has written about the Orbit for the art magazine Frieze, says the design "has a back-of-a-napkin feel to it. I think it's easy to see it was a really quick idea". For Staple, "it's not even a good Anish Kapoor. At his best his works can be magical. But this is utterly lacking magic. It's a barely disguised theme-park ride." For Murphy, the commission stands as a metonym for the political atmosphere of the day: the billionaire and the politician doing deals behind closed doors. "It is capricious and whimsical and not very pleasant… it's quite shocking the way that something so old-fashioned and imperial should be built – a monument to the two people who put it there." Like Stratford's Joe Alexander, many question the manner of the tower's commission and the haste with which it has been realised. Douglas Murphy, an architecture critic who has written about the Orbit for art magazine Frieze, says the design "has a back-of-a-napkin feel to it. I think it's easy to see it was a really quick idea". For Staple, "it's not even a good Anish Kapoor. At his best his works can be magical. But this is utterly lacking magic. It's a barely disguised theme-park ride." For Murphy, the commission stands as a metonym for the political atmosphere of the day: the billionaire and the politician doing deals behind closed doors. "It is capricious and whimsical and not very pleasant… it's quite shocking the way that something so old-fashioned and imperial should be built – a monument to the two people who put it there."
What, then, should public sculpture actually do? Different answers, are, in fact, being adumbrated in east London this summer. Sarah McCrory, the director of Frieze East, is running a series of public-art projects for the Cultural Olympiad. "For every large spectacular project like the ArcelorMittal Orbit there are 50 small projects engaged deeply in their communities," she says. One of her projects is by Turkish artist Can Altay, who will install door handles in public buildings around Walthamstow – a nod to local boy William Morris, looking at the value of public art and exploring Morris's ideas about the functionality of objects. "It's never going to get the headlines of the Orbit," she says. Staple talks of a year-long Chisenhale Gallery project with Argentinian artist Amalia Pica. Called I am Tower of Hamlets, as I am in Tower of Hamlets, just like a lot of people are, it is a granite sculpture that the public are invited to display in their homes for a week, before meeting, and passing it on to, the next hosts. Small, intimate, unspectacular, but bedded in ideas of exchange and community, it is perhaps the opposite of the ArcelorMittal Orbit's scarlet heights. What, then, should public sculpture actually do? Different answers, are, in fact, being adumbrated in east London this summer. Sarah McCrory, the director of Frieze East, is running a series of public art projects for the Cultural Olympiad. "For every large spectacular project like the ArcelorMittal Orbit there are 50 small projects engaged deeply in their communities," she says. One of her projects is by Turkish artist Can Altay, who will install door handles in public buildings around Walthamstow – a nod to local boy William Morris, looking at the value of public art and exploring Morris's ideas about the functionality of objects. "It's never going to get the headlines of the Orbit," she says. Staple talks of a year-long Chisenhale Gallery project with Argentinian artist Amalia Pica. Called I am Tower of Hamlets, as I am in Tower of Hamlets, Just Like a Lot of People are, it is a granite sculpture that the public are invited to display in their homes for a week, before meeting, and passing it on to, the next hosts. Small, intimate, unspectacular, but bedded in ideas of exchange and community, it is perhaps the opposite of the ArcelorMittal Orbit's scarlet heights.
Back at the Carpenters Estate, John Phillip glances up at the cats-cradle of steel at her back, and sees a metaphor in its lofty presence. "It's looking down on the little people," she says. "And we're nothing." Back at the Carpenters Estate, John-Phillip glances up at the cats-cradle of steel at her back, and sees a metaphor in its lofty presence. "It's looking down on the little people," she says. "And we're nothing."