Passed through Trafalgar Square last Sunday with Catriona and paid my respects to Antony Gormley's fourth plinth project, One & Other.
I was so excited about this before, and even volunteered to take part, but now I am slightly less enthused. I don't know if I'll take up the chance if I am selected.
'Real' people just don't make good artworks. What we see is a human being inhabiting an 'ideal' space - the scale is wrong, the plinth fails to elevate the subject; its just a prosaic image of a human in an elevated position.
Michelangelo's David has anatomical distortions specifically designed to read well from ground level - David was originally intended to be viewed from far below. It's this kind of artistic necessity which Gormley's work completely fails to accomplish.
Charlie Brooker in the Guardian said "Gormley's public art project is essentially Big Brother: The Tate Modern Edition". I totally agree.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
One & Other
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