Making sculptures to go on the Coppice

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Sonnart

I will never like Emins 'Unmade Bed', or Hirsts bloody ' The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living' (shark in a tank, with a silly title)

I understand them but I seriously do not see the point. The turner prize entries interests me, but I rarely like the works themselves. I don't mind trying to understand them, but they do confuse me and make me think why am I even trying to be an artist when this kind of stuff is being made.......

When I was at college me and my friends used to joke about putting a dirty poo filled nappy on a plinth and see what the judges think of it because they'd probably have loved how 'challenging' something like that is.........

Give me a Monet, Rembrant or even Jenny Saville anyday I LOVE traditional paintings. I haven't done much since I started uni been a bit brain-washed really. But I can always go back to it

Sonnart

There could be some people who just don't think stick anything on the coppice is a good idea in the name of art too

[katex]

Originally Posted by jaysay

There could be some people who just don't think stick anything on the coppice is a good idea in the name of art too

I don't think, for a minute, Sonnart will get any sort of PP to do this, however, keep us in touch... will look out for your application.

[Sonnart]

Hi all

Just an update

Been very busy over Christmas, might have a change of plan of my work, it's leaning towards video, but I would still like to make some sculptures, maybe teeny ones that can but placed about without notice, although there is still a lot for me to think about.

I was thinking literally about 4" in size, made from materials from the Coppice again. Dot them about, see if they go missing/rot etc.

Comments still welcome

Sonnart

[Acrylic-bob]

Sonnart,

Firstly,
I must admit that your spat with Less did make me laugh and, may I say, I think you got off very lightly indeed. I can easily appreciate the enthusiasm of youth, I used to be young myself. I can also appreciate the sense of frustration that comes when an idea is not appreciated or even dismissed without the courtesy of consideration. It seems harsh and unfair, and it is. That is what life is about. Anyone who promised you that it might be anything different was lying to you.

Your reaction to Less's critique of your work was uncalled for, strident, ungracious and petulant. The practise of Art as a profession will require far greater sacrifice from you than has hitherto been required and during the course of your life you will have to accept much sterner criticism. You are young and I think that Less realises this, and it is for this reason that you got off so lightly (a PM with a note of apology might not go amiss.).

That having been said, Now to the 'art'. Let me begin by declaring that what I know of your work is what I have seen posted in this thread. On that basis, it seems to me that you have still a long, long way to go. And it also seems, from what you have written, that you are anything but certain of the path you may choose to take once your degree studies are completed. For this reason, if for no other, I would advise that you confine your current cutout project to to your sketchbook. Leave it to mature for a few years and maybe you can revisit it when you have a little more of life under your belt; after all, if an idea contains anything that is worthwhile or valuable a little maturity can only improve it.

I wonder why it is that so many people want to use the Coppice as the location for their "art"?

As has been commented upon, the people of Accrington have seen several attempts to place sculpture on the coppice and I must say that I cannot see the point of dotting it with tired and hackneyed bits and pieces, however well intentioned or eco-friendly.

The thing that I think most people from outside Accrington fail to grasp is that the Coppice holds a special place within the hearts and minds of the people of Accrington. It is witness not only to their lives but to their history as a community. I recall that during the time I spent away from Accrington as a student one of the first sights to greet me and give me the understanding that I was 'home' was the sight of the Coppice looming high above the town. I am sure that feeling is familiar to many of the people of Accrington of this and preceding generations. To change it, to mark it, to scar it is, for many, tantamount to sacrilege.

Accrington cannot boast of much in the way of public art; our Victorian forebears had much more pressing matters to concern themselves with and our current council would not recognise art if it jumped up and bought them an icecream. So, for many, the Coppice assumes, among its many other roles, the role of Artwork. It is as much the work of nature as it is of human hand. It changes its appearance as the season progress. It is a monument to our foolishness and our brilliance and it is also a memorial of our dead. It is our lookout and also our guardian. It speaks to us of the long days of summers past, of childhood play and evenings of courtship, of hard graft and bitter winters. It speaks also of the obdurate stubborness of the people of Accrington. Their fortitude in the face of unbearable loss and their hopes for the future. They don't really need Sculpture or earthworks to explain that to them, if indeed it were ever possible.
Don't be disheartened that people don't want to see it used for anything other than what it is. It is not really you or your ideas they are rejecting so much as protecting what is to us, the people of Accrington, a place, a sight, an experience of incalculable value and significance.

[Sonnart]

Acrylic-bob, thanks for the post. I really understand and agree with what you say

I know that I should let this idea mature a bit, and give it some space to breath. Unfortunately my tutors think otherwise and want something out of my work now. I am literally being forced to continue with this idea, even though it is an idea not to be rushed.

Art is being so rushed now I prefer it taking time.

So I have decided to make the planning and organisation of the project the work itself (kind of like Christo and Jeanne-Claude's work) rather than the end product (the sculpture) because there is no way that it will be allowed to be made and finished in the next few months, or get the funds, or workforce, or anything really. It's far too soon.

Also, even though I've always wanted the sculpture to be temporary, I was wondering what you all thought of Antony Gormleys Angel of the North? (because this is permanent). And it got a lot of stick and aggro when the idea about it came out, so was just wondering what your thoughts on this are?

Sonnart

[MargaretR]

Look at these for good ideas - they are beautiful
Banksy-like artist leaves intricate carvings in market town's trees | Mail Online

[maxthecollie]

The Coppice is an unspoilt hill. Leave it alone. The Shelter was taken down because it was vandalised. What will happen to sculptures etc. There is no one up there to police it. I know I am up every day with my dog.

[susie123]

Originally Posted by MargaretR

Look at these for good ideas - they are beautiful
Banksy-like artist leaves intricate carvings in market town's trees | Mail Online

Chainsaw sculpture at its best - we have something similar in the old cemetery behind our house, depicting a Morecambe fisherman and a shrimp picker.

But they are very noisy to create - amazed no one heard anything in Knaresborough!

The view from my bedroom window:

[MargaretR]

That statue seen in a graveyard on a dark night will scare the folks who aren't aware it is there.

[Less]

Originally Posted by maxthecollie

The Coppice is an unspoilt hill. Leave it alone. The Shelter was taken down because it was vandalised. What will happen to sculptures etc. There is no one up there to police it. I know I am up every day with my dog.

In part I agree with you, the Coppice is, or at least should be an unspoilt hill.
Unfortunately it has been spoilt in the past, fir trees growing where no fir trees grew before?

It's strange how, like an old Victorian rake, some folk cannot resist the temptation to remove it's virginity and replace it with their own diseased deposits?

[susie123]

Originally Posted by MargaretR

That statue seen in a graveyard on a dark night will scare the folks who aren't aware it is there.

Good - they are usually drunks and people up to no good.

[Less]

Originally Posted by susie123

Morecambe fisherman and a shrimp picker.

No monument to the Chinese cockle pickers?

[susie123]

Originally Posted by Less

No monument to the Chinese cockle pickers?

Wouldn't it be under water?

Actually yes there is one - a little garden on the prom opposite a Chinese restaurant.

[Less]

Originally Posted by susie123

Wouldn't it be under water?

Actually yes there is one - a little garden on the prom opposite a Chinese restaurant.

And how does this garden grow?

With cockle shells and...


What? Too soon? Never mind, the memory will fade with the shifting of the sands!

[davemac]

Originally Posted by Less

In part I agree with you, the Coppice is, or at least should be an unspoilt hill.
Unfortunately it has been spoilt in the past, fir trees growing where no fir trees grew before?

It's strange how, like an old Victorian rake, some folk cannot resist the temptation to remove it's virginity and replace it with their own diseased deposits?

Not sure I agree that the addition of trees spoils the coppice. It was done initially to stabilize the coppice as the top soil was sliding off the shale base on the face. It both stabilized the coppice and prevented further erosion
The majority of trees planted were larch,and silver birch.

It was said that before man deforested the country a squirrel could climb a tree at lands end and not have to climb to the ground until he reached john o'groats, should we not support replanting of trees where possible. So it depends how far back in time you are prepared to go as to what is called the "norm"

Incidentally the term coppice applies to a managed group of trees grown to support industry, don't know if it applies here but food for thought.