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January
People Wanted for Plinth 21st January 2008
Put yourself on a pedestal
If the latest proposal by Antony ‘spot the’ Gormley goes ahead, Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth will become a living sculpture, with 8,760 people standing on top of the column over the course of a year. This is just a proposal at the moment so his work currently looks like a mini plinth surrounded by a safety net – as if some unseen trapeze artist is swinging dangerously overhead – but the idea is an entertaining one, not least because it must be giving the health and safety sticklers the jitters.

Identifying one of Gormley’s statues on the London skyline became a favourite pastime for Londoners last year. Wandering over Blackfriars Bridge or sauntering along the South Bank gained an added purpose not to mention artistic merit with Gormley’s larger than lifesize statues to seek out. Raising our collective gaze from our shoes skyward helped too to lift the spirits.

Gormley’s plinth proposal is an altogether more democratic piece of public art. Instead of bronze casts of Gormley’s own body taking the limelight, Joe Public will get to act as the art. The idea is that each person – chosen by lottery – will be allocated their own hour up there, alongside the lions and famous bronze military men. They’ll, literally, be put on a pedestal in one of London’s most prominent squares – and can claim to have stood where David Beckham once did (well, where his effigy did, but still...). The offers are sure to come flooding in.

The successful volunteers will be allowed to do whatever they want – which is the point at which I hear health and safety taking a sharp intake of breath. Who knows what kind of 'X Factor' rejects will make their way up there, keen to vent their frustration at Simon Cowell’s cruel rejection and inability to see their talent? It could be opening the floodgates for every slightly delusional and certifiably unhinged wannabe to give their doesn’t-bear-repeating audition another go.

Whereas previously only conquering generals and governors were honoured with a place on a plinth in Trafalgar Square, now anyone could be elevated to that status – if only for an hour. It’s the logical conclusion of the democratisation of our public spaces, an inclusive measure and one that we’re seeing more of. Just around the corner, Leicester Square, home of London’s movie premieres, is set for a £18.5 million makeover and, in a case of reality imitating reality TV, how that money spent is up to us. Yes, folks, the decision is yours – let’s just hope it’s not one of those dodgy phone lines where your vote doesn’t actually get counted but you will, don’t you fear, get charged for it anyway.

Leaving aside its cinemas and some truly awful chain food outlets, the square is to become a centre of culture, music and performance. Really? Can we dare to hope that the tacky pizza places, burger joints and bars I wouldn’t be seen dead in will be ripped down in favour of creating an altogether more sophisticated ambiance? Get voting now and we can make it happen.

Hang on a minute, on closer inspection, we can have our say but only on the green bit in the middle (it’s too much of a stretch to describe it as parkland) – oh, and the half price ticket booth. The artist’s impression of how it might look has fountains and some grass… so pretty much what’s there now. Then there’s talk of a white granite ‘ribbon’ seat. All this for a mere £18.5 million. A bargain.
A Little Premature, Some Might Say
Well, this is one that’s sure to provoke a reaction. A new play titled ‘The Death of Margaret Thatcher’ is coming to the Courtyard Theatre in February to examine the potential impact of this event. Lord Tebbit has been quoted as saying ‘Margaret Thatcher is not dead’ and then mutters something about her being reinstated at Number 10, whereas playwright Tom Green simply thinks that it will be interesting when she does die, which is presumably why he wrote the play!
The Face of Theatre
We love a crumbly old building – it speaks of our heritage and we can still see the beauty in any church/theatre/palace/old ruin so we get a little uppity when we’re told they need a bit of work. But, apparently, it’s not just a bit of work – West End theatres need a whopping £250m of repairs to drag them into the 21st century. Still, theatregoers don’t seem to mind with show attendances reaching record numbers last year.
You’d Expect a Mansion for That Price
A ‘flat-pack’ home being installed at the Tate Modern certainly won’t solve the affordable housing shortage. Designed by architect Jean Prouve in the 1950s to solve the housing problem in France’s African colonies, it was too pricey to provide homes to a mass market – and that was before it acquired its £2.5m price tag at auction in New York. It was discovered, complete with bullet holes, in Brazzaville, Congo and it has now been elevated to ‘Art’ status on the South Bank with an entourage of highly-skilled workmen, or maybe artists, to put it back together.
October 2009
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