Anthony Caro sculpture Aurora by the Millenium galleries. (Pile of red scrap?)

LordChaverly · 03-03-2005, 21:28

What is it? It reminds me of an old and defunct boiler. Perhaps instead of melting it down, someone had the bright idea of painting it red and calling it art. If it is supposed to be some kind of statue, it fails miserably in my opinion. It looks like a piece of cast iron junk, tarted up with cheap paint. There are enough old boilers in Sheffield city centre as it is!

npatchett · 03-03-2005, 21:44

Its some sort of great artistic piece and we should be proud to have it in our city apparently. Will really turn the shoppers heads... one question: Where are the shops down there?

I walked past it today and thought "Hmm someones left a boiler in the middle of the street.. how odd"

LL200 · 03-03-2005, 21:53

couldn't agree more. i saw them installing it - at the time i thought it had something to do with the building works going on round there and thought nothing of it until i saw it on the news.

Strix · 03-03-2005, 21:55

Is there a pic somewhere on the net?

LL200 · 03-03-2005, 22:02

http://www.sheffieldgalleries.org.uk...lay.asp?ID=417

this picture of it is inside. now its plonked on the pavement right outside the door.

LL200 · 03-03-2005, 22:03

oh crap. its gonna be there for 2 YEARS!

Strix · 03-03-2005, 22:11

Thanks!

It's dull. I was expecting something interesting when you guys described it as a boiler

But I'm an engineer

Hels · 03-03-2005, 22:18

I was waiting for this to come up on the forum.

So the 'lucky people of Sheffield' can admire it for 2 years! OMG!

D2J · 03-03-2005, 22:19

2 years

Its Orrible.. take it away I tell you!

AndrewC · 03-03-2005, 22:56

stupid, how much did that 'cost'

rubydazzler · 03-03-2005, 23:02

I'm not too surprised at the reaction here ... I suppose that Sheffield's still on the cusp of being a post industrial city and these sorts of forms are too familar to us as being from a work enviroment.

There was a similar reaction to the sculpture proposed for the top of Fargate a few years ago ... described by some as coming straight from a back catalogue of Steel Peach & Tozer's drills ....

However, the fact of the matter is that Sheffield has received a tremendous accolade in being loaned this sculpture. In the big wide world outside the city, the Galleries and Museums Trust is very highly regarded and they work really really hard to bring the best exhibitions to us.

We may not like this item and we may prefer the Teemer and Ladler and the Walking Man, but it's a matter for congratulating ourselves that we've been offered this opportunity to have this sculpture in the city for two years.

D2J · 03-03-2005, 23:04

Quote:

Originally posted by AndrewC
stupid, how much did that 'cost'

Don't worry, you won't even notice the rise in Council tax and the likes

What a waste of space

rubydazzler · 03-03-2005, 23:07

(sighs) it's not going to cost the council tax payers anything ... the Gallery is a Trust ... and the sculpture's been loaned to us ....

Tony · 04-03-2005, 00:41

Oh puurleese!

Take a moment to have a look and a think and not just have a kneeJERK reaction.

I've not had time to have a good look yet, but I sorely miss any semblance of modern figurative or representative sculpture in Sheffield.

I'm utterly fed up of knives forks and spoons nailed to a gate passing as public art.

WallBuilder · 04-03-2005, 00:46

I saw this on the news and thought Hhmmm. Not my cup of tea but then I suppose it is art to some people and a monstrosity to others.However at least it's a piece of art I can go up and touch and fondle and is not hidden behind glass , you never know it might grow on me after all the sculpture at the bottom of the Moor has managed to do that though it took much longer than two years. You watch I'll just be starting to appreciate it and then it'll be taken away to be replaced with a larger than life statue of Tony Blair, [Hark can I hear the sound of screaming?]

Bandylegs · 04-03-2005, 08:30

Call me weird, but I quite like it! It's bright and it's certainly different,
though I have to admit that I'm not convinced it's in the right location.
It looks a bit cramped. (If you've seen Sir Anthony Caro's installations in the Sculpture Park then you'll know what I mean!)

But then I've been told on more than one occasion that I'm just a Philistine/troglodyte so what do I know?

feargal · 04-03-2005, 08:34

Quote:

Originally posted by rubydazzler
We may not like this item and we may prefer the Teemer and Ladler and the Walking Man, but it's a matter for congratulating ourselves that we've been offered this opportunity to have this sculpture in the city for two years.

What happened to Walking Man? Is he still about somewhere?

LoopyLou · 04-03-2005, 08:46

"The work has never been on display in Britain before"

Yeah, probably because no one else is daft enough to accept "His generous loan"!!!

"Anthony Caro was born in 1924 in New Malden, Surrey and is perhaps the most influential living British sculptor"

Oh dear, doesn;t say much for the rest of them.............

"he worked as assistant to Henry Moore"

Now theres a sculptor I do appreciate, his pieces on display at the yorkshire sculpture park are excellent. I am not an art freak and not that knowledgable on these things, I'm sure those of you that are will shoot me down in flames, but moore's work is flowing, clean and looks different from each side, is suggestive form rather than definitive, leaving more up to the imagination of the viewer.

The old boiler plonked in the middle in sheffield just does not do it for me, but each to their own i suppose...........

Tim42 · 04-03-2005, 08:49

Walking man took a hike, thankfully. Used to look amusing though when saw him with fag dangling from mouth. Must have got bored & p****d off standing there all day & night in the cold, generaly been taken the p**s out of & generaly being disliked. Poor sod.

nick2 · 04-03-2005, 08:57

I quite like it, but then I like most modern art.

I like "old fashioned" art too BTW.