Fourth Plinth, situated in Trafalgar Square, was designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1841 to display an equestrian statue, but due to insufficient founds for more than hundred and fifty years it remained empty. Since 1998 Fourth Plinth is the home to the biggest contemporary public art commission in central London. The six new proposals for the plinth are exhibited in the Foyer of the nearby St Martin-in-the-Fields church.
My favourite submission is the Cock by German artist Katharina Fritsch. It is a stainless steel sculpture of a giant rooster painted in vivid ultramarine. The rooster is a symbol of pride, strength, honesty and courage, but also flamboyance and arrogance. ‘The proud master of a chicken yard’, the rooster, as an animal, is a parody itself. Since Cock literally refers to male genitals it is a great irony to place it among all the Trafalgar Square’s sculptural celebration of masculine power, especially next to the most phallic Nelson’s Column. The sculpture is a great satire on British patriarchal society and history. Despite its socio-political connotations the Cock as an object, and because of its strong colour, would bring a surreal accent to the mostly grey architecture of Trafalgar Square.
Powerless Structures, Fig. 101 by Elmgreen & Dragset, another interesting proposal, is a brass sculpture portraying a boy on a rocking horse. Placed among Trafalgar Square generals this piece may have different meanings. On one side it is a portrait of a child elevated to the status of a historical hero. Rather than glorifying the past it celebrates the heroism of growing up, the expectations and future. On the other hand the little boy on the wooden horse breathes life into the cold, dehumanised military statues. It reminds us that all this figures aren’t just some detached, fictional characters on the pages of history books. They were alive, and they too ones were innocent children themselves.
My favourite submission is the Cock by German artist Katharina Fritsch. It is a stainless steel sculpture of a giant rooster painted in vivid ultramarine. The rooster is a symbol of pride, strength, honesty and courage, but also flamboyance and arrogance. ‘The proud master of a chicken yard’, the rooster, as an animal, is a parody itself. Since Cock literally refers to male genitals it is a great irony to place it among all the Trafalgar Square’s sculptural celebration of masculine power, especially next to the most phallic Nelson’s Column. The sculpture is a great satire on British patriarchal society and history. Despite its socio-political connotations the Cock as an object, and because of its strong colour, would bring a surreal accent to the mostly grey architecture of Trafalgar Square.
Powerless Structures, Fig. 101 by Elmgreen & Dragset, another interesting proposal, is a brass sculpture portraying a boy on a rocking horse. Placed among Trafalgar Square generals this piece may have different meanings. On one side it is a portrait of a child elevated to the status of a historical hero. Rather than glorifying the past it celebrates the heroism of growing up, the expectations and future. On the other hand the little boy on the wooden horse breathes life into the cold, dehumanised military statues. It reminds us that all this figures aren’t just some detached, fictional characters on the pages of history books. They were alive, and they too ones were innocent children themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment