Making
your mark
Public Art is having a big impact on the way in which the tourist destinations
of the future are being created. What connects a statue
dedicated to Linford Christie, sixty-six very large banners and
a pump house on the A13 running through the London Borough of Barking
and Dagenham?
All of them are public art objects and all are having an impact
on the way in which we view the places in which they are located.
Public art, which was once associated with memorials to the victors
of long-forgotten battles, is increasingly a feature of regeneration
projects. It is also in many places, at the heart of projects designed
to give a renewed identity to areas undergoing major change. From
the banners that line the streets in South Bank to the Angel of
the North, public art has become an important part of what gives
a destination its particular identity.
One of the most recent and spectacular examples of this trend is
B of the Bang. 'Linford Christie was fond of saying “I'll
be gone by the B of the Bang," about his quick, explosive
starts. The 56 metre tall, 150 ton visual representation of Linford's
words, in the form of the sculpture commemorates the Manchester
Commonwealth Games. The sculpture is the tallest in the UK and
is located outside the athletics stadium, which has now become
home to Manchester City Football Club. This is an area of Manchester
whose regeneration benefited from the Commonweath Games, the new
sculpture will undoubtedly help to keep it on the map.
The A13 trunk road has also been in the news a lot recently. This
too is an area of potentially massive regeneration. Running through
the Thames Gateway district to the east of London, and depending
on the outcome of the decision of the International Olympic Committee,
it may well be at the heart of one of the biggest developing destinations
in Europe.
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B
of the Bang
by
Thomas Heatherwich Studios |
Over
the past few weeks, a range of apparently mysterious objects
have been
revealed along that part of the road which runs through
the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Part of a public art
project called Arterial, they create, according to the project’s
lead artist and architect, Tom de Paor, ‘a journey through
interlinking, imaginative landscape.’
Some of the projects are designed to entertain and intrigue, others
also serve a more functional purpose.
Standing at six metres high, The Pump House is not just a show
case for lighting but also a structure that contains the electronic
control system for drainage pumps that ensure the adjacent underpass
on the A13 is free from water.
 |
Pump
House, designed by Tom De Paor and lighting artist Clare
Brew |
Twin
Roundabout is designed to ‘reflect the 'epic' journeys
of the commuters passing over the viaduct above as the road below
rises out of the ground below to meet them on their journey.’
 |
Twin
Roundabouts designed by Thomas Heatherwick Studios.
|
All of these projects are designed to accelerate the sense of place
being developed in this part of the capital. On one level they
intrigue and entertain, on the other, they also give an identity
to parts of the motorway that were previously bleak and undistinguished.
On
South Bank, public art was used, at a time before the opening
of both the
London Eye and Tate Modern, to help give a sense of
place, particularly to those parts of the area, which were architecturally
undistinguished. The road running parallel to the Thames is essentially
the back entrance to the area, however for the majority of people
attending concerts at the Royal Festival Hall and plays at the
National Theatre, it is the route from Waterloo Station, that is
the main gateway to this area. The South Bank Banners were therefore
installed to give a sense of place to this route; to emphasise
the fact that South Bank was a place for art – inside as
well as outside – and to distract the eye from some of the
less beautiful buildings along this route.
 |
The
South Bank Banners lining the route along the Thames. 33
artists, graphic designers & schools contributed to
the design. |
The banners were designed by thirty-three artists and graphic
designers and selected through open competition. The banners are
backlit and at night create the longest open-air art gallery in
London. They not only bring colour and light to the area and, incidentally,
have helped reduce crime by making the area feel increasingly safe.
A more down to earth project is the rest area for weary cyclists
located to the side of the Oxo Tower.
 |
Weary
cyclists rest area
designed
by Gerry Judah.
|
In all of these places public art has become a way to engage the
public, alert the media to change and help create a renewed sense
of place and with it the sense of pride, which is essential for
regeneration projects to survive.
Some projects like the Angel of the North received an initially
hostile reception, others like B of the Bang appear to have got
off to a really positive start. Either way the role of public art
is set to continue at the heart of both regeneration and tourism
projects.
Paul Lincoln can be contacted by email p.a.lincoln@btinternet.com or
phone 07958 740513.
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