2011 Streak Day 192/365: Public art

2011 Streak Day 192/365 (Monday 11 July): Walk - 3 miles, Time - 1hr, Weather - hot and sunny

Today was a Winchester day and the walk was around the city centre. In the grounds of the cathedral I saw this sculpture. 

At a distance I thought it was a De Stijl sculpture and as I did not know any De Stijl sculptures (except of course Rietveld's chair, which is much more a sculpture than a chair) I was intrigued.

It is in fact a representation of the Crucifixion by Barbara Hepworth in the style of Mondrian, made in 1966 and is rather fine. If it has a front and a back the other side is the front but I took the photo from here because it shows the way some public sculptures can enhance their space. I like the way the two families with their push chairs are moving into frame.

What a pleasure to come across a piece of public sculpture that can be enjoyed. Most of it is dull enough to pass unnoticed, which is surely the reverse of its purpose.

Looking at this piece reminded me that the Barbara Hepworth studio in St Ives is one of my favourite galleries because it is suffused with the personality and taste of the artist. It has that in common with Kettles Yard in Cambridge, which was once the private house of a collector

It is not at all odd that I think of favourite places walking round Winchester. It is a city of which I am becoming increasingly fond.

2011 Streak: Day 144/365: Gabriel Orozco

2011 Streak: Day 144/365: Walk 4.5 miles, Time 1hr 25min, Weather - sunny but the wind was cool

This picture is another in the series of 'objects found in water',  probably the most common  object - a shopping trolley.

What interested me was the way the reflection has cut it up to make it look extremely narrow (and hence totally functionless). it reminded me of the Citroen DS by Gabriel Orozco, the Mexican artist. who took the car, sliced it longitudinally in three and put it back together without the middle section. (A picture of it, and an article about him can be found here). 

There was an exhibition of his work at the Tate Modern at the beginning of the year, which I visited. (The Tate site still has the details and a rather nice video). Obviously it made an impression that has hung around in the back of my mind because as soon as I saw this trolley I thought of the car.

Obviously as a cyclist the piece in the exhibition that caught my eye was 'Four Bicycles (there is always one direction) where seat posts and stem have been removed and the bikes have been joined seat post to head post. It is work of surprising balance.

Afterwards I read the description in the exhibition guide and was struck by how badly the work was served by the writer:

The precarious result challenges the laws of equilibrium and points metaphorically in countless directions. It can be seen as a reflection on the itinerant condition of contemporary life.

The rational response is: it doesn't and it isn't. The emotional response is a desire to slap  the precious writer around the chops. My actual response was a weary sigh.

You will be pleased to know that a trolley in water points in very few metaphorical directions.

2011 Streak Day 133/365: Winchester Cathedral

2011 Streak Day 133/365: Walk - 4.5 miles, Time - 1hr 40min, Weather - chill wind, variable sky

Most of the walking today was around Winchester at a leisurely pace.

The photo is of a light sculpture by Peter Freeman in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral. Obviously in the light of day it is mostly a shiny metallic object but I am sure in low light and at night it will come to life. It has a rather neat feature in that you can text a number to change the display - somehow having an interactive piece seems suitable for the surroundings.

As it was the middle of the day my interest was in the way it reflected its surroundings. I was fascinated by the fact that I could position myself to take this photo and yet remain invisible. Somehow at certain, narrow angels, there was no reflection. I could walk around it: se myself, see myself, and then suddenly disappear.

What fun you can have with cunningly shaped mirrors!

From the exercise point of view there s nothing much to report. If I was not in the middle of a project to take some exercise every day. This would not have been classed as exercise; it would have been classed as exploring an attractive city. Nevertheless I did walk four and a half miles and so deserves to count.