| Angel Of The North |
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The ''Angel of the North'' is a piece of modern Sculpture by Anthony Gormley , which after several attempts to locate it elsewhere was erected in Gateshead , England (). As the name suggests, it is a steel sculpture of an Angel , standing 20 metres tall, with wings 54 metres — making it wider than the '' Statue Of Liberty '' is tall. It stands on a hill overlooking the A1 Road into Tyneside and the East Coast Main Line rail route. Work began on the project in 1994 when Gormley and several other leading contemporary artists were invited to develop proposals for major commissions across North East England. Gormley was initially doubtful stating "I don't do 'roundabout' art" but during a visit to his London studio the leader of Gateshead council responded enthusiastically to an existing work by the artist of one of his familiar body casts with two horizontal wing structures. Following the public announcement of the commission a rough pencil sketch by Gormley of the figure towering over the site found its way to the local newspaper ''The Chronicle'' that published it on its front page with the headline "Nazi or Nice?" with a Straw Poll finding the majority of local people against the project. The coverage prompted an active public debate that intensified when the cost of the piece was revealed as over £1m. Gormley has since said the release of the rough sketch was unplanned and unfortunate as the treatment is more strident and out of scale to the actual piece. Half of the project funding was provided by the National Lottery. Construction work on the ''Angel'' was finished in February 1998 . ''Angel of the North'' aroused some controversy locally and in the British Newspaper s when first erected, but is now considered a landmark for the North East Of England . Although it was the artist's request that there was no commercial exploitation of the sculpture a nearby pub has renamed itself as 'The Angel Inn' and the image of the piece appears on dozens of items. '' Newsweek '' magazine noted in its January 23 , 2006 issue that ''Angel of the North'' has been listed by the British Department For Culture, Media And Sport as an icon expressing the "essence of Englishness." ''Newsweek'' described the ''Angel'' as "England's most famous piece of public modern art." Critics have noted that Angel s have more commonly depicted in European Art History as having graceful wings, while only a Fallen Angel has been represented with cumbersome ribbed wings. SEE ALSO |
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