What to spend our money on!

[chameleon]

Si wrote: chameleon wrote: Si wrote: Cardiarms wrote: Si wrote: or someone dressed as a bear to generate business for a roadside carwash. It's pathetic!Sorry - went off on a bit of a rant there! Not that you're bitter about the experience! LOL! No it's not me in there...I may be unemployed at the moment, but I'm not that bloody desperate! (I don't see much there represnting tradition or the past heritge and prosperity of the area either in those charismatic and colourfull offerings either)     Precisely. "Let's have something colourful and fun..." groan... Representing who and what exactly??

[chameleon]

raveydavey wrote: We should have a competition to come up with other literal pieces of art that could be erected in other Leeds suburbs at vast expense.Can I suggest a bucket of pigs swill with a one ton weight (for Swillington), a painting of actor Tim Roth leant against a well (Rothwell)) and a gathering of trees taking candy from a baby (Meanwood). A statue of a stocky gentleman could represent Burley and another statue of footballer Lee Champan heading a football could be placed in Headingley. That should do for a start. Statute of a horse mounted by the traditional Court Jester, complete with 'Fool's Hat' outsidew the Civic Hall?

[Si]

I'm assuming the three designs "to choose from" are just illustrations or CGI? If not, what happens to the other two, and did we pay for them, too?When the North East wanted a "welcome to Gateshead" sign, they didn't piddle about with a gate with a head on it on a roundabout somewhere, and get the locals to vote for the nicest colour. No, they did it properly. Antony Gormley's Angel of the North might not be to everyone's taste, but it makes a bloody big statement, and has become an icon of the north east, and in the south, the north generally. If only we'd had the Brick Man.......instead we get some crossed gates for Cross Gates, and a big C for Chapeltown. Puts it in perspective, dunnit? If you can't do it properly, don't do it at all.    

[simong]

Si wrote: In Otley, we got a bit of dry-stone wall and a lump of rock with "Otley" carved on it. Don't know what it cost, but I'd guess less than £11,000! Bloody hope so, anyway! The one on the roundabout at the top of Yeadon High Street, which was either put there or sponsored by the local Round Table has either disappeared or has been surrounded by shrubbery. I think there's a similar one in Guiseley (by the roundabout at the junction of Queensway, Oxford Road and Towngate?) so I assume they were all put there by the same group.

[Si]

Here's a picture of Gormley's Leeds Brick Man model, now in the art gallery. The actual monolith, made from Leeds recycled bricks, was to be 120ft high (some sources state 180ft - the Angel of the North is 60ft) and would have stood in the Holbeck railway triangle, marking the true gateway to the north. Just over 20 years ago, the plans were rejected, partly by public poll. However, with hindsight, perhaps we should have gone ahead. I think so anyway. Yes, I know it would have cost a fortune (as did the Angel of the North) but it would really have put Leeds on the map, and rendered all the other provincial public sculptures pointless. (It would have cost £600K, but compared to the Cross Gates gates at £143K, it doesn't sound too bad for Britain's (by far) largest sculpture.) As it happens, Manchester have recently taken an interest in the project... Has Leeds missed the boat again? I apologise if this has been covered in the past, but what do other SL people think? Am I a lone voice?        

[Cardiarms]

On the Leeds Art Gallery Website:Note from Gateshead Council:The Angel of the North is a major attraction to visitors. It was the vision of Gateshead Council to create a landmark sculpture at the entrance to Tyneside, which culminated in The Angel of the North. Its wide, open arms greet visitors as they reach Gateshead, whether they come by road or rail.A major attractionOver 150,000 a year visit the site to see the awe-inspiring sculpture close up.The scale cannot fail to impress, at 20 metres (65 feet) it is more than the height of four double decker buses.Its wings are 54 metres (175 feet) wide - almost as long as the wings of a Jumbo jet.To people living and working nearby it appears on a much more human scale. Its silhouette at the head of the Team Valley is no more imposing than - but just as impressive as - other hilltop landmarks such as the Penshaw Monument.The Angel also has a warm, appealing colour. It is of a special weather resistant steel which contains copper. The surface oxidises to form a patina, which mellows with age to a rich red brown colour.The Angel is now also one of the 12 official 'Icons of England' in a major government-sponsored Culture Online project.

[Si]

Thanks, Cardiarms. It could have been us. What would Paris be without the Eiffel Tower? The Statue of Liberty now represents the gateway to an entire continent - to name but two similar landmarks. Both these international icons were villified when first planned - the Eiffel Tower was meant to be a temporary structure, and the US only went ahead with Liberty, because it was a gift from France... If they were left to a (money inspired) public vote, I doubt either would exist today, and the world would be a poorer place for it...        

[Si]

Cue SFX: wind noise, distant bell toll...         Si wrote: The proposed Leeds Brick Man, made from recycled bricks, was to be 120ft high (some sources state 180ft - the Angel of the North is 60ft) and would have stood in the Holbeck railway triangle, marking the true gateway to the north. Just over 20 years ago, the plans were rejected, partly by public poll. However, with hindsight, perhaps we should have gone ahead. I think so anyway. Yes, I know it would have cost a fortune (as did the Angel of the North) but it would really have put Leeds on the map, and rendered all the other provincial public sculptures pointless. (It would have cost £600K, but compared to the Cross Gates gates at £143K, it doesn't sound too bad for Britain's (by far) largest sculpture.) As it happens, Manchester have recently taken an interest in the project... Has Leeds missed the boat again? I apologise if this has been covered in the past, but what do other SL people think? Am I a lone voice?         "...and some fell on stoney ground..."        

[chameleon]

Si wrote: Cue SFX: wind noise, distant bell toll...         Si wrote: The proposed Leeds Brick Man, made from recycled bricks, was to be 120ft high (some sources state 180ft - the Angel of the North is 60ft) and would have stood in the Holbeck railway triangle, marking the true gateway to the north. Just over 20 years ago, the plans were rejected, partly by public poll. However, with hindsight, perhaps we should have gone ahead. I think so anyway. Yes, I know it would have cost a fortune (as did the Angel of the North) but it would really have put Leeds on the map, and rendered all the other provincial public sculptures pointless. (It would have cost £600K, but compared to the Cross Gates gates at £143K, it doesn't sound too bad for Britain's (by far) largest sculpture.) As it happens, Manchester have recently taken an interest in the project... Has Leeds missed the boat again? I apologise if this has been covered in the past, but what do other SL people think? Am I a lone voice?              Cross Gates on Sunday afternoon?

[raveydavey]

chameleon wrote: Si wrote: Cue SFX: wind noise, distant bell toll...         Si wrote: The proposed Leeds Brick Man, made from recycled bricks, was to be 120ft high (some sources state 180ft - the Angel of the North is 60ft) and would have stood in the Holbeck railway triangle, marking the true gateway to the north. Just over 20 years ago, the plans were rejected, partly by public poll. However, with hindsight, perhaps we should have gone ahead. I think so anyway. Yes, I know it would have cost a fortune (as did the Angel of the North) but it would really have put Leeds on the map, and rendered all the other provincial public sculptures pointless. (It would have cost £600K, but compared to the Cross Gates gates at £143K, it doesn't sound too bad for Britain's (by far) largest sculpture.) As it happens, Manchester have recently taken an interest in the project... Has Leeds missed the boat again? I apologise if this has been covered in the past, but what do other SL people think? Am I a lone voice?              Cross Gates on Sunday afternoon? Just for reference, how tall would 120ft (or indeed 180ft) compare to the tower blocks that have been built or are underway / planned for Granary Wharf and the area around Holbeck Triangle?Would I be right in guessing that 120ft would be about a 10 or 12 storey building?Obviously if the Brick Man had been built then subsequent planning permissions may have been very different to what we have now, but lets not forget the council were quite happy to let the developers dwarf and mask the famous Tower Works chimneys.