Public art
Creativity is one of the few qualities that can make an individual unique in a congregation. Art encompasses the expression or application of human creative skills and imagination in a visual form to be appreciated by the general public for their beauty or emotional power. While there are those who use art as their source of income, there is another percentage of these artists who display their creativity for the public through public sculptures. Public art is a term that is used to refer to any artist work that is designed to be accessed by the general public from a public place (Greenhills, 2008,). One of the best and beautiful public arts to have ever designed and created by man is the Angel of the North in London. Considering that this art shows a great level of skills and creativeness, this assignment will focus on giving in details more information about the art.
Angel of the North in London is a sculpture that was built by Antony Gormley, and it is located in Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, London. The sculpture was designed in 1998. The art is made of steel and stands 20 meters high which is approximately 66 ft with wings of 54 meters across. Due to their length, the wings of the scripture do not stand straight on the sides but rather are angled 3.5 degrees frontwards. The primary intention of twisting the wings of the sculpture was to create the sense of embrace to those who visit the site. In my words, I would describe this art to be one of the best artistic works considering that it resembles an angel on a top of the hill since it is located on a raised ground (“Angel of the North – Wikipedia,” n.d.). It gives hope and calmness to all the visitors who come to the north of Birtley. Biblically and traditionally, angels represent peace, hope, and guardians who are exactly the concept of the Angel of the North in London. Honestly, after visiting the site, I felt like I was in another world full of angels.
According to the main architecture of the sculpture Gormley, he designed this angel to represent three aspects of the community that he felt were necessary to address. To begin with, Gormley wanted to represent the mining site where coal miners had worked for over two centuries. The sculpture is located exactly at the top of what once was a coal mine. Secondly, Gormley wanted to grasp the transition from the days when England was moving from the industrial age to welcome information age (“Angel of the North – Gateshead, England- Atlas Obscura,” n.d.). Finally, the sculpture was to serve as absorption for developing hopes and fears. Much of the funding for the artwork came from the national lottery. History shows that the work to build the sculpture began in 1994 and cost over 800,000 Euros.
After seeing it for the first time, I was overwhelmed and excited to have the chance actually to see it finally. I was overwhelmed by emotions to learn that it represents our hopes for a better future. Despite the fact that I had seen the sculpture severally now as well as reading extensively about it, my admiration for it is still intact and high just like the first time. It shows how an artist can use their work to send a message and express their feelings to the general public.
References
Angel of the North – Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_of_the_North
The Angel of the North – Gateshead, England- Atlas Obscura. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-angel-of-the-north
Greenhills, C. (2008). Public art. Sea Girt, NJ: Dingles.
