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Manchester Sculptures, Statues & Public Art

86K views 420 replies 93 participants last post by  SteKnight 
#1 ·
I've always liked the big oak Vimto thingy outside the old UMIST Main building - slurrrrrp!

 
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#55 ·
I absolutely loved the Manchester Cow parade - gave the city such an international cosmopolitan feel. Made me smile everytime I saw one - dotted about in Manchester's glorious Summer sun. So European!
It felt like the sort of thing that would happen in Barcelona or Lisbon, not over here...I WANT THEM BACK!!




 
#57 ·
Were they not all sold off to individual buyers. You can still see a few around town but it would have been nice if the council could have bought some of the best and made permenant. I was in Berlin this month and they were in the middle of 'bear parade' (the city symbol) and almost every street in the centre had one. It reminded me of how it effectively doubled the public art scene in Manchester.

On another note, does the Calatrava bridge count as public art? Beautifully nautical.
 
#58 ·
RanjitSingh said:
On another note, does the Calatrava bridge count as public art? Beautifully nautical.
Someone nominated the IWMN so there is no reason why you cant have a bridge.
Bridges are a funny one cos there were a few eyebrows raised when the Gateshead bridge was nominated for the Stirling Prize. Is it a building? Is it art? Is it engineering?
 
#63 ·
Its of Salford MP and radical Joseph Brotherton and used to stand in Peel Park in Salford until in a typically characteristic Salford City Council move it was sold to some posh bird to put in her garden in Cheshire cos it looked pretty.
In an ironic move Manchester CC bought it in open auction for 5 grand or something and plonked it down by the river facing Salford and the poor fella's humiliation was complete.
 
#65 ·
thanks Longjohns I knew you'd fill me in, as it were.

Would look better elsewhere in the city, I get the idea him being from Salford and facing it and all but its just lost from the road. I'd like to see a big statue or monument even at a major junction and people have to drive round it, a bit grand but dont we love all that stuff when we go to Paris or London?
 
#66 ·
highriser said:
Longy you might be able to answer this,,,i heard a couple of years ago that MCC as loads of statues and monuments in storage ,,is this true ?
Yes they do and they do tend to go 'missing'. The location of the storage is a bit of a secret but i think its Derby Street off Cheetham Hill road.
I know of about 6 pieces that have been temporarly removed and never reappeared and i am sure there are many more somewhere.
There is lots of 'buck passing' because it is Museums and Libraries who officially are charged with there up keep but it is Direct Works that remove and 'store' them.
It is very difficult to find out where things are and what their status is.
One of the most depressing is the amazing chandeliers at manchester airport that were removed. The airport had a sort of competition and asked people to suggest what to do with them. I wrote a very sarcastic letter along the lines of "put them back you morons". I have know idea where they are or what will happen to them.
 
#70 ·
It was well in need of some TLC.
As far as i know its staying where it is - but part of the problem was the plinth and i think it had become unsafe.
I spoke to some one about it last year and reading between the lines i think they had to wait for the new financial year for funds to become available hence the current flurry of activity.
 
#72 ·
New photographic exhibition in Manchester

18/04/2006

A new exhibition of photographs cataloguing the history of public art in the north west has opened at Manchester Central Library.

Entitled "Sculpture in the Streets", the exhibition documents the rich variety of public sculpture in Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Rochdale, Tameside and Trafford throughout the ages.

The region has a long and proud history of public sculpture, from medieval market crosses to modern uses of artworks in urban regeneration – from the first public sculpture of Oliver Cromwell in Wythenshawe park, to Thomas Heatherwick’s B of the Bang and the Spirit of Sport in Bolton.

"We often take public art for granted, passing it in the street every day…This exhibition leads us to stop and take stock of some of the extraordinary examples of art we have in our city and the north west", said councillor Mark Hackett, Manchester City Council executive member for culture and leisure.

Sculpture in the Streets is sponsored by Heritage, the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association and the Manchester Metropolitan University, and is open until May 19th.

"It is a great subject and I am sure people will enjoy learning about the statues and sculptures and the stories behind them", Councillor Hackett added.
 
#75 ·
golddigga18 said:
dont know if annyone has noticed but the peterloo statue in st peters square is gone now, but it looks like a new plinth is being made for something
Asked one of the fellas working on it today and he said the statue is going back - although he didnt sound too convincing - perhaps its me just being paranoid.
 
#87 ·
The plinth today. Free the Peterloo Four!!

 
#76 ·
Mez said:
A reliable source tells me there are loads of sculptures and statues under the Town Hall, in and around the old Police Cells.
I think they are statues and busts that have been on display at one time or another in the Town Hall. They sometimes rotate some of the stuff they have on display and perhpas there are busts down there of politicians who fell out of favour at some time!
 
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