Lost Between The Good Old Days and Dystopia, The Tetley, Hunslet Road, Leeds, 31/05/15.

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direction, dystopia, Leeds, lost, public art, signs, The Good Old Days, The Tetley, utopia

http://thetetley.org/

The Iron Man and Queen Victoria, Victoria Square, Birmingham, 25/04/15.

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Antony Gormley, Birmingham, Iron: Man, public art, Queen Victoria, sculpture, The Iron Man, Victoria Square Birmingham

“Iron: Man” by Antony Gormley.

Anteater, Bristol Eye Hospital, Lower Maudlin Street, Bristol, 27/04/15.

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Anteater, bricks, brickwork, Bristol, Bristol Eye Hospital, Lower Maudlin Street Bristol, public art, shadows

Statue of Queen Victoria, Victoria Square, Birmingham, 25/04/15.

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architecture, Birmingham, British Monarchy, Council House Birmingham, Flag of Birmingham, flags, public art, Queen Victoria, sculpture, statue, Victoria Square Birmingham, Victorian., Victoriana

Note the civic flag of the city of Birmingham flying over Council House.

Photo Archive: “Cornucopia” by Graeme Wilson, Leeds, 20/12/14.

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Art, commerce, Cornucopia, Cornucopia by Graeme Wilson, flat caps, Graeme Wilson, head wear, industry, Leeds, Leeds Corn Exchange, Leeds Kirkgate Market, Mural, public art

I don’t know a lot about this mural, but it is a regular sight on my walks around Leeds and it always makes me stop and look up, despite it being in a rather busy corner of the city between Leeds Corn Exchange and Leeds Kirkgate Market where you’re liable to get run over if you’re not too careful! As an enthusiastic head wear advocate, who is rarely seen on the streets of Leeds without a flat cap, my eyes are always drawn to the chap in the centre, stretching out his arms.

Photo Archive: Merchant Seafarer’s War Memorial, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, 20/08/14.

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Brian Fell, Cardiff, Cardiff Bay, face, memorial, Merchant Navy, Merchant Seafarer's War Memorial Cardiff Bay, prow, public art, sculpture

Viewed from the landward side.

Lost at sea memorials.com informs me that this breathtaking sculpture is by Brian Fell and that it is dedicated to the “MEMORY OF THE MERCHANT SEAFARERS FROM THE PORTS OF BARRY PENARTH CARDIFF WHO DIED IN TIMES OF WAR”. On this particular occasion I approached the memorial from the landward side, having visited the Pierhead Building, and was struck by the beauty of the face at rest, which merges into the distinctive prow of a ship. If you walk around to what you might call the Bay side of the sculpture, the features of the face are completely erased and you are confronted with something that could be the hull of a vessel that ran aground in front of the National Assembly of Wales/Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru building yesterday.

From the Bay side.

Photo Archive: Day Dreaming, Battle of Britain Memorial, Victoria Embankment, London, c.2010.

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Battle of Britain, Battle of Britain Memorial, Bronze, day dreaming, London, memorial, public art, rain drops, sculpture, Second World War, Trains., Victoria Embankment, Weather

Photo Archive: The Few, Battle of Britain Memorial, Victoria Embankment, London, c.2010.

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Battle of Britain Memorial, Bronze, London, pilots, public art, Rain, rain drops, Royal Air Force, sculpture, Second World War, The Few, Victoria Embankment, Weather

Photo Archive: “Small Worlds” by Simon Thomas, At-Bristol, Anchor Road, Bristol, August 2014.

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"Small World" by Simon Thomas, anti-matter, At-Bristol, Bristol, Bristol Cathedral, Bristol Cathedral Choir School, cone, glass, Paul Dirac, public art, quantum theory, Reflections, sculpture, Simon Thomas, window shopping.

“…a dramatic cone which rises 18ft into the air”.

To quote from the At-Bristol website:

“This striking piece, sponsored by the Institute of Physics, commemorates the work of Paul Dirac, the Nobel Prize winning scientist/mathematician who was born in Bristol.

Paul Dirac is most famous for his contribution to the Quantum theory and his discovery of anti-matter“.

I don’t know anything about quantum theory or anti-matter, but I do like a dramatic cone. The building behind the sculpture is At-Bristol, which has “hundreds of hands-on exhibits to explore, live shows and a Planetarium“.  Reflected in the glass you can see the traffic on Anchor Road, Bristol Cathedral Choir School and the twin bell towers of Bristol Cathedral.

Photo Archive: “Bottle of Notes”, Centre Square, Middlesbrough, 2010.

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Art, blue skies, Bottle of Notes, Captain James Cook, Claes Oldenbrough, Coosje Van Bruggen, journal, message in a bottle, Middlesbrough, MIMA, public art, sculpture, sky, words, writing

That’s the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) in the background.

This monumental work by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen was inspired by the writings of Middlesbrough born explorer Captain James Cook RN. According to an article I’ve found on the BBC News website the words that form the distinctive bottle shape are taken from Captain Cook’s journal from his first voyage on HMS. Endeavour and read, “We had every advantage we could desire in observing the whole of the passage of the Planet Venus over the Sun’s disc“.

A close up.

To quote the BBC News article again, “Now said to be “part of the landscape”, the sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen still arouses intrigue from visitors and is often used as a climbing frame“.

Viewed from the roof of MIMA.