PMSA

https://www.pmsa.org.uk/news/2020/5/4/exciting-new-chapter-for-sculpture-journal
Liverpool University Press PMSA

Exciting New Chapter for Sculpture Journal — PMSA As it approaches its 30th anniversary, the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (PMSA) has announced the transfer of its interest in Sculpture Journal entirely to existing co-owner Liverpool University Press (LUP).

Hannah Northam, a Harborne-based sculptor, has won a prize in the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists’ (RBSA) 2020 annual Open Exhibition.

The exhibition attracted almost 400 entries this year from all over the UK and abroad. The first prize went to Staffordshire artist, Mark Lippett, with Hannah’s sculpture, ‘Interlude’ taking second prize.

Clive Beardsmore, a Birmingham-based private collector, personally selected the two prize winners and donated the prizes.

‘Interlude’ is a free-flowing piece of work which Hannah developed over several months. It was modelled in clay and then carved and etched as the material dried out and finished in cold cast bronze with a verdigris patination.

Viv Astling OBE, Hon Secretary of the RBSA, said: “The standard of entries was very high this year and it is very exciting for a sculpture to win a prize at the RBSA annual Open Exhibition. I think the last piece of 3D work chosen to win a prize was ten years ago, so it is quite a thing for Hannah's piece to gain this prestigious recognition.”

Hannah, who works in her Harborne studio in stone, clay, wax and plaster - and casts in bronze and resins - was delighted to receive this recognition.

She said: ““I am thrilled to have been selected as a prize winner in this year’s RBSA Open Exhibition. It is a fantastic accolade and a great honour for me to represent sculpture at the RBSA.

“I am interested in pierced forms and several pieces of my abstract work have involved negative spaces. With ‘Interlude’, I looked at the way the two holes in the form work together in a symbiotic way. Originally, I was thinking of musical construction, an interruptive space or pause where something else happens. However, I inevitably find the human form emerging. My work embodies both the abstract and the figurative. Inspiration for me always comes from the truth I see in nature and the human spirit.”

Hannah left a career in advertising 1996 to study figurative sculpture and has become a sought-after sculptor since, with many high profile commissions including one to create a 2.01m high ‘Diana the Huntress’ sculpture for the Earl of Harrowby of Sandon Hall, Staffordshire. She also made a larger than life-sized portrait bust of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown to mark the tercentenary of this great landscape architect. Last year, she recreated a pair of half life-sized rampant lions based on the 16th century originals which had been stolen from an estate in Northamptonshire.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the RBSA prize giving couldn’t go ahead as planned but the winners are currently showcased on the RBSA’s Art Blog website.

We’ve been closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and assessing how government directives impact our charity. As a result, we’ve now mothballed our office function and suspended all project work for the foreseeable future. Thank you for your patience whilst we, like everyone else, find a way through the next few months.

https://www.pmsa.org.uk/news/pmsa-covid-19

PMSA and COVID-19 — PMSA We would like to convey our very best wishes to all PMSA members, volunteers and subscribers.We’ve been closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and assessing how government directives will impact our charity activities and operation. We’re keen to follow all the recommendations in order to pro...

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public-sculpture-of-edinburgh-by-ray-mackenzie-book-review-simon-jenkins/

Public Sculpture of Edinburgh by Ray Mackenzie review - TLS Book review: Public Sculpture of Edinburgh: Volumes 1 and 2 by Ray Mackenzie reviewed by Simon Jenkins - The TLS

Hungarian composer Béla Viktor János Bartók (1881-1945) who came to London for the first time in 1922 (by Hungarian sculptor Imre Varga.)

The search for an artist to design and produce a statue of the legendary Leicester playwright, Joe Orton, in his hometown has been launched with the issue of an artist’s design brief. The search follows a successful, high profile crowd funding campaign which received celebrity backing and donations from the likes of Sir Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry, Sir Matthew Bourne, Pet Shop Boys, Alison Steadman, Kenneth Cranham, Sheila Hancock, Adam Kay - writer / comedian, Patrick Gayle, Jake Arnott, Graham Fellows and The Connor Brothers.
The Joe Orton Statue Appeal CIC (Community Interest Company) are inviting an artist to develop a permanent work of three-dimensional public art to memorialise Joe Orton in Leicester’s Orton Square, outside Curve (theatre).
The desire is to make the ‘Joe Orton Statue’ a destination artwork and one which enhances the local resident and visitor experience of Orton Square, Leicester. It is envisaged that the artwork will be thought provoking, outward looking and make a major contribution to the community, enhancing the lives of passers-by.

Leonie Orton, sister of the late playwright and administrator of the Joe Orton Estate said: “I hope that the statue will become a memorable and exciting addition to Leicester’s cultural landscape that raises awareness whilst celebrating his life, work and legacy. It is not a ‘statue’ that people should be in awe of, rather something they want to interact with and associate with.”

This will be the first statue of a self-identified working-class homosexual man in Britain. It’s positioning at the heart of Leicester’s Cultural Quarter, within the square that bears his name, should reinforce Leicester’s reputation for diversity and inclusivity, celebrating the city as a home to all sorts of people from all sorts of backgrounds.

This is a unique opportunity to rethink memorialisation and to create something which salutes individuality, represents inclusivity and reflects our diverse society. Tanya Brittain, CEO of the PMSA (Public Monuments and Sculpture Association) said: “PMSA is always happy to support the commissioning of quality works of public sculpture. The Joe Orton Statue campaign has, from its very conception, attracted public attention and provoked lively discussion. There are figurative bronzes in city centres all over the world reminding us how society has changed in a relatively short space of time. I really hope the finished artwork will educate, enlighten and invite cultural evolution – which is exactly what public sculpture should do.”

Artists are asked to submit ‘Expressions of Interest’ by the 31st May 2020 which includes their CV and examples of their previous work, a covering letter stating why they are interested in the commission, information on how their design fulfils the Brief along with a visual interpretation of their proposed design.

Submissions will be reviewed and longlisted by an Advisory Group made up of local people who work in the arts and culture industries, the Orton family, members of the Saffron Lane estate and the Leicester LGBTQ community before being displayed at a public exhibition this Summer.
Public opinion and general feedback from the exhibition will be carefully considered before a Selection Panel that includes representatives of Leicester City Council, CURVE theatre, Leicester, The Orton Estate, University of Leicester, PMSA (Public Monuments and Sculpture Association) as well as Orton enthusiast, the , the artist, author and singer songwriter, HOLLY JOHNSON. From this, three artists will be invited to submit detailed proposals including maquettes that will be exhibited at New Walk Museum this Autumn before the final design is chosen.

Selection Committee member, the artist, author and singer songwriter Holly Johnson said: ‘Joe Orton challenged hypocrisy with his barbed humour, always swinging the other way in the Swinging Sixties. It’s an honour to be asked to help select the statue that will commemorate this working-class hero who was an antidote to the stiff upper lip British establishment’

A copy of the full Design Brief can be downloaded here. Artists wishing to apply must make their submission by 31st May 2020.

Joe Orton Statue Artist Brief released — PMSA The search for an artist to design and produce a statue of the legendary Leicester playwright, Joe Orton, in his hometown. The search follows a successful, high profile crowd funding campaign which included donations from Sir Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry, Sir Matthew Bourne, Pet Shop Boys, Alison Stead

CONFERENCE SESSION: Exploring Diversity in Public Sculpture - check out the amazing, international speakers at our session at the 2020
Association for Art History Conference in April. Artwork by Camille Yvert
https://forarthistory.org.uk/our-work/conference/2020-annual-conference/

2 DAY CONFERENCE: Ancient Plaster: Casting Light On A Forgotten Sculptural Material
Monday 06 April - Tuesday 07 April 2020
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH

Conference convenors:
Emma Payne, King's College London
Abbey Ellis, University of Leicester/Ashmolean Museum
Will Wootton, King's College London

Speakers
Marble, bronze, and terracotta are all celebrated materials for sculpture in the round. However, plaster, another noteworthy material in antiquity, is understudied and often absent from the archaeological record. Two major questions regarding the role of plaster in ancient sculpture remain unresolved. This conference, bringing together international experts including archaeologists, conservators, and contemporary sculptors, aims to tackle these debates. Firstly, we will explore plaster as a sculptural material in its own right and address the use of plaster models for the production of works in other media. Secondly, we will tackle the contested issue of life-casting in antiquity, assessing whether such casting was indeed used in the production of bronzes. Demonstrations of plaster working and casting processes will give participants a practical understanding of material and technique. This interdisciplinary practice based focus will facilitate collaboration between archaeologists and contemporary practitioners, enabling cooperative analysis of these important and unresolved research problems.

https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/ancient-plaster-casting-light-forgotten-sculptural-material

Gool Peran Lowen | Happy Pirantide

To mark Saint Piran's Day we're celebrating the 100th statue to be installed in the Valley of Saints at Carnoët, Brittany in May 2018 – the statue of Saint Piran, Cornwall's patron saint. The sculptors involved in this project were keen to revive an art that once provided thousands of craftsmen with a way to earn their living throughout the Celtic lands. Cornishman David Paton and Breton Stéphane Rouget carved the statue from a 3.2m block of granite extracted from the Carnsew Quarry in Penryn, Cornwall.

Agriculture, with scythe, corn and harness, by sculptor Henry Bursill. Sited at Holborn Viaduct (built 1863-69) or ‘skew’ bridge as it become known. The viaduct was a massive and costly project at the time and involved some outstanding feats of Victorian engineering.

Planning to be at the 2020 Association for Art History Conference in April? Be sure to check out PMSA's session Exploring Diversity in Public Sculpture. Our international speakers include: Elyse Nelson (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), Liv Laumenech (The University of Edinburgh), Niall Billings (The Courtauld Institute of Art), David Wright (University of Warwick), Tin Ping Yeung (The Courtauld Institute of Art) and Menno Hubregtse (University of Victoria). The session is convened by Dr Klairi Angelou of the PMSA.

For more information and abstracts of the papers:
https://eu.eventscloud.com/website/758/exploring-diversity-in-public-sculpture/