Interactive Practitioners- Antony Gormley

For additional research into the topic of recycling, I looked into interactive art. This features artists who are bespoke or who are commissioned by larger companies etc. I researched quite a few varied artists as I felt it would benefit me in having more background knowledge for what I am working towards, i.e recycling and sustainability.

This artist is Antony Gormley, a sculptor who creates human forms based on himself, in relation to the space around them.
He created a piece called ‘Asian Field’, which featured 180,000 small clay figurines, made by 350 Chinese villagers in five days from one hundred tons of red clay. As he gave guidelines on what he wanted the statues to look like, all of them looked similar, but as different people were making them, they were all slightly individual and unique. I think he did this to reflect the human race, all similar but individual at the same time.
One of his most famous pieces is ‘The Angel Of The North’ in Gateshead, England, which is a 70ft steel sculpture of an angel, with the wings angled forward to create ‘a sense of embrace’. He relates to my unit as this work was commissioned, and created for the public.
Another of Gormley’s project was at the ‘Fourth Plinth’ in London. Over a hundred consecutive days, he organized it so that twenty five hundred members of the public could each spend one hour on the plinth, doing anything they wished to and bringing any props they wanted to display. About the project, Gormley said “In the context of Trafalgar Square with its military, valedictory and male historical statues, this elevation of everyday life to the position formerly occupied by monumental art allows us to reflect on the diversity, vulnerability and particularity of the individual in contemporary society. It's about people coming together to do something extraordinary and unpredictable. It could be tragic but it could also be funny”. I think this ties him well into my ‘Interaction’ unit as he displays both work from commission and working with the public. I personally like the idea behind the Asian field as so many people have put the effort in and that makes it quite original, and it is also very thought-provoking.

Source: http://www.antonygormley.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Gormley