Post by Onyango Oloo on Oct 2, 2005 16:40:56 GMT 3
London mayor battles to erect Nelson Mandela statue in Trafalgar Square
By Jill Lawless, Associated Press Writer | October 1, 2005
The Mandela statue judged 'aesthetically inappropriate'
LONDON -- The battle of Trafalgar Square is turning ugly.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone is fighting local authorities who oppose his plans to erect a statue of former South African President Nelson Mandela in the square alongside monuments to British military heroes.
In a showdown this week, one of Britain's most respected sculptors dubbed the proposed Mandela statue "mediocre." Livingstone compared the sculptor's own work to a "dog mess."
Beneath the artistic differences lies a political divide over what kind of heroes should be commemorated in London's most famous square.
"Suppose I had proposed in a moment of euphoric bipartisanship to erect a statue of (former Conservative Prime Minister) Margaret Thatcher in Trafalgar Square, would I have had problems with Westminster City Council?" the left-leaning mayor asked delegates at the Labour Party's annual conference this week.
He answered his own question: "No."
Conservative-controlled Westminster Council has rejected the mayor's plans to erect a 9-foot (2.7-meter) bronze statue of Mandela on the square's north terrace, outside the main entrance to the National Gallery.
The council says its opposition is practical, not political -- it does not like the look of the proposed statue, by sculptor Ian Walters, and wants Mandela's likeness placed in front of the South African embassy on the eastern edge of the square.
A lawyer for the council, Russell Harris, said this week that the current design was a "poor legacy to such a great man."
Livingstone wants Mandela at the heart of the plaza, which is dominated by another Nelson -- 19th-century naval hero Adm. Horatio Nelson -- atop an 185-foot (56 meter) column.
The square, named for Admiral Nelson's 1805 victory over the French and Spanish fleets, also contains statues of King George IV and Victorian generals Sir Henry Havelock and Sir Charles James Napier.
Paul Drury, a consultant for conservation group English Heritage, which also opposes the mayor's plan, has said that placing an "informal, small-scale statue" of Mandela alongside military heroes "would be a major and awkward change in the narrative of the square."
Changing the narrative of the square is exactly what the mayor -- a colorful left-winger once nicknamed "Red Ken" by the media -- wants to do.
Mandela has long links with the square, a traditional site of Londoners' celebrations and demonstrations. A constant vigil calling for his release from prison was held there during the years of apartheid rule in South Africa. Mandela has addressed crowds in the square several times since he was freed in 1990.
Livingstone said complaints about the location of the statue were an excuse to cover political opposition.
"But I actually think it's what he represents they don't want to see depicted," Livingstone told Labour delegates.
At a planning meeting to debate the statue's fate on Thursday, Glynn Williams, professor of sculpture at the Royal College of Art, appeared as an expert witness for the council, saying the proposed statue was "run-of-the-mill mediocre modeling" rather than good art.
"A good sculptor of more originality and inventiveness should have been chosen," he said.
Livingstone hit back, noting that Williams had lost to Walters in a competition to create a statue of former Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
Holding a picture of Williams' work, he said: "The only sense that it looks like Harold Wilson is if Harold Wilson has been dead for several days and has started to decompose and is emerging out of a large pile of dog mess.
"It is all very well for people with fine arts degrees, but for ordinary people like myself we want a statue to look like the person," the mayor said.
By Jill Lawless, Associated Press Writer | October 1, 2005
The Mandela statue judged 'aesthetically inappropriate'
LONDON -- The battle of Trafalgar Square is turning ugly.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone is fighting local authorities who oppose his plans to erect a statue of former South African President Nelson Mandela in the square alongside monuments to British military heroes.
In a showdown this week, one of Britain's most respected sculptors dubbed the proposed Mandela statue "mediocre." Livingstone compared the sculptor's own work to a "dog mess."
Beneath the artistic differences lies a political divide over what kind of heroes should be commemorated in London's most famous square.
"Suppose I had proposed in a moment of euphoric bipartisanship to erect a statue of (former Conservative Prime Minister) Margaret Thatcher in Trafalgar Square, would I have had problems with Westminster City Council?" the left-leaning mayor asked delegates at the Labour Party's annual conference this week.
He answered his own question: "No."
Conservative-controlled Westminster Council has rejected the mayor's plans to erect a 9-foot (2.7-meter) bronze statue of Mandela on the square's north terrace, outside the main entrance to the National Gallery.
The council says its opposition is practical, not political -- it does not like the look of the proposed statue, by sculptor Ian Walters, and wants Mandela's likeness placed in front of the South African embassy on the eastern edge of the square.
A lawyer for the council, Russell Harris, said this week that the current design was a "poor legacy to such a great man."
Livingstone wants Mandela at the heart of the plaza, which is dominated by another Nelson -- 19th-century naval hero Adm. Horatio Nelson -- atop an 185-foot (56 meter) column.
The square, named for Admiral Nelson's 1805 victory over the French and Spanish fleets, also contains statues of King George IV and Victorian generals Sir Henry Havelock and Sir Charles James Napier.
Paul Drury, a consultant for conservation group English Heritage, which also opposes the mayor's plan, has said that placing an "informal, small-scale statue" of Mandela alongside military heroes "would be a major and awkward change in the narrative of the square."
Changing the narrative of the square is exactly what the mayor -- a colorful left-winger once nicknamed "Red Ken" by the media -- wants to do.
Mandela has long links with the square, a traditional site of Londoners' celebrations and demonstrations. A constant vigil calling for his release from prison was held there during the years of apartheid rule in South Africa. Mandela has addressed crowds in the square several times since he was freed in 1990.
Livingstone said complaints about the location of the statue were an excuse to cover political opposition.
"But I actually think it's what he represents they don't want to see depicted," Livingstone told Labour delegates.
At a planning meeting to debate the statue's fate on Thursday, Glynn Williams, professor of sculpture at the Royal College of Art, appeared as an expert witness for the council, saying the proposed statue was "run-of-the-mill mediocre modeling" rather than good art.
"A good sculptor of more originality and inventiveness should have been chosen," he said.
Livingstone hit back, noting that Williams had lost to Walters in a competition to create a statue of former Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
Holding a picture of Williams' work, he said: "The only sense that it looks like Harold Wilson is if Harold Wilson has been dead for several days and has started to decompose and is emerging out of a large pile of dog mess.
"It is all very well for people with fine arts degrees, but for ordinary people like myself we want a statue to look like the person," the mayor said.
