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Al-Ahram Weekly 30 March - 5 April 2000 Issue No. 475 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 30 March - 5 April 2000 Issue No. 475
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Plain Talk
By Mursi Saad El-Din
The English Heritage Department has just published its first guide to public sculpture -- ie to statues and memorials located outside. The reason for this precedent is, in the words of Sir Jocelyn Stevens, chairman of English Heritage, "because we have become a more visually aware nation."
This brought to my mind the number of statues and memorials I used to admire during my long stay in London. Starting with Lord Nelson atop his column in Trafalgar Square one went through a series of such commemorative statuary -- art which plots the given history of the country. Public sculpture, as the form is normally called, is the art most often in the eye of the spectator. It is a reminder of acts of heroism, of martyrdom, and it speaks more directly than any other element of the built environment.
The Users' Guide to Public Sculpture gives a region by region itinerary of the most interesting public sculptures. This takes the form of walks through different cities and descriptions of the sculpture encountered, together with historical and stylistic notes. This is what it says about Bristol: "Much of the city's sculpture is discreet -- gently inviting rather than accosting. Few grand vistas exist where sculpture dominates. Ancient and modern mingle haphazardly."
Manchester seems to have one of the largest selection of statues and monuments in any provincial British city. "As in those other large cities that were the product of the industrial revolution, it was the 19th century which saw the erection of the largest number of outdoor statues."
The guide was compiled by the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association, which undertook the necessary research. The Association is now compiling a computer database of the nation's outdoor art. I particularly like the reason given for encouraging readers to look at outdoor statuary: "Most of the art of the 20th century has been made by individuals in their studios, then exhibited in museums. We have to make sure sculpture gets out of these protected eco-systems and becomes part of our lives."
The publication of the guide coincided with the announcement of that 2000 was the year of public sculpture. As the chairman of English Heritage comments -- "there are works which cause us literally to raise our eyes from the ground. If we are challenged by what we see, if we are provoked, so much the better."
There is no doubt that launching a year of sculpture helps to heighten people's awareness of their surroundings and sharpen their critical faculties."
I was interested in the advice which the English Heritage offers to the users of the guide: "Be comfortably clad; carry a good local map; shopping and sculpture walks do not mix. Look up -- buildings have sculptures; double-decker buses bring you close; the back of a statue can well be worth a look. Watch out for the sculpture's signature scratched into the bronze base, or perhaps on the hem of a coat or the side of a shoe. Carry miniature binoculars or opera glasses for viewing elevated personages; dark corners, close to, can be lightened by bouncing light off a piece of white paper; shadowed parts higher up look lighter through a funnel made with your fist for one eye."
I must say that when I read the guide I immediately thought of our own monuments, scattered in our streets, covered with dust to the extent that they are scarcely visible. The statue of Talaat Harb, so forlorn these days, is passed by thousands every day without even a glance, or sufficient curiousity to wonder who he was. The same applies to the many statues adorning Cairo's squares. Surely the governor of Cairo and the Ministry of Culture could cooperate and produce such a guide. And the governorate should clean up the statues.
