Field (sculpture)
Encyclopedia
Field is a sculpture by British
artist Antony Gormley
. It consists of approx. 35,000http://www.antonygormley.com/viewphotoseries.php?photoseriesid=6&page=1 individual terracotta figures, each between 8 and 26cm high, installed on the floor of a room facing the viewer. The figures were sculpted in Cholula, Mexico
by about 60 members of a Texca family of brickmakers, under the supervision of the artist. The sculpture received a lot of media attention upon its first display, and many affectionate parodies.
Field has been installed and displayed at various locations. The specific configuration is changed to suit each location, but the miniature figures are always placed to form a dense carpet with each figure looking towards the viewer. Ideally the Field is extended through a doorway or round a corner, so that the figures going out of sight leave the impression of an unlimited horde.
Several other versions of Field have subsequently been created, including
Field for the British Isles was typical in recruiting some 100 volunteers from the pupils and their extended families, of two local schools in St Helens
. Each volunteer was given a portion of the 30 tonnes of clay required, along with some loose instructions specifying the rough size and proportions for the figures. An accidental feature of the original Field was that Texca family involved people aged from 6 to 60 working on the figures, and Gormley felt that the involvement of three generations of a family should be continued in all the subsequent versions.
Gormley has also made several other works entitled Field, but these are smaller groups of life size figures more typical of Gormley's earlier work.
In 1994, Gormley won the Turner prize
with a collection of his work, including Field for the British Isles, shown at the Tate Gallery
.
Field has resulted in some people believing that it was unfair for Gormley to pass the work of the Texca family as his own. Some of the statues were stolen as a result of this.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
artist Antony Gormley
Antony Gormley
Antony Mark David Gormley OBE RA is a British sculptor. His best known works include the Angel of the North, a public sculpture in the North of England, commissioned in 1995 and erected in February 1998, Another Place on Crosby Beach near Liverpool, and Event Horizon, a multi-part site...
. It consists of approx. 35,000http://www.antonygormley.com/viewphotoseries.php?photoseriesid=6&page=1 individual terracotta figures, each between 8 and 26cm high, installed on the floor of a room facing the viewer. The figures were sculpted in Cholula, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
by about 60 members of a Texca family of brickmakers, under the supervision of the artist. The sculpture received a lot of media attention upon its first display, and many affectionate parodies.
Field has been installed and displayed at various locations. The specific configuration is changed to suit each location, but the miniature figures are always placed to form a dense carpet with each figure looking towards the viewer. Ideally the Field is extended through a doorway or round a corner, so that the figures going out of sight leave the impression of an unlimited horde.
Several other versions of Field have subsequently been created, including
- Amazonian Field (1991) made in Porto VelhoPorto VelhoPorto Velho is the capital of the Brazilian state of Rondônia, in the upper Amazon River basin. The population is estimated to be 426,558 people...
, BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(approx. 24,000 figures)http://www.antonygormley.com/viewphotoseries.php?photoseriesid=50&page=1 - Field for the British Isles (1993) made in St HelensSt Helens, MerseysideSt Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...
near LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
in the UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(approx. 40,000 figures)http://www.antonygormley.com/viewphotoseries.php?photoseriesid=47&page=1 - European Field (1993) made in Östra GrevieÖstra GrevieÖstra Grevie is a locality situated in Vellinge Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 436 inhabitants in 2005....
, SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
(approx. 40,000 figures)http://www.antonygormley.com/viewphotoseries.php?photoseriesid=48&page=1 - Asian Field (2003) made in Xiangshan village, GuangdongGuangdongGuangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province, People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(approx. 190,000 figures)http://www.antonygormley.com/viewphotoseries.php?photoseriesid=49&page=1 and http://www.britishcouncil.org/arts-art-sculpture-antony-gormley-asian-field.html - Asian Field (2004) made in RoppongiRoppongiis a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, famous as home to the rich Roppongi Hills area and an active night club scene. Many foreign embassies are located in Roppongi, and the night life is popular with locals and foreigners alike...
, TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(approx. 200,000 figures) - Field for the Art Gallery of New South Wales (1989) http://www.antonygormley.com/viewphotoseries.php?photoseriesid=51&page=1
Field for the British Isles was typical in recruiting some 100 volunteers from the pupils and their extended families, of two local schools in St Helens
St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...
. Each volunteer was given a portion of the 30 tonnes of clay required, along with some loose instructions specifying the rough size and proportions for the figures. An accidental feature of the original Field was that Texca family involved people aged from 6 to 60 working on the figures, and Gormley felt that the involvement of three generations of a family should be continued in all the subsequent versions.
Gormley has also made several other works entitled Field, but these are smaller groups of life size figures more typical of Gormley's earlier work.
In 1994, Gormley won the Turner prize
Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50. Awarding the prize is organised by the Tate gallery and staged at Tate Britain. Since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the United Kingdom's most publicised...
with a collection of his work, including Field for the British Isles, shown at the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
.
Field has resulted in some people believing that it was unfair for Gormley to pass the work of the Texca family as his own. Some of the statues were stolen as a result of this.
External links
- Antony Gormley's Official site
- Overview of the Field project
- Field at the Tate Liverpool in 2004
- Studio International review of Field for the British Isles, exhibited at the British Museum in 2002.