Places to go
The Angel of the North is always open to the public, but there are many other examples of public art around the country that are worth visiting.
Angel of the North
The open arms of the Angel of the North greet visitors as they
approach Gateshead by road or rail. The landmark sculpture by Antony
Gormley was finished in 1998.
Address: On the A1 at Gateshead South, Gateshead
Baltic
Opened in 2002, BALTIC is a gallery for modern art and lies at the
heart of the regeneration of Gateshead Quays.
The Angel of the North was the end result of more than 15 years of work
by Gateshead Council to put art in public places. The great reputation
it got for helping create something like the Angel, meant the council
was able to get funding to convert the Baltic Flour Mills into this
international centre for the contemporary visual arts – the largest
outside London.
Address: South Shore Road, Gateshead
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral is one of the largest in England. The earliest
part of the present building is the crypt, which dates from the
early-12th century. It tends to flood a lot because it is sinking into
the swamp it was built on.
The crypt is home to a lead and fibreglass statue by Antony Gormley
called Sound II installed in 1986. The solitary human figure with
cupped hands looks very peaceful under the low arches.
Address: 1 The Close, Winchester
Crosby Beach
Crosby Beach may not seem an obvious place for a famous artist to
exhibit his work, but Antony Gormley likes to show his sculptures in
unusual places.
Another Place was put on the beach in July 2005 and is a massive
installation made up of 100 cast-iron figures, moulded from the
artist’s own body. The ghostly, life-size figures are dotted along 3km
of the Crosby shore, sparse in some places and grouped closer together
nearer the seafront. Each onlooker sees the work in a different way,
depending on where they are standing, the tide, weather conditions and
time of day. At high tide all the figures are submerged. Gormley says
the work comments on man’s impact on the environment. It will be on
view until November 2006.
Address: From Blundellsands railway station: on the opposite side of the tracks to the ticket office, the Southport train side, walk down Blundellsands Road West to the end and a short footpath leads to the beach (5-10 minutes). Antony Gormley's "Another Place" stretches nearly two miles along Crosby Beach and is well signposted.
Leeds City Art Gallery
Leeds City Gallery has a wide range of sculpture second only to the
Tate Modern in
London. It holds the works of famous sculptors such as Auguste Rodin,
Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as more recent
artists such as Alison Wilding and Bill Woodrow.
Antony Gormley’s Model For The Leeds Brick Man is on show. It was the
smaller prototype for a 180ft sculpture of a brick figure, which was to
be put up on waste ground near Leeds railway station. Sadly, the
project was denied planning permission.
Next to the gallery is the Henry Moore Institute, with a sculpture
study centre and sculpture exhibitions.
Address: The Headrow, Leeds (next to Leeds Central Library)
Riverside Sculpture Park
It is not just the Angel of the North that puts Gateshead on the map
for public art. Elsewhere in the town, the Riverside Sculpture Park is
an award-winning collection of work by some of the country's leading
sculptors, including Andy Goldsworthy and Sally Matthews.
The park contains eight sculptures in many styles and materials along
about half a mile of the Tyne. These artworks are mixed into the daily
life of Gateshead, improving both rural and urban areas. They spark
discussion and give the community a sense of pride.
Richard Harris’s sculpture Bottle Bank was the first major work to be
commissioned by Gateshead Council. Straddling a footpath on the sloping
riverbank, this large walk-through sculpture is made of steel arches.
It needed 100 men to construct it in 1986, marking the beginning of the
Riverside Sculpture Park.
Address: Riverside, Gateshead
