Startling moving amusing challenging confusing disturbing?
Whatever your reaction to them, the sculptures on the ‘Fourth Plinth’ in Trafalgar Square cannot simply be ignored. Of all possible sites for sculpture, none in London could be as prominent as the fourth plinth, situated in the public grandeur of Trafalgar Square, destination of at least 5 million visitors a year, crosswalk for legions of civil and uncivil servants, embassy and consulate officials and parliamentary advisors and our members.
Here, for the past quarter of a century, in a decidedly familiar English world of grey and amber stone, of columns and fountains, of statues of monarchs and admirals and generals, appear three-dimensional artworks seemingly from the outer space of contemporary art. A vulnerable near naked ‘marble’ Jesus; a huge cockerel bluer than the Mediterranean sky; a Rubenesque pregnant artist with no arms; HMS Victory full sail in an enormous bottle; a golden boy, perhaps a generic Peter Pan, on a nursery rocking horse; an ancient Assyrian/ Iraqi winged bull, and, at present, a silent but pregnant conversation between African Baptist preacher John Chilembwe and English missionary John Chorley, each facing the emblems, the barriers, the reality of their separate cultures, not one another.
These and others, part of the rotating programme of sculptures on the fourth plinth, unbroken for 24 years, are under threat. The current government has remembered a 174yr old plan for the Fourth Plinth to justify using it now for a permanent statue of Queen Elizabeth. Whether we agree or not to this proposal, we suggest that before its destiny is decided by invisible players in closed and dusty chambers, the Fourth Plinth is deserving of considered public input and intelligent debate as to its future. As a small (but vibrant) arts and heritage membership organization, one of erudite study as well as intentional recreation, one of longstanding and sitting in the land for over 37 Years, we feel motivated to contribute to the national debate at community level.
Therefore, this autumn 2023 Inscape course initiates a fair and objective analysis of these works. Addressing the sculptures in primarily chronological order, from 1999 to the present, Nicholas will offer a 45-minute talk on the background to each work, including the other works passed over in the competition for the commission. He will present each work from the perspective of the artist, himself or herself, using their stated intentions for their Fourth Plinth commission, related autobiographical material, interviews, unbiased articles, letters, etc., in order to maintain a respectful even dispassionate position about each piece and its ‘author’. Nicholas will ask if these sculptures were true to their creator’s intentions? He will illustrate the other works in the artists’ oeuvre for clues that might help translate the artwork in question. He will also comment on what the anointed mandarins of the fine art world have had to say about these works. He will ask how each artist may have reflected the events of the extraordinary past 24 years in our national and global history: from the exultant celebrations of the millennium, to the 2003 invasion of Iraq; from the 2008 economic crash through to the turbulent events of 2016 when the enthronement of MAGA Donald Trump coincided with Britain’s exit from the European Union; from George Floyd’s 2020 public assassination and similar horrors that gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement, to the emergence of the Me Too movement as it redefined the assumption of the “male prerogative”, and on to the global trauma of the lockdown Covid years of 2020 and beyond.
It is our intention that by the completion of this course we may better comprehend the role that the Fourth Plinth has played in our national and international conversation. It is our hope that as a community we can respond as informed contributors, rather than reactionary citizenry, to what will surely become more strident debate about its survival as the smallest outdoor sculpture garden in the world. Is the Fourth Plinth a pulpit, or a stage? Whichever it is, the Fourth Plinth commissions have been, and, or have the potential to be, potent reminders of the best of art produced in these islands. Some, like the works of Hogarth, engage in a satirical look at the society of their time; some, like the works of Joshua Reynolds, startle us with their poses; some, like the works of Turner, simply ahead of their time; some, like the works of Henry Moore or Barbara Hepworth, draw our attention to fundamental human relationships.
This course offers to be profound as well as humorous, led in a fair-minded way by Moderator Nicholas Friend. His remarks will be unbiased, neither showing his hand for or against individual works. He will encourage contributions from participants with diverse viewpoints and step in with a stopwatch when necessary to give all participants a chance to add to the debate. Those who wish to get ahead of the Moderator himself, and see these works wonderfully photographed from every possible angle may, at time of booking, ask for our recommendation of adjunct text for this course. Please do join us.
Booking Information:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
With this fifteen session course extending from September through to the holidays, we hope to establish an informal seminar modus operandi- imagine, if you will, a Round Table around which all are gathered, albeit in the ether, a group that meets on a weekly basis with the same participants. This will allow us to relate one sculpture with another previously discussed, refer back to previous points of view expressed by participants, and gain strength as a singular voice in this debate. Therefore, we invite you to take this course in its entirety. If you are forced to miss a session, you will receive the recording.
This online course via Zoom has been developed by Louise Friend and Nicholas Friend. It will be presented by Nicholas Friend, Co-Founder of Inscape. It is held on Tuesdays and one Thursday, beginning on Tuesday 19 September 2023 at 5 pm and ending on Thursday 21 December 2023 at 5 pm. Please note the time of 5 pm: Nicholas will be lecturing from California (at 9 am his time) for the duration of this course.
If you would like to attend but cannot manage a particular date, then be assured we will be sending recordings of sessions to all participants. Each session meets from 20 minutes before the advertised time of the lecture, and each lasts roughly forty five minutes with 30 minutes for discussion.
Cost: £405 members or £495 non-members for the course of 9 sessions or £45 members or £55 non-members per individual session. All sessions are limited to 21 participants to permit an after-lecture discussion session.
Due to the coronavirus cheques are not a viable option at this time. Instead, please make your payment to Friend&Friend Ltd by bank transfer to our account with Metrobank, bank sort code 23-05-80, account number 13291721 or via PayPal to nicholas@inscapetours.co.uk, or credit/debit card by phone to Henrietta on 07940 719397. She is available Tuesdays 10-12 and 2-5 pm or Thursdays 10-12 and 2-5 pm. Do get in touch if you would like extra support learning how to use Zoom.
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INSCAPE CULTURAL STUDY SOCIETY 