Forum Topic

Yeats Statue

I'm sure many on here will like it.  I think it's hideous and ruins the beauty of the church.

Claire Moran ● 1478d33 Comments

Or to quote John Joyce (father) when shown Constantin Brancusi's "Spirit of James Joyce" "The boy seems to have changed a good deal"*
michael adams

Michael Adams ● 1477d

Horrible statue, an eye sore.  Who on earth dreamed it up?

Caroline MacMillan ● 1477d

I thought the same looking at the photos and an hour later looked at it in real life when walking past,it looks ok. I think you need to blame the photos

Julian Pavey ● 1477d

Why would it make me think of Yeats?

Keith Iddon ● 1477d

Having seen it in broad daylight I'm not totally convinced now
Question ? Does this mean solar panels high up on roofs in Bedford park will get the green light now? Certainly would not be allowed in your front garden

Julian Pavey ● 1477d

Utterly hideous - WB deserves much better.

Charlotte Kasner ● 1477d

Superb, even beats the Cristiano Ronaldo statue.

Russell Pearson ● 1476d

Presumably the transparency is to reflect the etheral nature of poetry, as compared with more solid forms like er...sculpture.Howver the angular nature of the shapes looks more like Vorticism. Whereas Yeats was a  traditional poet inasmuch ashis stuff actually rhymed. And so swirling curved shapes would probably have been more appropriate.Pretentious ?  Moi ?michael adams

Michael Adams ● 1476d

I think it’s a postmodern version of Vorticism where things won’t fall apart and the centre holds. Even when it gets windy.

Russell Pearson ● 1476d

It's apparently some kind of reference to his cloth of gold poem  - tread softly for you tread on my dreams. A favourite poem of a journalist friend who sadly died young and I read it at her memorial service at Saint Brides. She would turn in her grave at this.

Claire Moran ● 1476d

There is an interesting article on The Chiswick Calendar website which is very informative.

Stewart Jones ● 1475d

I like the statue very much, its esoteric nature about, in my view, creativity and how ideas change according to observations and circumstances.  For me, the statue reflects changing perceptions.  During the unveiling a passing red bus created stripes on the angled gold and silver metallic leaves, with kaleidoscopic effect.  Modernity works very well with old buildings, angular creations with curves, and the statue reflects the artistic nature of Bedford Park.  It's a fantastic addition to the area.

Lucy Chambers ● 1474d

I might alert Private Eye to that last posting.

Keith Iddon ● 1474d

Agreed, Lucy - a thing of beauty. Ignore the bad-mannered philistine.

Robert Fish ● 1474d

I think some here would only be happy with something agreeably twee, like a statue of a Penelope Keith or a large garden gnome fishing. 

John Hall ● 1474d

I think its called personal taste which we all have. Im 80/20 in favour,its the gold colour mirror strips thatjust remind me of 1970s magnolia

Julian Pavey ● 1474d

A giant garden gnome, with fishing road would be grand. It could sit on the new bridge come foot way and reach out over the Thames. Let’s see if LBH can commission http://www.jeffkoons.com/

Russell Pearson ● 1474d

" a large garden gnome fishing."As it happems gnomes were/are mythologal figures with reputed magical powers, and so quite possibly would have appealed to Yeats.  Although quite what poor Penelope Keith* has done, to get dragged into this, is quite another matter.michael adams* aka Dame Penelope Anne Constance Keith, DBE, DL

Michael Adams ● 1474d

or even mythological

Michael Adams ● 1474d

Russell, I like your thinking but wouldn't Big Ears be more appropriate?

Adrian Irving ● 1474d

I think he has got mixed up with Penelope Keith and Richard Briers. Maybe its the time of day for some

Julian Pavey ● 1474d

Even better! Let’s have him in the “market place”

Russell Pearson ● 1474d

The statue deserves Lucy Chamber's description; I spotted it from a passing 272 bus two days ago, and just went "Wow".

Denis I. Fox ● 1474d

Ah Lucy, there is no accounting for taste, including my own from another's viewpoint.I'd ignore the judgemental little toady if I were you.

Keith Iddon ● 1474d

I think all you naysayers should give the statue time to make a more favourable  impression on you. And read some WB Yeats poetry.

Lucy Chambers ● 1474d

Lucy, I am undecided about the statue,never having seen it.I haven't even commented on it, unlike some others who have been pretty scathing about it.I merely asked why it would make me think of Yeats.I wonder if this statue would inspire passers by who may not even know who Yeats was to seek out his poetry.If you know all about Yeats, well good for you but it is hardly bringing him to a wider audience on the face of it.As a piece of sculpture it looks ok from the photo, although anything like this must be seen to be appreciated or deprecated.

Keith Iddon ● 1473d

Read plenty of Yeats, thank you. I wonder what he'd think of it.

Claire Moran ● 1473d

It is clear from the Chiswick Calendar article that Conrad Shawcross who created this art work was inspired by two of Yeat's poems in particular - Aedh wishes for the clothes of Heaven and The Second Coming.  The Second Coming, written in 1919, has always struck me as incredibly powerful and prescient and includes the references to "Turning and turning in the widening gyre". To me at least the art work is an idiosyncratic evocation of a gyre. Others may of course see it differently.Yeats (and his wife) developed a whole philosphy about Life and History that the gyres were an integral part of. In my opinion it is not necessary to try and understand this esoterica to appreciate his poetry but it does help us to understand Shawcross's brilliant work of art that will inspire, confuse and dazzle those that see it for decades to come.    I have cut and pasted the whole poem below. Many of you will already be familiar with it - rather sadly it now seems more than ever appropriate;Turning and turning in the widening gyre  The falcon cannot hear the falconer;Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere  The ceremony of innocence is drowned;The best lack all conviction, while the worst  Are full of passionate intensity.Surely some revelation is at hand;Surely the Second Coming is at hand.  The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out  When a vast image out of Spiritus MundiTroubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert  A shape with lion body and the head of a man,  A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,  Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it  Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.  The darkness drops again; but now I know  That twenty centuries of stony sleepWere vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,  And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,  Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Sam Hearn ● 1471d

Claire - I do not mean to be critical but your comment made me think of another Yeat's poem - The Scholars, and in particular the line "Lord, what would they sayDid their Catullus walk that way?"I make no apologies for cut and pasting the whole of this short poem. BALD heads forgetful of their sins,Old, learned, respectable bald headsEdit and annotate the linesThat young men, tossing on their beds,Rhymed out in love’s despairTo flatter beauty’s ignorant ear.They’ll cough in the ink to the world’s end;Wear out the carpet with their shoesEarning respect; have no strange friend;If they have sinned nobody knows.Lord, what would they sayDid their Catullus walk that way?

Sam Hearn ● 1471d

" Yeats (and his wife) developed a whole philosphy about Life and History that the gyres were an integral part of." Granted. But surely the whole point about gyrs is that they consist of curves whereas this sculpture is an arrangemnt of straight lines and angles  — cleverly arranged its agreed  quote " Enwrought Light is one of a series of sculptures Conrad has created which are essentially stacks of tetrahedons (a polyhedron with four triangular faces, like a pyramid only with a triangular base). unquote: Basically strightg lines and angles, tetrahedrons etc are more the presreve of the Voticists and Futurists who positively embraced the machine age whereas Yeats sought to turn his back on it Basically Yeats was all curves hence  Yeats gyrs © https://www.yeatsvision.com/Geometry.html
While somewhat ironically the Chiswick Calender interview with the sculptor Conrad Shawcross features maquettes for sculptures which would seem to more more readily fit the bill © Conrad Shawcross/The Chiswick Calendar 2022 While as always I stand to be corrected here, but possibly the reason Yeats isn't more associated with Bedford Park is simply because while he lived in Bedford Park he was always writing about living somewhere else and when he was living somewhere else he never wrote about living in Bedford Park. Or maybe I'm wrong I will arise and go now, and go to Bedford Park
And a very nice house I will rent there,
In pleasing Queen Anne Style,
And only five minutes walk away from the Station
Around the Corner at Turnham Green
And all filled with my Arts and Crafts nick-nacks
All machine made, but then we can all dream.

Michael Adams ● 1470d

" Yeats (and his wife) developed a whole philosphy about Life and History that the gyres were an integral part of." Granted. But surely the whole point about gyrs is that they consist of curves whereas this sculpture is an arrangemnt of straight lines and angles  — cleverly arranged its agreed  quote " Enwrought Light is one of a series of sculptures Conrad has created which are essentially stacks of tetrahedons (a polyhedron with four triangular faces, like a pyramid only with a triangular base). unquote: Basically strightg lines and angles, tetrahedrons etc are more the presreve of the Voticists and Futurists who positively embraced the machine age whereas Yeats sought to turn his back on it Basically Yeats was all curves hence  Yeats gyrs © https://www.yeatsvision.com/Geometry.html
While somewhat ironically the Chiswick Calender interview with the sculptor Conrad Shawcross features maquettes for sculptures which would seem to more more readily fit the bill © Conrad Shawcross/The Chiswick Calendar 2022 While as always I stand to be corrected here, but possibly the reason Yeats isn't more associated with Bedford Park is simply because while he lived in Bedford Park he was always writing about living somewhere else and when he was living somewhere else he never wrote about living in Bedford Park. Or maybe I'm wrong I will arise and go now, and go to Bedford Park
And a very nice house I will rent there,
In pleasing Queen Anne Style,
And only five minutes walk away from the Station
Around the Corner at Turnham Green
And all filled with my Arts and Crafts nick-nacks
All machine made, but then we can all dream.

Michael Adams ● 1470d

I passed by with my family on Sunday and we all admired it.Personally I would have  preferred to see the unveiling delayed until the job was finished as I assume permanent fencing is intended.

Adrian Irving ● 1469d

Yes Adrian..delaying the unveiling and ideally till next year might have been more appropriate.W B Yeats became the first Irishman  to receive a Nobel Prizeand that was in 1923.Couldn't they have waited one more year?

Jim Lawes ● 1464d