Alien Nations, Sumo Wrestlers and Public Sculpture

What people forget about sculpture, especially public sculpture, is that by its very nature we are dealing with a physical entity. It occupies and alters space.

In order to secure visibility in the urban landscape, sculptures tend to be large and (in most cases) immovable. People walk up to them like sumo wrestlers stepping up to their mark.

They sway gently on their heels measuring their opponent. They prod and push trying to find some weakness in the body of the work.

The first time you see a new sculpture it may well have encroached upon your daily walk – for years you have walked this path with no obstruction. But today it is here. It blocks you. You will not pass without engagement.

This is a physical confrontation. It is the first meeting of a human and something that may well be from outer space. An alien nation has landed and deposited a totem that is in most cases unreadable, unfathomable. What are they trying to say?

The response is often one of indignation and bewilderment.

I believe that public art is not so much about understanding what the individual works mean, but more that the society in which it resides is one that is open to creation, open to bewilderment.

Public sculpture and architecture is the face of a community; a society that is strong and certain about its own identity, willing to embrace diversity.