c. Sites for Artworks

Transcription

1 c. Sites for Artworks c.1

2 What is a site? The context is half the work (The Artist Placement group, 1966) Thinking about the site for an artwork is an imaginative process. A site might be a single geographical location, such as the base of a particular tree or fork in a footpath. It might also be a wider geographical area, referring to the space within the footprint of a forest or lake. A site might be a one metre width of land either side of a 1km long fence, it might be the canopy of a woodland or a space 2 metres above the ground. The site for an artwork might be something that moves, that people carry with them. It might be the area in which a sound can be heard, which increases or decreases according to the wind. The site for an artwork in Aden is extremely important, partly because its characteristics affect the health and safety, lifespan and installation of the work but also because high quality artwork should be developed in response to its site and wider context. The artwork will be experienced in its context and therefore the significance of all of the surrounding characteristics is really high. c.3

3 Stones were about navigation in a time before maps, how might public art present new approaches to navigation, through a trail (Stakeholder meeting) Aden Country Park is a large scaled space, with such a rich variety of habitats and points of interest. It is a risk that if artworks are scattered throughout the park too thinly they disappear and become largely unnoticed. On one hand this would respond well to the idea of secretive, hidden pieces for people to encounter. However in the early stages of establishing art projects for Aden, the accessibility and identity of the art projects would be assisted if there was a relationship to particular sites. This doesn t mean that the pieces can t still be hidden and searched for within this. For example if people are aware that a particular section of woodland has a temporary exhibition, then it encourages them to explore it in more detail. This is important for introducing the idea of art in the park to people more clearly, and it would help to make the case for the artworks stronger, particularly during the period when artworks are of small budgets and temporary. The placement of artwork in any one of these sites should enhance and alter how people navigate or explore the park. The following suggested sites respond to the different relationships with the park that people have discussed as important.

4 Should art projects be sited in the most popular parts of the park or lead people to new areas? big projects which are infrequent No. of trees = 1 vote artworks in busy parts artworks in quiet parts c.5

5 Site 1 : Key Features; Clues, Ruins and Destinations The Mansion House is crying out for something (Park visitor) I d love to see figures in the old house, sculptures showing how people used to live and what they wore (Visitor to the park) You could have a big maze up by the gym in that massive field, or something by the Ice House (Child visiting the park) Not many people know what an Ice House is! (Park visitor at Aden Christmas Fayre)

6 Clues, Ruins and Destinations x Book of Deer 2. Twin Lodge 3. Significant Tree 4. Recumbant Stone 5. Cattle Creep 6. View point 7. Twin Bridge 8. Victorian Arboretum 9. Bridge 10. Tree with Visible Roots 11. Ice House 12. Mineral Well 13. Lake 14. Mill Wheel 15. Picnic Bench 16. Gas Works 17. Tennis Court 18. Mansion House 19. Foresters Lodge 20. Episcopal Ruin

7 Site 2 : Water; The Ugie, Puddles, Ponds and Wells The lake is really missing something, something to enliven it, you must go down to the lake and see (Conversation with a Landscape Service staff member) It would be great to see something fun in the pond. A duck on a spring, something that jumps up unexpectedly (Visitor to the park) Every time we come we go down to the bridge and play Poohsticks (Family visiting the park) I just love the pond in winter, have you ever seen it frozen, when all the ferns get stuck in the ice, the patterns are just stunning, it s like a beautiful piece of art (Park visitor at Aden Christmas Fayre) I d like to do a crocodile hunt in the lake (School pupil)

8 Water; The Ugie, Puddles, Ponds and Wells Lake Ditches Ugie Water

9 Site 3 : Lesser explored woodlands at the fringes It should break the mould of the set walk (Visitor to the Park) Tree swings, things kids swing on, cut the tree stumps and make things they can jump between, then you could do races and competitions (Family visiting the park) We tend to avoid the woods at the edges of the park as we tend to think it s just for dog walkers, but if there were artworks there we would definitely go (Park visitor at Aden Christmas Fayre)

10 Woodland Areas Lesser explored woodlands at the fringes

11 Site 4 : Thresholds; Boundaries, Gates, Bridges There are a whole load of networks to be explored, tracks, cycle tracks etc. The park is mostly geared up for visitors that arrive by car, other ways of people getting there could be explored (Stakeholder meeting) There could be artwork along the main road, as a way of telling people new things about the park (Visitor to the park) The park is already very sectioned up, the best parts are fence free, gaps lead you from one place to another (Stakeholder meeting) Let s not be afraid let artwork get us physically lost (Stakeholders meeting)

12 Thresholds; Boundaries, Gates, Bridges Boundary

13 Site 5 : An Agricultural Heritage Trail; Hareshowe to the museum and back Lots of people don t know where Hareshowe Farm is located, there s a need to physically continue the story from the farm to the museum and vice versa. The path should lead people between Hareshowe and the Museum. Also there is potential for some of the contents of the museum to be interpreted along the route, in the park itself, through artworks. (Museum Staff)

14 An Agricultural Heritage Trail; Hareshowe to the museum and back Museum Hareshowe Farm