Whether it’s an oversized sculpture, a new architectural wonder or a series of sculptures placed on roundabouts, landmark artworks seem to be everywhere. Although the recent economic downturn seems to have stemmed their proliferation, the last 10 years have seen a clear rise in the number of ‘landmark projects’.
As an artist fascinated by the role art can play in the public realm, I am at simultaneously drawn towards landmark artworks but also repelled by them. They are both proof that artists can have a dramatic impact on a place and monuments to something that isn’t about art at all.
It all seemed to kick off a few years after the completion of Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North in 1998. Once the initial local controversy had faded, it soon became recognised as a massive asset, triggering an economic transformation in Gateshead and becoming an identifying feature of the region. This success led to a mad dash across the country as councils sought to benefit from the ‘Angel effect’. The result has been some good quality pieces, some poor examples and a lot of the mediocre and unremarkable.
Today the idea that landmarks can play a major role in helping regeneration is commonplace but this begs the questions whether art should be about more than just creating another ‘iconic’ symbol of regeneration? Perhaps I’m oversimplifying it here, maybe the trick is to balance these two elements – making money and making art – without one pushing the other out of the picture. However, I do get the impression that this is becoming a whole separate category of art all together, one that is led by big stakes, big money and marketing.
To try and get my head around some of these issues I’ve decided to examine the places that have recently been witness to the arrival of new landmarks. The more landmarks I visit, the more I will add to this post.
Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth
At 170m the Spinnaker Tower dominates the skyline of Portsmouth. Approaching from the north I was surprised by its size and visibility – you see the tower before you’re even in the city itself, before you know anything about Portsmouth or what it has to offer. Deciding to create a landmark of this size is a high stakes gamble – getting it wrong could be disastrous.
Once I was in the city centre, walking through shopping arcades out towards the harbour, the tower became remarkably well hidden. In this way it appears to be a landmark that affects the street-level identity of the city much less than it impacts on the areas further away. It seems to seek the attention of people outside the city walls rather than inside – like it’s more focussed on enticing drivers on the M27 or people sailing out on the Solent.
The tower’s design, which represents sails billowing in the wind, becomes more apparent from the harbour area; perhaps it’s a little too apparent as it leaves no room for any plurality of interpretation – ‘this is a tower that looks like a sail – this place is about sailing etc’. Nevertheless, it is striking and it seems to do what it was supposed to do.
Opening five years late in 2005, (Spinnaker was originally called ‘Millennium Tower’), it was over budget at £36m and the council had to foot the last £11m. As with many other similar projects this sparked a fair amount of public animosity. In general, it seems a lot of public (or press) hostility stems from the fact that costs are easy to define but benefits are often more intangible and longer term.
Spinnaker has three observation decks and costs around £6 to visit. After buying my ticket I was greeted by several slightly over-enthusiastic members of staff dressed in circus attire. Today was circus day and up on the main viewing deck were two clowns juggling in front of a small audience. It would seem that 350 degree views are no longer enough of an attraction. Falling visitor numbers mean that today’s landmarks not only need to have a viewing platform but also need a calendar of events, museum and a shop; you can even get married up there. If landmark extraordinaire Anish Kapoor’s Olympic project is anything to go by, this trend looks likely to continue.
Since the arrival of Spinnaker Tower on the skyline of the south coast, neighbouring councils have set about the frantic task of coming up with their own eye-catching landmark. In Southsea, part of Portsmouth itself, there are sporadic plans for a giant ‘Solent Eye’ to rival the one that overlooks Westminster. In arch-rival city Southampton they first planned a giant Spitfire wing museum-tower and then toyed with the idea of firing lasers out of the clock tower before finally deciding that neither was achievable. For the last couple of years all has been quiet on the Southampton landmark front, perhaps this indicates an even bigger proposal is in the offing, or as I think is more likely, is this a sign that the latest chapter of ‘landmarking’ is coming to a close? I wonder if such major projects will now only be possible in the Olympic Village.
Heading away from Portsmouth I was left with the impression that, despite a range of challenges, Spinnaker Tower ‘works’. Aesthetically I don’t think it’s that interesting but what it does to the city, or more importantly why it does what it does, is interesting.
