- Field (sculpture)
"Field" (
1991 ) is a sculpture by British artistAntony Gormley . It consists of approx. 35,000 [http://www.antonygormley.com/viewphotoseries.php?photoseriesid=6&page=1] individualterracotta figures, each between 8 and 26cm high, installed on the floor of a room facing the viewer. The figures were sculpted inCholula Mexico by about 60 members of aTexca family of brickmakers, under the supervision of the artist. The sculpture received a lot of media attention upon its first display, and many affectionate parodies."Field" has been installed and displayed at various locations. The specific configuration is changed to suit each location, but the miniature figures are always placed to form a dense carpet with each figure looking towards the viewer. Ideally the Field is extended through a doorway or round a corner, so that the figures going out of sight leave the impression of an unlimited horde.
Several other versions of "Field" have subsequently been created, including
*"Amazonian Field" (1991) made inPorto Velho ,Brazil (approx. 24,000 figures) [http://www.antonygormley.com/viewphotoseries.php?photoseriesid=50&page=1]
*"Field for the British Isles" (1993) made in St Helens nearLiverpool in the UK (approx. 40,000 figures) [http://www.antonygormley.com/viewphotoseries.php?photoseriesid=47&page=1]
*"European Field" (1993) made inÖstra Grevie ,Sweden (approx. 40,000 figures) [http://www.antonygormley.com/viewphotoseries.php?photoseriesid=48&page=1]
*"Asian Field" (2003) made in Xiangshan village,Guangdong province,People's Republic of China (approx. 190,000 figures) [http://www.antonygormley.com/viewphotoseries.php?photoseriesid=49&page=1] and [http://www.britishcouncil.org/arts-art-sculpture-antony-gormley-asian-field.html]
*"Asian Field" (2004) made inRoppongi ,Tokyo ,Japan (approx. 200,000 figures)
*"Field for the Art Gallery of New South Wales" (1989) [http://www.antonygormley.com/viewphotoseries.php?photoseriesid=51&page=1]"Field for the British Isles" was typical in recruiting some 100 volunteers from the pupils and their extended families, of two local schools in St Helens. Each volunteer was given a portion of the 30 tonnes of clay required, along with some loose instructions specifying the rough size and proportions for the figures. An accidental feature of the original Field was that Texca family involved people aged from 6 to 60 working on the figures, and Gormely felt that the involvement of three generations of a family should be continued in all the subsequent version.
Gormley has also made several other works entitled "Field", but these are smaller groups of life size figures more typical of Gormley's earlier work.
In
1994 , Gormley won theTurner prize with a collection of his work, including "Field for the British Isles", shown at theTate Gallery .External links
* [http://www.antonygormley.com/ Antony Gormley's Official site]
* [http://www.antonygormley.co.uk/ www.AntonyGormley.co.uk] for more work by Antony Gormley
* [http://www.antonygormley.com/viewproject.php?projectid=10&page=1 Overview of the "Field" project]
* [http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/exhibitions/gormley/ Field at the Tate Liverpool] in 2004
* [http://www.studio-international.co.uk/sculpture/gormley_a.htm Studio International] review of "Field for the British Isles", exhibited at the British Museum in 2002.
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