Yorkshire Sculpture Park

A Henry Moore Sculpture- 3 Piece reclining figure

Yorkshire Sculpture Park was established in 1977and set in 500 acres of 18th century designed parkland. It is the UK's first permanent sculpture park. It is an internationally renowned centre for modern and contemporary art.

The open air collections compromises long and short term loans, as well as gifts from individuals and artists.

The Upright Motives

The park is situated in the grounds of Bretton Hall.

Henry Moore was the leading British artist of his generation, celebrated and commissioned worldwide. His work introduced' modernism' to a much wider audience. 

 There was plenty of entertainment on offer for both young and old . The 'Bubble Man' in particular had a very captive audience wth his 'bubble mill; and ' giant bubble creator'.

In the middle of the park , the lower and upper lakes and surrounding woodland provide lovely tranquil walks . There are bridges, folliesand stunning historical features such as a Greek-style Summer House, Stepping Stones and a Shell Grotto. The circular walk around the lakes probably took us a good couple of hours.

'Charity'

'The Hat Makes The Man'

I was really please to see that my favourite Artist Damien Hirst had 4 sculptures exhibited in the Deer Park.

 

Hirst’s ten-metre tall The Virgin Mother, 2005–2006 stands against the backdrop of the Lower Lake, a powerful and towering presence on the landscape. It is considered a reference to  Degas’s Little Dancer of Fourteen Years.

The sculpture’s middle section reveals the foetus  curled        within the womb.

The Hat Makes the Man, 2004–2007 is based on a 1920 collage of the same name by Surrealist artist Max Ernst. Ernst’s work is comprised of cut-out images of hats absurdly reassembled in stacks with intentionally phallic-like supports. It is described as being inspired by Sigmund Freud’s book The Joke and Its Relation to the Unconscious (1905), in which Freud describes the hat as a symbol of repressed male desire.

Charity, 2002–2003, on display near the recently opened Weston building, is recognisable as based on Scope collection boxes which were commonly seen on British high streets between the 1960s and 1970s. A young girl wearing a calliper forlornly cradles a teddy bear and a donations box which reads ‘please give generously’. The work questions historic and outdated ways of depicting disability and seeking charity.

Damien Hirst's -The Virgin Mother

 

'Myth'

Myth, 2010 presents a white unicorn with half of its skin flayed to reveal vibrant red, pink and yellow musculature and tissues. Hirst often takes religious or mythical figures as his subjects, unpicking and disrupting their familiar narratives. Horses have been an artistic subject for millennia and, referencing this tradition, Hirst’s unicorn stands high on a classical plinth. Like all works in this display, Myth makes a playful nod to art history.

Seventy One Steps

'Crate of Air' 2018

David Nash created a site specific commission  Seventy-one Steps climbs from the lake up to the top of the bank, connecting the two sides of the valley and the four galleries. Seventy one huge oak steps, carefully charred and oiled, follow the lie of the land on the hill. The steps are completed by 30 tonnes of coal embedded between the steps to create a stunning installation that will erode and change over time.

'Crate of Air' Is made up of eight corten steel sections, each constructed and welded seperately. It is one of a series of sculptures that explore the open space of grids. It was created by Sean Scully.

The Coffin Jump

The Coffin jump is inspired by women in the First World War. Particularly the Nursing Yeomanry. The instillation combines sculpture , sound and performance and symbolises the new freedoms given to women in war. The text that appears on the jump are from a diary entry from a nurse in 1915 who was an Ambulance driver. The exhibit was created in 1987 by Katrina Palmer.

Jaume Plensa ' wilsis'

MikayelOhanjanyan 'Diario'

Diario, an oversized iron table , blocks of marble are strangled by steel cables. The surface is penetrated of the marble to reveal glimpses of the interior. Apparently there are inscriptions within the cracks listing the name of every person the artist ever met..... 

'First Man'

Crossing (Horizontal)

Nigel Hall has refined a process over 40
 years mainly concerned with enclosing and occupying space, light and shadow. Lines plat a key part to demonstrate his understanding of space.


'First Man' by Elisabeth Frink  shows her appreciation for the male human form.for its potency and strength. In the background you can just see ' large Idol' by William Turnbull ans denotes phallic and female fertility imagery.

One of my favourite exhibits was Ai Weiwi's Circle of Animals/ Zodiac Heads. A really striking and dramatic collection of 12 bronze animal heads based on the Chinese calendar.

Although all are equally impressive my favourite would have to be the Tiger .

The Tiger

'Buddha'

'Promenade'

Sir  Anthony Caro was an important figure in the development of  20th century sculpture. Caro likes to place his work on the floor rather than a plinth . He did have reservations about this sculpture being placed in natural surroundings. However felt it worked well in Lower Park close to the lake.

Buddha by Niki de Saint Phalle is created by using mirror , glass and stone to create stunning work on a huge scale.

Vulcan

Sir Eduardo Paolozzi was very influential in the British Pop Art movement. Vulcan is half man and half machine. A monument to the modern industrial age. Vulcan is the Roman God of fire and metalworking. Thrown from Mount Olympus by his mother who was ashamed of his looks. During the fall Vulcan is said to have broken his leg . This might be why he is depicted as having on foot massively larger than the other?

Now here is an interesting bit to reward you for sticking with the story.

Myth has it that that after marrying Venus , the goddess of love and beauty .Vulcan but a forge under Mount Etna in Sicily .It is said that whenever Venus was unfaithful Vulcan became angry ad beat the red hot metal with such force that sparks and smoke rose up from the top of the mountain. Thus creating a volcanic eruption , from Vulcan comes Volcano. 


It was a fantastic day at the sculpture park and I mean a full day . I suspect that even then we only saw half of the exhibits. Just a final word about the toilets ... I'm not sure if mixed toilets works or is a good idea ?  Normally one doesn't have to queue for the gents , unless of course you are at a Marillion concert , that is a given. Most people, men and women and those in between all had a look that said they were not comfortable with the arrangement.