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Gormley art goes live but protester hijacks the launch
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent06.07.09
The biggest public artwork Britain has ever seen went live today with an unscheduled dramatic opening.
With about five minutes to launch, an anti-smoking protester defied security to become — briefly — the first ordinary punter on the Trafalgar Square fourth plinth.
Stuart Holmes, from London, ran along a balustrade, made a dramatic leap onto the security net and scrambled to the top just as artist Antony Gormley was preparing to declare One & Other, his ambitious 100-day project, open.
Rachel Wardell, 35, who was picked at random from the 15,500 who applied to become the first person to stand on the plinth, was able to take her place at 9am after Mr Holmes acceded to Gormley's pleas to let her become the inaugural human sculpture as planned.
Organisers launched an immediate review of security. Project producer Helen Marriage said: “With any live event, security is under constant review. We didn't anticipate this and we will be looking at how we handle things in future.”
Mr Holmes said he had no qualms about interrupting proceedings with his banner calling for actors to be banned from smoking in films to “save the children”. “This is probably the most important message that is going to go from that plinth,” he said.
Afterwards, Gormley described Holmes as “a wonderful warm-up act”.
Mrs Wardell, a mother-of-two from Sleaford, Lincolnshire, said it had been very calm and peaceful on the plinth — compared with the scrum of attention at ground level. She held an NSPCC lollipop with a helpline number to encourage people to report child abuse, but stood largely still as a statue. “It was a fantastic experience,” she said. “And tonight I will go home and tomorrow I will take the kids to school.”
After Jason Clark, 41, a nurse from Brighton, Jill Gatcum, 51, an IT consultant from Marylebone, became the third occupant. Pouring rain did not deter her from releasing balloons that friends and family had “bought” with a donation for charity.
Later came Scott Illman, 34, a bar owner from Hammersmith, who dressed as a town crier to advertise his businesses. He said his hour was free advertising in the credit crunch.
Steve Platt, 54, who wielded a chalkboard with the message “I am not a pigeon”, said he was doing it to give his 20-month-old grandson something to remember him by. And Goldsmiths fine art graduate Suren Seneviratne, 22, dressed as a panda and invited people to call him on his mobile
Hundreds more people have applied to take a place on the plinth, with more than 16,000 applications now registered. The next batch of names will be unveiled next month.
Reader views (5)
What a worthless waste of time this "installation" is?!!!
A bunch of egomaniacs, including Mr. Gormley, making a spectacle of themselves. For all those who stand up there to promote a charity there will be hundreds of sad attention-seekers making fools of themselves playing dress-up or trying to be "funny"!!!
What a complete embarrassment to the history and dignity of Trafalgar Square? And for what? So a bunch of self-centred people can enjoy 15 minutes of fame?
This isn't art, it's just a shambles.
- Alex, London
Poor old gormless. Antony Gormley must be the laziest and therefore, inappropriately, wealthiest sculptor to walk this earth. His idea, if you can credit this stunt with any imagination at all, is typical of the man and the people who cringe in his populist shadow. It is worthless rubbish, both as an “event” and as a representation of British Art. It will be interesting to see if the Art Establishment confers or denies this charlatan his desired gong, as a result of this charade. If they stop and look at his body of work (90% of his work is his body) they will recognise that he has fooled most of the people, for most of the time. That is “est” for you. “est” was adopted, in part, by the Zen master approach, which was often abusive, profane, demeaning, and authoritarian. "I'll tell you everything there is to know about life," the trainer gleefully announced. "What is, is, and what ain't, ain't." This is the best opportunity we have to bin him, yes, Gormley, for once and for all.
- Andrew, Spitalfields London England
Ban actors from smoking? I can see it now. The next big feature set in the 1960s, and not a cigarette in sight, because nobody smoked in the 1960s, did they?! Get real, Mr Holmes.
- Jock, London
This 4th plinth is becoming a joke. The only person who deserves that spot is the Duke of Wellington.
- Dhan Raj, Basildon
Stuart Holmes stole the show today. Makes one proud to be part of this nation.
- Mike Mitchell, Spalding, England
