When it comes to public art, everyone’s an expert. No sooner has a statue been installed in a park or on a roundabout or in front of a town hall than somebody will stroll by – usually on social media, it being the 21st century – to say how crap it is. They could have done better themselves (of course). It’s a waste of money (naturally). Never mind ‘art’, we should be supporting pensioners/veterans/the homeless (who are always invoked in these situations and conveniently ignored at all other times). And so on.
I’ve been thinking about this because last month, in Walsall Arboretum – a hop, skip, and a jump down the road from me – the council unveiled a couple of statues. And all hell broke loose.
Cards on the table here. I’m by no means a royalist, and I don’t much care for Corgis either. So it’s fair to say I’m not a natural cheerleader for statues of Corgis – at a cost of £35,000 – in memory of the late Queen. But neither am I a cheerleader for folk who are only happy when they’ve something to moan about – and would moan if their council hadn’t commemorated the late monarch, just as readily as they’ve become experts on the value (or otherwise) of public art right now.
Some folk like to believe that the artists who created the statues simply trousered £35k. Money for nothing, as the saying goes. But those of us involved in the arts – and those of us who choose to give it more than, say, thirty seconds thought – know that this sum covers time spent in endless discussions and meetings, drawing up and re-drawing drafts; it covers the work involved in ensuring the proposed artworks meet the brief given by the council; it covers the cost of materials; it pays for the employment of skilled craftsmen and craftswomen who create the moulds and cast (and in this case, paint) the statues; it pays for the council workers who prepare the site and install the plinths; it covers the cost of the unveiling ceremony; and it pays the artists. It pays for their skill and experience, the years they’ve spent learning their craft.
None of which means you have to like the Corgis. Any more than you have to enjoy Nelson’s column, or a bust of Churchill. Public art takes art out of galleries, and puts it among people. It sets people talking. It gives everyone the opportunity to have an opinion. Some folk will like a particular piece, others won’t. That’s all. If you look at the Corgis and think you could have done that better, and for a fraction of the cost, crack on. Submit your proposal. Put in the hard yards. Show us what you can do – because we could always do with more art – but at least know what you’re talking about.
And to anyone setting the costs of public art against support for pensioners/ homeless people/ veterans, in some kind of zero sum game… This shouldn’t need saying, but it’s not an either or. We live in one of the richest countries on the planet. We can – and should – be doing it all. And if your concern for homeless people is simply tactical, to score points in this particular issue, and you happily voted for parties which helped create the conditions where homelessness has flourished, then perhaps a period of silence and reflection on your part wouldn’t go amiss.
That’s my two penn’orth. Now – if you’ve time on your hands – here’s the link to a website which catalogues all the public art to be found across the Black Country. Check it out. Will you love it all? Unlikely. Will you like some of it? Probably. Does it, taken as a whole, brighten people’s lives? Undoubtedly. And we should have more of it. Everywhere. And a government which funds hospitals, housing, healthcare, etc. We should definitely have one of those, too.