OCCUPIED COUNTRY

There goes the Equestrian Statue

Photo courtesy of Eastlands Blue

"most of the North is awful…” - Brian Sewell, Art Critic for the London Evening Standard

Public works of art? What do you reckon? A throwback to the days of local subscription honouring the so-called great and the good with a sturdy statue in the town square or city centre, or an opportunity in these modern times to invest a little culture into these otherwise drab urban landscapes? An opportunity moreover to question the ordinary Joe's perception of 'what is art?'

For or against? A sound investment nurturing and enriching an artistic sensibility in the general populace or a load of modernist crap?

Pictured above we have the latest addition to this time-honoured debate: Manchester's B of the Bang. A modern 'sculpture' commemorating the Commonwealth Games of 2002. Apparently it is now the tallest in the UK, pipping the Angel of the North by a few metres. The Angel just looks taller on account of the hill it's on and an absence of city in its vicinity. The B utilises the same 'it'll save money in the long run' welded and rusted metal as the Angel and both look infinitely better at night when they are lit up.

Personally I think it's great. A welcome attempt to mark our times with something lasting and thought-provoking. Over the past year as I've trudged (usually downhearted) from the City of Manchester stadium, I've been able to cast my eyes towards this slowly emerging explosion backdropped against the gun-metal grey of the Mancunian sky and it did something good deep within my very being.

It evinced a 'Fanfare For The Common Man', a 'look what we can do if we put our minds, hearts and wallets to it' warm feeling. For me at least and, to be fair, quite a few others also. Not everyone feels the same though.

Eldest, for example, rails against what he sees as a waste of public money that could've been spent on essential services. He has a point but I happen to believe that public works that gladden the heart can nurture and heal as much as any prozac. Still, what do I know.

I think it's the fact that it serves no obvious money-making purpose - indeed it cost a friggin' fortune - is part of what draws me to it. If someone had lacked the courage to stick it there, the area it occupies would be, at this very moment, being turned into one-bedroomed apartments 'in the heart of the City' starting at £750,000.

So? The B of the Bang? Pile of shite or a soaring - if relatively modest - piece of artistic magnificence?