Destruction Of Publicly Owned Artworks.

[Pongo Pigpen]

Hi,

I'm new here.

I,ve been doing ceramics since 1992,my initial inspiration were the St.Ives potters of the 60's.

We used to go  for 3 weeks in the summer,and my Father was a great portrait photographer but I still have the photographs he took from 1967 up until 1974. Really beautiful...Potters in their element just ignoring him while they worked and Dad enlarged them himself on quality paper.

 

When I got into my late 30's I decided to give University a go-had some fantastic trips abroad,worked hard and did my final year specialising in ceramics. For one of my assignments a team of four of us had to work with five local primary schools.The result was this mosaic we installed on a building-The Salmon and the Heron had returned to the now unpolluted rivers after big industry closed,the salmon scales are made of the children's faces and the wing of the heron are made of tiles the children made of their own homes.

 

http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/94/77/2947712_f33904e8.jpg

 

It was a great six weeks from planning to installation,and it frantic hard work,all our backs were wrecked by the time the pieces were glued to position on the webbing and until they could be cut into chunks ready for installation.It was amazing to see the little one's faces when it was unveiled.

 

Anyway onto a publicly owned artwork that was commisioned in 1978 in my local town.

It was made by Kenneth Budd,and it magnificently portrayed the Chartist Uprising of 1839.

It was loved by the town for nearly 36 years and never once vandalised.

I saw it go up when I was a kid and I was in awe of it.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartist_Mural,_Newport

 

Suddenly on the morning last Tuesday the council turned up unannounced,,,,,,blocked off the walkway and demolished the whole thing by using the digger bucket to smash into it like an iron fist.Even Local Policemen were crying because so many had grown up with it.

 

Here's a video of the action and the town is in uproar.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=croLnqK8a2I

 

RIP to the Newport Chartist Mural,one of the outstanding works of Kenneth Budd who passed away in 1995.

 

This work should have been saved for future generations.

[Marcia Selsor]

That is really a tragedy. They are beautiful.

Marcia

 

and welcome to the forum

[Denice]

Just make sure none of those people are re-elected or reappointed next elections.  You may not get anyone better, but how could you get worse officials.  Sorry for your towns loss.   Denice

[Kohaku]

Mordor lives.