Discovering a contextual and symbolic relationship between artist and site that reaches beyond the ephemeral can be challenging; but such a partnership has been proposed at Goodwood Sculpture Park. The recent reclamation, regeneration and landscaping of the Chalk Pit has produced a new 1.6 hectare extension to the woodland Sculpture Park and a site for solo artists exhibitions. It has launched with a group of twelve outdoor sculptures by Tony Cragg creating the largest display of his work seen in Britain, with some pieces specially produced for the exhibition.
On the surface of it, Cragg's work and the Chalk Pit would appear unlikely bedfellows. But here lies the paradox: Through an almost phoenix like process of de-construction and re-construction, both have regenerated into bold, unique and homogeneous forms.
Currently celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Cass Sculpture Foundation was established by Wilfred and Jeannette Cass, with the principal objective being to advance the public enjoyment and appreciation of 21st century British sculpture, and also to support the developing careers of new and established artists. By contributing to the cost of creating new works, the Foundation allows artists the often-rare opportunity to work on a large scale, sometimes for the first time. In 2006, a 500m² Education, Archive and Research Centre designed by Studio Downie Architects will be opened. The 6.5m high gallery space will show indoor work and sculptures at various stages of the design process to complement the constantly changing display of large-scale sculpture outside. It will incorporate a lecture and conference facility for 250 people and the archive and library will house an extensive collection of aritsts' drawings, maquettes, videos and other resources that the Foundation has acquired over the years.
Tony Cragg was born in Liverpool in 1949. He studied at Gloucestershire College of Art and Design, Cheltenham, and the Royal College of Art, London, but for most of his life has lived and worked in Germany. He came to international prominence in the 1980s and has become one of the most widely exhibited artists of his generation.
Before attending art college Cragg worked as a laboratory technician at the Natural Rubber Producers Research Association (1966-68). It is perhaps here that his exploration of materials led to conceiving ideas for some of his most recognised works. Exploring surface and texture by creating works made from cast materials such as glass, plaster, iron, bronze, aluminium and stone. Surprisingly these pieces often attracted less attention than those made from recycled materials. In the early 1970s many of his works were made from found materials, demonstrating his continued interest in surface quality and the juxtaposition of shapes.
Cragg's early retrospective at the Hayward Gallery in 1987, was followed in 1988 by winning the Turner Prize and representing Britain at the Venice Biennale. These important milestones continued into the 1990s with significant exhibitions held at the Henry Moore Sculpture Studio in Halifax and a second show at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1997. In 1994 he was elected Royal Academician, and in 1999 an exhibition in the forecourt of Burlington House highlighted his new bronze sculptures. Following a solo exhibition at the Tate Liverpool in 2000, five monumental sculptures were sited on the terrace of Somerset House, London in Autumn 2001.
Despite this recognition, his work is often unfamiliar to audiences in Britain and he has rarely been offered public commissions. The exhibition at Goodwood, however, looks set to change public perception of his work. Approaching the site for the first time there is an almost humoristic irony to the setting; a bright green tongue of perfectly manicured grass, pours out from a distant corner of the mouth of the Chalk Pit. The contrasting white embankment rises and curves upwards to reveal a flat-topped grass plateau. At the centre sits Cragg's bronze sculpture Tongue in Cheek, a striking copper coloured perforated bronze hollow of intrigue, which commands the upper ridge. Declination, like all of Cragg's work in this exhibition, escapes categorisation, in spite of its bold colour and form and the sensual shapes within it, which invite an almost contemplative quality.
Observing Cragg's work in this uniquely landscaped context is an emphatic experience. It goes beyond language. Like the natural world surrounding the pieces, the work breathes, yet possesses an impenetrable delight, which exceeds any system, which might try to contain it.
"I have decided a particular belief in sculpture" says Cragg "It leads us to make things we had never envisaged, allowing us to experience emotions and ideas we may not have had by any other method" *
But even with this inherent spiritual link, his work is still bound by a strong physical presence and profound sense of aesthetic, which continues to be reflected in his broad choice of materials. Always forward thinking, Cragg believes:
"In the future it will become more and more important to make visible this huge amount of imperceptible information, which is related to the perceptible. If we look at the world of molecules, energy waves or the like, it will become necessary to find a language to describe the invisible, inaudible, the unsmellable or the untouchable. That could be a function of sculpture" **
It is not surprising therefore that Cragg's interest in transcending inanimate materiality is implied through exploring the rich language and subtle qualities of shape, colour and surface texture. Bent of Mind, a bronze weighing 5.5 tonnes, appears to exude features similar to that of the human face, whilst its neighbouring Here Today Gone Tomorrow seem to be engaged in a layer of subliminal dialogue. If these pieces are characteristic of Cragg's most recent work in bronze and stone, then the dynamics of I'm Alive illuminates a process of material exploration leaping both visually and symbolically into the future. In this piece, the evolutionary like form arches towards an invisible realm, whilst its stainless steel skin reflects the light and colours of the immediate environment.
At the core of Cragg's work is the use of subtle markers to define and explore regeneration. Whether through transformation via the materials he uses to create his work, or re-thinking ways to identify his intuitive philosophies, he is constantly involved in a process. Unlike many artists he has never become entrenched in a dialogue of repetitive style. His work is forever evolving, and the exhibition at Goodwood provides an excellent opportunity to explore examples from this journey. Bulb, a 21.5kg stone sculpture, created by Cragg in 2000, and Formulations (Stance) a bronze, also from this period, offer interesting comparatives with other more recent work in these mediums. Free interpretation is one of the joys of viewing public art and comments from the artist often reveal the true motivations behind the work:
"I am continuing to search for knowledge, while I dig in unexpected corners of our world" ***
It is impossible to completely define Cragg's work, but there is an emphatic physicality in his sculptures that inform, declare and surprise all at the same time. His themes demonstrate not only a process of contrast in regeneration, but also indicate a conviction of self-belief, an almost evolutionary framework that interconnects physical representation and philosophy. Though Cragg is no stranger to devising compelling ways of making us see, his new work provides unexpected insights that arise purely from experiencing these sculptures in such a unique and natural setting. In tandem with its urban forerunner, the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square; The Chalk Pit at Goodwood looks set to become another iconic setting for public art.
"So the sculptures remain what they should be, not rational demonstrations, but fictional entities where decisions are made entirely on an aesthetic basis" ****
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* - Tony Cragg quoted from "A New Thing Breathing" Tate Liverpool
** - Jocks, Heinz-Norbert 'Tony Cragg: Dieses Kleinzeug wirkt dann wie ein Augenfang, Vergleichbar den Warzen auf der Haut, Kunstforum International, Vol.122, 193, pp354-75
*** - Tony Cragg quoted from , "A New Thing Breathing" Tate Liverpool 2000
**** - Ibid
Article by Jane Duncan, first published in June 2005 edition of Art & Architecture Journal
