Sunny in Stretford

It’s almost exactly three years since I wrote about the Stretford Reach sculpture. That was on one of those lovely sunny frosty winter days, the like of which we are now experiencing. The sculpture is beside a bridge by Stretford Metro Station, just beyond the Watch House Cruising Club building pictured above.

We are ‘at home’, with jobs to do and a little local excitement, so exercise comprises things like our 27/12 walk to Dunham Massey and on to Altrincham, and yesterday’s ‘lollipop’ bike ride – along the canal to Throstle Nest Bridge, then beside the Ship Canal to Barton swing bridge beyond Eccles, returning along the canal towpath past the Trafford Centre to regain the stick of the lollipop.

It’s about 26 km. Allow up to an hour and a half, depending on your pace. Yesterday was a perfect day for this bike ride as the surface of the canal towpath is pretty frost resistant, but you did need to wrap up well!

Saturday 16 July 2016 – Another Visit to Yorkshire Sculpture Park

By coincidence, we found ourselves at this fine venue for the second time in three weeks. Our first visit is recorded here.

This time we were attending Cathy’s 50th birthday party, involving lunch in the Hayloft. On another fine day, we enjoyed a stroll around the grounds of Bretton Hall, encountering others in the ‘party’ along the way. Cathy had provided disposable cameras that were used for ‘people pictures’, so our own photos concentrated on the exhibits.

I’m not sure what the sculpture above is called, but it is impressive.

Elizabeth Frink - Riace 111

The Not Vital (a person) exhibition was still in place, with a large number of differing pieces, including ‘Moon’, which gave us scope for a selfie. ‘Moon’ is a fine exhibit; others took more imaginative photos. Some items are up for sale. Would £500 on a polished bronze nose (Not Vital’s very own nose) be a wise investment? We’ll never know, my wallet was left in the car…

Since our last visit, a new exhibition in the Longside Gallery had been opened on 15 July. ‘Night at the Museum’ comprises a varied set of exhibits with the theme that they are paired by way of one exhibit looking at a second exhibit whose theme is blue.

Frank Dobson - 'Portrait Bust of Lady Keynes'

I didn’t record the name of the above exhibit.

Leonard McComb - 'Young Man Standing'

There was a side room containing some shelves of items that could be placed on a plinth by visitors with a view to ‘creating a collection’.

Returning to the Hayloft, we passed an assortment of exhibits, some more wacky than others. Sue said she wanted one of these in our garden. Or did I mishear her?

Dennis Oppenhein - 'Trees: From Alternative Landscape Components'

Eventually we returned to the Hayloft, on the first floor of the building pictured below, for tea and birthday cake in celebration of Cathy’s landmark birthday.

I’ve added another 49 images to the 72 image album created after our last visit. This can be viewed here. Click on the image on which you want to start, then click ‘slideshow’.

As previously noted: ‘The Sculpture Park is a great place for a day out. Highly recommended.’

Monday 27 June 2016 – Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Above: YSP’s reaction to Brexit.

Sue and I tried to relieve our Brexit depression by heading with Susan across to Yorkshire for a day with Bob and Margaret, who it turned out were similarly depressed. It would be helpful if we could find someone, anyone?, other than AlanR who is actually in favour of Brexit. Apart from Alan, and one or two people with specific gripes (‘immigrants’, ‘specific EU regulation’) everyone we know seems to be similarly depressed. We can only hope AlanR is right in the long run, but currently I feel a trip to the moon is more likely than that. Moving to Scotland seems to be an option some are considering.

(Deep sigh – no comments on this please)

Luckily it was a lovely day in Yorkshire and we started by enjoying al fresco coffees in the excellent café.

We then strolled around the park. It’s about a five kilometre walk around the perimeter. Here are a few of the sculptures we passed on the way:

Al Weiwei - 'Iron Tree'

Serge Spitzer - 'Coiled steel beam, rubber'

David Nash - 'Seventy One Steps'

Andy Goldsworthy - 'Hanging Trees'

From the far side of the park, the sunlit grassland shimmered in the breeze.

Soon we were back at Cascade Bridge, overlooking the Lower Lake.

Antony Gormley - 'One and Other'

Marialuisa Tadei - 'Octopus'

Marialuisa Tadei - 'Day and Night' (Night)

Magdalena Abakanowicz - 'Ten Seated Figures'

Not Vital - 'Moon'

Not Vital - 'Head'

Not Vital sculptures – he had a large display. (Not Vital is a person.)

After lunch we walked a short circuit, looking at some of the works close to the shop and café.

Here’s a rabbit woman. Margaret, Sue and Susan weren’t really impressed by the ‘message’.

Julian Opie - Galloping Horse (a moving image)

Another sculpture that looks like we feel…

Here’s a final glance to the park past a Barbara Hepworth work, before Sue and I rejoined a queue of lorries on the A628 over Woodhead and Susan went to Sheffield with Bob and Margaret.

The Sculpture Park is a great place for a day out. Highly recommended.

There’s a 72 image slideshow here – click on the first image then click on ‘slideshow’.

B of the Bang – ‘Britain’s Tallest Sculpture’

This posting was stimulated by Wuxing Nick’s comment on the previous posting showing at least 24 images of Manchester landmarks.  He confused the sculpture with a palm tree! (Ha-ha!)

So, being confined to barracks, so to speak, here’s an entry about a Manchester landmark that will soon be lost to the mists of time.

B of the Bang was a competition winning sculpture for the City of Manchester Stadium where the 2002 Commonwealth Games were hosted, now the home of Manchester City Football Club, and known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship purposes.

The top picture was taken from what turns out to be a rather dangerous position below the sculpture, whilst the picture at the foot of the posting shows it from the safety of the front of the stadium.  If I’d known its future I’d have taken more pictures.

The tallest sculpture in the UK until the completion of the 60 metre tall Aspire sculpture in Nottingham in 2008, it was taller and leaned at a greater angle than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  It was inclined at an angle of thirty degrees from the vertical and represented a major challenge in both construction and engineering.  It was commissioned by urban regeneration company New East Manchester Limited to mark the success of the 2002 Commonwealth Games and was designed by Thomas Heatherwick and selected by a panel including experts and local residents.

The name 'B of the Bang' was inspired by Olympic Gold Medal winning sprinter Linford Christie, who said that he started his race on the B of the Bang.

The spikes were hollow and as light as possible, with five supporting legs made from thick heavy steel, although visually identical to the other spikes. At the centre of the sculpture was a complex core from which all of the spikes radiated.
It was made of a special type of steel that would weather to varying degrees over the surface of the sculpture.

The sculpture was commissioned in 2003; construction overran and the official unveiling by Linford Christie was delayed until 12 January 2005. Six days before the launch, the sculpture suffered the first of three visible structural problems as the tip of one of the spikes detached and fell to the ground. Legal action started a year later, resulting in an out-of-court settlement totalling £1.7 million.

In February 2009, Manchester City Council announced that the sculpture would be dismantled and placed in storage, as the "only practical alternative". The council expressed its commitment to working closely with the design team in order to "determine whether there is a robust and affordable strategy for the re-construction of the structure on the site". Despite the promise of storage and potential reassembly, the core and legs of the sculpture were cut apart during removal. The core was sold for scrap in July 2012, while the 180 spikes remain in storage.

Technical Data

B of the Bang originally stood 56 metres (184 ft) tall with 180 hollow tapered steel columns or spikes radiating from a central core. It was angled at 30 degrees and supported by five 25 m (82 ft) long, tapered steel legs which connected to the spikes 22 m (72 ft) above the ground. The sculpture weighed 165 tonnes, with the concrete in the foundations weighing over 1,000 tonnes, including a 400 m² (4,300 sq ft) reinforced concrete slab. The foundations are 20 m (66 ft) deep.

The sculpture was made from the same weathering steel as the 20 metre high Angel of the North sculpture.  This steel gradually develops a tightly adhering oxide layer as it is exposed to the elements. This layer inhibits further corrosion by reducing its permeability to water. As part of the design, the spikes swayed slightly in the wind in order to withstand gusts in excess of 100 mph. At the time of construction a time capsule was placed in one of the spikes of the sculpture, containing children's poems and paintings, due to be opened circa 2300.  The location of the time capsule after dismantling is unknown.

In total the sculpture cost £1.42 million to design and construct - twice the original estimate, as the initial costing had neglected to include installation costs!

The Structural problems and legal action

The tip of one of the 2.1 m (6.9 ft) spikes detached and fell from the sculpture on 6 January 2005, only six days before the official unveiling. After inspection, the event went ahead as planned.

Four months later, in May 2005, a second spike had to be cut off by fire-fighters after it was discovered hanging loose. At that time the sculpture was closed off to the public, and the junction and pathway near the sculpture were temporarily closed. As a result some of the joints were re-welded, with equipment put in place to prevent excessive movement.  This consisted of retrofitting tip weights to 70% of the spikes' weights.

Despite these modifications, B of the Bang remained fenced off, prompting a local newspaper campaign to 'Get It Sorted'. In May 2006 a total of nine spikes were removed from the sculpture and taken away for metallurgical analysis, to discover the stresses being placed on the steel.

It was announced in October 2007 that Manchester City Council were taking legal action against the makers of the sculpture, with the aim of completing the necessary repairs to the sculpture. In November 2008 this culminated in an out-of-court settlement being reached between Manchester City Council, the project's designers Thomas Heatherwick Studio Ltd, and the engineering and construction subcontractors Packman Lucas Ltd, Flint and Neill Partnership and Westbury Structures Ltd. The agreement was to pay the council £1.7m in damages for breach of contract and negligence.

Dismantling

Acting on a report in January 2009, the city council recommended that B of the Bang should be dismantled and placed in storage until funds could be raised for its safe reinstatement. The report recognised the sculpture's aesthetic value for Manchester, and Manchester City Council committed itself to working with the artist to reach a long-term solution. One possibility involved the replacement of the steel spikes with alternatives made from carbon fibre, although the report underlined the necessity for extensive testing.

In January 2009, Antony Gormley, creator of the Angel of the North - to which B of the Bang is often compared - spoke out in support of the sculpture, stating that, "It is a great tribute to Manchester that this ground-breaking work was commissioned. To allow it to disappear would be a loss not just of an inspirational artwork but also of the council's nerve."

Despite Gormley's plea, removal of B of the Bang began in April 2009. More substantial hoarding was erected around the site and demolition firm Connell Brothers Limited began removing the spikes with oxyacetylene cutting equipment.

Although the council had promised to store the complex central core and legs, these too were cut apart during removal, casting doubt on future prospects for the landmark sculpture's return, and in early July 2012 the core was sold as scrap for £17,000.

So now you know.  Next, perhaps, the ‘real’ palm trees of Manchester…