9 March 2011

Skateboarders strike sculpture in two hours

9 March 2011 | johnboy

The Canberra Times has the interesting news that the Michael Le Grand sculpture “Ukiyo-e” installed yesterday in Civic Square has already been damaged by intrepid skateboarders.

ACT Museums and Galleries director Peter Haynes said Ukiyo-e, a 2m blue sculpture by Michael le Grand, was installed in Civic Square yesterday morning.

By 3pm, skateboarders had damaged its paintwork.

”It’s fairly obvious that that sort of damage is possible,” Mr Haynes said.

”I didn’t expect it to be possible within two hours or so of being installed but it’s there and there’s nothing much you can do about it … The artist was aware this might happen and actually said to me … that skateboarders will love it.”

Now if only we could harness that enthusiasm and efficiency.

UPDATE: Above is a picture of the damage done to a couple of the tubes. Also this sign has appeared which, it is obviously hoped, will deter the grommets.

please do not touch the sculpture thank you

More pictures of the sculpture as a whole taken yesterday are available

[First filed: Mar 9, 2011 @ 9:53]

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poetix3:10 pm 04 Sep 11

poetix said :

Jivrashia said :

Pardon the cynic in me, but what is ‘Ukiyo-e‘ about it?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukiyo-e

If there is even the remotest resemblance then it is to the famous “The Great Wave (tsunami) of Kanagawa” picture.

In other words this sculpture symbolises a…. tsunami?

I think there is quite a clear reference to the famous Kanagawa work, with the prows of the boats and the waves. It is a playful tribute to this work, rather than a mere copy. The placement of the sculpture in relation to the fountains in the background (and indeed, its presence in an inland city like Canberra) is quite thought-provoking; nothing could be further away from the ocean. And the notion of ‘the floating world’ (the non-permanence of most of what we do) is amusing in a work made of metal.

Skateboarders riding this wave are, in a way, adding yet another tribute to the original.

I should have said, the famous work Great Wave off Kanagawa, by Hokusai. Now I’m being a pedant to myself.

poetix2:56 pm 04 Sep 11

Jivrashia said :

Pardon the cynic in me, but what is ‘Ukiyo-e‘ about it?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukiyo-e

If there is even the remotest resemblance then it is to the famous “The Great Wave (tsunami) of Kanagawa” picture.

In other words this sculpture symbolises a…. tsunami?

I think there is quite a clear reference to the famous Kanagawa work, with the prows of the boats and the waves. It is a playful tribute to this work, rather than a mere copy. The placement of the sculpture in relation to the fountains in the background (and indeed, its presence in an inland city like Canberra) is quite thought-provoking; nothing could be further away from the ocean. And the notion of ‘the floating world’ (the non-permanence of most of what we do) is amusing in a work made of metal.

Skateboarders riding this wave are, in a way, adding yet another tribute to the original.

Henry822:18 pm 04 Sep 11

Watson said :

is not up to the job.

I completely disagree, a bench was designed to be sat on, not jumped on (at an awkward angle) by someone wanting to make an epic youtube video

Watson8:26 am 04 Sep 11

Henry82 said :

Watson said :

I like skateboarding (not to do, to watch – it livens up the place) and I do not mind them skating on the street furniture at all.

So you’re willing to pay for damage done to “street furniture”?

I am. Also don’t mind a few scratches on the street furniture. At least it makes the city look lived in. If it actually breaks because a few skateboards go over it, I have some serious doubt about the quality and conclude that my taxes are being used to pay for crap that is not up to the job.

whitelaughter12:33 am 04 Sep 11

Watson said :

p1 said :

If you don’t want art to be touched, put it in a museum, not on the street. I like skateboarding (not to do, to watch – it livens up the place) and I do not mind them skating on the street furniture at all.

Fair.
Although, musuems are a waste. We don’t have *time* to visit museums: we spend far too much time in queues in banks/offices/shopfronts etc.
Smarter: Let the staff in any location where we spend time in a queue, choose a piece of art from those available, so we can admire it while waiting. The ‘wisdom of crowds’ will ensure a decent selection, especially since the staff know they’ll get an earful if they’ve been foolish enough to chose a poor piece.

Henry827:39 pm 03 Sep 11

Watson said :

I like skateboarding (not to do, to watch – it livens up the place) and I do not mind them skating on the street furniture at all.

So you’re willing to pay for damage done to “street furniture”?

thatsnotme7:38 pm 03 Sep 11

Gungahlin Al said :

I am constantly amazed that Arts ACT does not seem to regard “resilience against vandalism” as a key design criterion? I would have thought that was a “no brainer”?
It was a core consideration I raised during the first design meeting for the Gungahlin bunyip statue. I certainly hope it was carried through on.

Interestingly, a new sculpture has showed up outside of my work building (the AON building on London Cct) that looks very similar to the central part of this sculpture. Imagine the large wavy middle part, without the pipes sticking out the sides. I have no idea whether it’s the same artist – the design and colour are very close to this one though.

It has been installed on a plinth though, with skateboarder unfriendly metal bars jutting up around the edge of the plinth. Perhaps lessons have been learned after all.

Deref7:09 pm 03 Sep 11

Skidbladnir said :

Its not rocket surgery to predict that something made of curved steel in an unmonitored public space routinely filled with skateboarders might attract the attention of brainless morons wanting to demonstrate their contempt for anyone except themselves.

But its quite strange that a public body visibly entrusted with the property of others would intentionally put a pile of pipes\sculpture\artwork in a public space without any form armed guard against sociopaths.

I fixed that for you.

Watson6:32 pm 03 Sep 11

p1 said :

Disinformation said :

Two small raised round bolt heads along that smooth surface would have instantly solved the problem..

Or, surround the sculpture with a forest of razor sharp stakes and coat the tips with some sort of slow acting lethal poison.

Haha!

If you don’t want art to be touched, put it in a museum, not on the street. I like skateboarding (not to do, to watch – it livens up the place) and I do not mind them skating on the street furniture at all.

rockatansky6:10 pm 03 Sep 11

As they say “If you see it, skate it”.

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