![]() ![]() It is an invitation to make connections, but I don’t want to give directions about which connections are to be made.” Pressed on whether the work was an attack on austerity, he said: “I’d like to leave that open. Our 4 covers for Stubbs's breathtaking The Anatomy of the Horse, inspiration for new #fourthplinth sculpture /BcWKjBzMaV- Pallas Athene March 2, 2015Īsked whether his piece was a criticism of the power of money, Haacke said: “The title is Gift Horse and that implies that something is off… The little I know about British politics is that austerity is the official programme, so I heard him question that I was surprised.” He said the mayor’s interpretation was “odd” but that he did not want to dictate how people saw the work. “So it’s an invitation to think about whether the invisible hand of the market does promote general welfare or whether there’s a misunderstanding, or whether it is totally wrong.” “That is a metaphor that is being used a great deal these days, particularly by people who would like to see the financial industry unregulated,” Haacke told the Guardian. Smith believed that people pursuing their own interests could benefit society more than if they directly tried to help it. He asked: “Did Boris really give it the thumbs-up?”Īfter the ceremony, Haacke said the work, which was partly based on engravings by the 18th century artist George Stubbs, was a comment on the supposed “invisible hand” benefits of the market described by Stubb’s contemporary Adam Smith. The art critic Waldemar Januszczak said awarding Haacke the commission was “like letting Trotsky loose on Buckingham Palace”. Unveiling on Thursday morning- Grayson Perry March 1, 2015 The four artists who missed out were Marcus Coates, who had proposed a replica of a rocky outcrop that inspired Henry Moore Liliane Lijn's two moving silver cones Mark Leckey's mash-up of other sculptures in the square and Ugo Rondinone's apparently folk-art mask.I am very pleased that Hans Haacke's Gift Horse will be on the Fourth Plinth in the run up to the election. ![]() Shrigley and Haacke join a roster of artists that include Mark Wallinger (Ecce Homo), Marc Quinn (Alison Lapper Pregnant) and Antony Gormley with his One & Other, where the plinth was occupied by a person at a time for an hour each. ![]() It's a beautiful piece, it's a poetic piece and it is especially timely in the economic circumstances we live in." The horse mirrors the other horses in the square, but is obviously different in that it is skeletal and riderless and has a stock market ticker tape around its leg.Įshun said: "It is a bit of a memento mori, a reference to our history and a reference to the fact that money is the hidden dynamic that fuels our city, for good and for bad. He said his proposed work called Gift Horse was an oblique tribute to two Britons: Adam Smith, who wrote the Wealth of Nations in 1766, and George Stubbs, who that year published his Anatomy of the Horse.Įkow Eshun, who chaired the commissioning group, said Haacke's piece was "a commentary on the relationship between art, capital and society". Haacke, a 77-year-old German artist based in New York, was not at London's city hall to hear the news, but said in a statement that he was "surprised and tickled" to be chosen. "What's exciting for me is the opportunity to make something on a scale you couldn't possibly imagine making yourself." Shrigley, born in Macclesfield and based in Glasgow, was shortlisted for the Turner prize last year and missed out to Laure Prouvost. "I mean it lightheartedly, satirically, sarcastically maybe – but I kind of believe it as well." "On the one hand it is kind of ridiculous to suggest that this giant sculpture will bring an upturn in the economy. But he also knows it is a work of comedy. He sincerely hopes the work, called Really Good, will radiate positivity, "dissuade social unrest, help the economy and decrease rates of absenteeism in state schools". Shrigley, whose work is known for making people smile and laugh, said he was "really chuffed" to have been chosen for what will be his first civic sculpture. Boris Johnson, London's mayor, said the 10-person commissioning group had "chosen two very different sculptures … with each being wryly enigmatic in their own way". The two artworks, both in bronze, will be the 10th and 11th on the plinth. It will replace this year's giant blue cockerel. In 2015, it will be a sculpture of a skeletal, riderless horse with an electronic stock market ticker tape tied to its leg by the German artist Hans Haacke. His giant thumbs up will be on top of the fourth plinth in 2016. ![]()
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