One of the UK’s foremost and well-known artists has to be sculptor Antony Gormley. Gormley tends to mass-produce metal reproductions of his own middle-aged naked body and dot them around the rural, urban or coastal landscape. As my Epinions friend, Gill observed recently, we doubt he can have resisted pandering to his male ego while shaping out some of his anatomy.

While I’m still waiting for his magnum opus, no doubt to be called A Million Me’s, we recently visited his most famous sculpture, the sole (but large) representation of his body fashioned with large aircraft arms, the Angel of the North.

The Angel is a truly impressive structure, perched on a former coalmine pithead near the side of the main road just a few miles south of the city of Newcastle, in the North of England. I remember when it was being built 10 years ago, there were some fears that the strange sight might cause road traffic accidents. With the current suggestion of the construction of a giant white horse (or is it elephant?) receiving plaudits in the South of England, it just goes to show how far Gormley has pushed the boundaries of public art in the UK during this past decade.

In a sense, a single drive past the Angel of the North tells the story. The corrugated red “rusted” iron angel has an abnormally wide span aircraft wing for arms, and she stands arms outstretched for all to see. Size buffs will be pleased to know that this is reputed to be the biggest Angel statue in the world at 66 feet high, and a wing (arm) span diameter of around 150 feet. While she looks rusted, art lovers will be relieved to note that she is actually rust proof, so will be around a while yet. I enjoy seeing the Angel, and always find myself looking out for her while on that particular route.

Recently, after numerous drive pasts, we finally found a little time to take a diversion, and drive to the lay by area, where we could park and walk to the base of the statue. I was expecting perhaps a little tearoom, or even just a hut selling Angel of the North fridge magnets and tea towels, but alas, there isn’t even a burger or ice cream van to be seen. Instead, a sole notice board tells the story of the construction of the Angel. I was interested to note that there is almost as much solid construction beneath the ground, as above. As the Angel sits on a former coalmine, the ground beneath the statue needed to be strengthened.

The stroll to the base of the Angel takes about two minutes, and there are a couple of dirt paths to where photographers have been able to get far enough away to be able to get a full shot of those wide wings. Fortunately, my 25mm lens meant I didn’t have to walk so far.

I quite enjoyed doing a full circuit of the Angel, just to see the wings from a different perspective. I was also surprised as how shapely the arse of the Angel was. Up close, I could see more of the protruding girders in the structure, which gave it a more pleasing textured look than I appreciated from the road. On the downside, the noise of the traffic zipping past from all angles reminded me that we were visiting little more than a glorified traffic island. The noise certainly isn’t conductive to lingering here in quiet contemplation.

To sum up, our stop at the Angel took all of 15 minutes and didn’t particularly enhance our appreciation of the sculpture. Fortunately, getting to the base of the Angel is free of charge.

As the Angel of the North is one of Britain’s recent art successes, I can recommend the Angel itself as a distinctly Great British find.

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cr01 asserts his right to be associated as the author of this review -2008-


Recommended: Yes