Hubble Bubble and the 2012 legacy

1 APRIL 2010

Like many parents we try pathetically to improve our kids by taking them to see the big exhibitions. We have trooped through the Aztecs and Hockney and Rembrandt, and yet of all the shows we have seen there is only one that really seemed to fire them up. 
I remember listening in astonishment as they sat there at lunch, like a bunch of art critics, debating the intentions of the artist and the meaning of the works, but agreeing on one point: that these were objects of sensational beauty. 
That is the impact of Anish Kapoor on young minds, and not just on young minds. His show at the Royal Academy broke all records, with hundreds of thousands of people paying £12 to see his stuff  an extraordinary achievement for a contemporary artist. 
So I am thrilled that yesterday we announced that Anish has won a competition to design an Olympic visitor attraction to be built in the park for 2012. Of course some people are saying we are nuts in the depths of a recession to be building Britain’s biggest ever piece of public art. But both Tessa Jowell and I are certain that this is the right thing for the Stratford site, in Games time and beyond. 
Our Olympic Park already has so much to offer, from the stadium and velodrome to shopping at Westfield to Zaha Hadid’s aquatics centre. But about 18 months ago we decided we needed something extra, something to distinguish the east London skyline, something to arouse the curiosity and wonder of Londoners and visitors. 
With £9.3 billion going into the Games, we need to do everything we can to regenerate the area and to ensure the crowds are still coming here in 2013 and beyond. Our ambition is to turn the Stratford site into a place of destination, a must-see item on the tourist itinerary and we believe the ArcelorMittal Orbit will help us achieve that aim. I must confess that my original idea was much more modest. I thought we might have a kind of 21st century Trajan’s column, with a winding frieze of modern Londoners, perhaps done by primary school children. That was soon left on the drawing board, eclipsed by the daring suggestions of some of the greatest artists in the world. With the help of a panel of experts, including Nick Serota and Julia Peyton-Jones, we eventually settled on Anish. He has taken the idea of a tower, and transformed it into a piece of modern British art. It would have boggled the minds of the Romans. It would have boggled Gustave Eiffel. I believe it will be worthy of London¹s Olympic and Paralympic Games, and worthy of the greatest city on earth. 
In helping us to get to this stage, I especially want to thank David McAlpine and Philip Dilley of Arup, and everyone at the GLA, ODA and LOCOG. I am grateful to Tessa and also to Sir Robin Wales and Jules Pipe for their encouragement and support. Above all I want to thank Lakshmi Mittal for his superb generosity and his commitment to London. Had I not bumped into him, for the first time, in a Davos cloakroom, we would not be where we are today. Our conversation took about 45 seconds. I explained the idea, which took 40 seconds. ‘Great. I¹ll give you the steel,’ he said, and that was it. 
In reality, ArcelorMittal has given much more than the steel. We are not there yet, but I have great confidence in the team we have assembled, in the ODA led by David Higgins and the organisational skills of Peter Rogers. So watch this space, folks. Correction: don¹t just watch this space. I hope you will soon be able to see this space being built, to climb up it with your family, and to be amazed at the view.

 

Like many parents we try pathetically to improve our kids by taking them to see the big exhibitions. We have trooped through the Aztecs and Hockney and Rembrandt, and yet of all the shows we have seen there is only one that really seemed to fire them up. 

I remember listening in astonishment as they sat there at lunch, like a bunch of art critics, debating the intentions of the artist and the meaning of the works, but agreeing on one point: that these were objects of sensational beauty. 

That is the impact of Anish Kapoor on young minds, and not just on young minds. His show at the Royal Academy broke all records, with hundreds of thousands of people paying £12 to see his stuff - an extraordinary achievement for a contemporary artist. 

So I am thrilled that yesterday we announced that Anish has won a competition to design an Olympic visitor attraction to be built in the park for 2012. Of course some people are saying we are nuts in the depths of a recession to be building Britain’s biggest ever piece of public art. But both Tessa Jowell and I are certain that this is the right thing for the Stratford site, in Games time and beyond. 

Our Olympic Park already has so much to offer, from the stadium and velodrome to shopping at Westfield to Zaha Hadid’s aquatics centre. But about 18 months ago we decided we needed something extra, something to distinguish the east London skyline, something to arouse the curiosity and wonder of Londoners and visitors. 

With £9.3 billion going into the Games, we need to do everything we can to regenerate the area and to ensure the crowds are still coming here in 2013 and beyond. Our ambition is to turn the Stratford site into a place of destination, a must-see item on the tourist itinerary and we believe the ArcelorMittal Orbit will help us achieve that aim. I must confess that my original idea was much more modest. I thought we might have a kind of 21st century Trajan’s column, with a winding frieze of modern Londoners, perhaps done by primary school children. That was soon left on the drawing board, eclipsed by the daring suggestions of some of the greatest artists in the world. With the help of a panel of experts, including Nick Serota and Julia Peyton-Jones, we eventually settled on Anish. He has taken the idea of a tower, and transformed it into a piece of modern British art. It would have boggled the minds of the Romans. It would have boggled Gustave Eiffel. I believe it will be worthy of London¹s Olympic and Paralympic Games, and worthy of the greatest city on earth. 

In helping us to get to this stage, I especially want to thank David McAlpine and Philip Dilley of Arup, and everyone at the GLA, ODA and LOCOG. I am grateful to Tessa and also to Sir Robin Wales and Jules Pipe for their encouragement and support. Above all I want to thank Lakshmi Mittal for his superb generosity and his commitment to London. Had I not bumped into him, for the first time, in a Davos cloakroom, we would not be where we are today. Our conversation took about 45 seconds. I explained the idea, which took 40 seconds. ‘Great. I¹ll give you the steel,’ he said, and that was it. 

In reality, ArcelorMittal has given much more than the steel. We are not there yet, but I have great confidence in the team we have assembled, in the ODA led by David Higgins and the organisational skills of Peter Rogers. So watch this space, folks. Correction: don¹t just watch this space. I hope you will soon be able to see this space being built, to climb up it with your family, and to be amazed at the view.

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Comments

The majority of people are opposed to it. Comments sections in any online paper say so. It is found to be pretentious, both in scale and form and, above all, ugly. I have also taken the opportunity when out and about in Hackney to canvas opinion and it has been universally bad. I asked friends, artists also represented by The Lisson, and they felt the same way. People who have an interest in conceptual art, and those who do not dislike the proposal.

Building it will have repercussions. Bright red and very angry looking, perhaps the crime rate will go up in Hackney?

I will see the sculpture from my window. I'm two miles away, were I closer would the value of my property decrease? Would anyone wish to live with this object dominating the view?

You'll lose popularity because of it. I'll never vote for you if it were built and neither will those people in my local, middle class pub, those whom I spoke to in Ridley Road Market or the shops in Hackney.

4 April, 2010 14:30

Comment submitted by Graeme , Hackney

It is quite outrageous that this edifice, drawing a reported £8m from public funds,has been announced by the Mayor of London after being chosen by a committee of nine "experts". If there was a public competition, then I failed to notice it, though I understand Anthony Gormley submitted an unsuccessful design.
 
Why is this enormous construction, which will dominate the skyline of Stratford permanently, being foisted on us with no opportunity for public comment or consultation? Does Newham Council as the relevant planning authority have any say in the matter? It is a travesty of modern democratic processes and local empowerment that no-one appears, for even a moment, to have considered giving the public in East London. some choice in the shaping of our local landscape and heritage.
 
The whole show is a total disgrace and more worthy of the bread and circuses of ancient Rome, or the demented fascist grandeur of  Nazi Germany, than the product of the healthy functioning of a modern metropolitan democratic society.
 
We need an Olympic monument that will have genuine public approval and lasting affection. I have no special distaste for Kapoor's design, but in many peoples' minds it will forever be tarnished by its elitist origins, if the project goes ahead without any widening of the selection process.

2 April, 2010 12:59

Comment submitted by kmansell , Forest Gate E7

I can only assume that by some entirely unscientific and peculiar act of chance almost 90% of everyone I know who has seen this 'stunning new artwork' has indeed been 'stunned'. Alas not the euphoric, jaw dropping 'stunned' of witnessing something of unrivaled aesthetic beauty, but more a disbelief that as April the 1st passes this is still being talked about and no admission of a joke has been uttered.

Is this honestly the best we can come up with to mark such a momentous and proud occasion ? 'Is it finished ?'..'a broken rollercoaster'..'scrap metal'..'monstrousity' were several of the first observations I heard. Others for fear of censure I'll keep to myself. Why is something as important as this not being opened up to the judgement of the wider population of London and beyond ? Surely it is they that this should represent and they who need to embrace and cherish this monument ? I'm left cold, 'stunned' by what appears an overwhelming universal dislike of this confused and twisted effort. Maybe the artist took one look at Boris' hair and thought confusion was the easiest route to getting the commission.

It appears to emanate from a similar school of design as the woeful 2012 logo. Hopefully it's functionality will make up for it's sheer lack of aesthetics and style. Simply not good enough.

1 April, 2010 22:42

Comment submitted by Clarkster , CROWBOROUGH

Orbit view

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