Gormley at the British Library

Artist Anthony Gormley, most famous for the Angel of the North, was down at the British Library earlier today unveiling a new work – titled ‘Witness’.

When you see it - you'll need a sit down

I’m a big fan of Gormley ever since seeing one of his great seas of clay men (Field) back in the nineties. He’s always been an artist that engages with communities without compromising on the message. He’s also one of the few modern artists who can talk about his work without seeming to be recovering from a lobotomy.

I received a text saying Gormley had a new work at the British Library and so I hot footed it down there half expecting to see a great metal book hovering above the building or an extremely naked colossus dominating the entrance hall. After a bit of wandering about I went and asked at the desk.

“Has Anthony Gormley been in today? Oh, I like him!”

Eventually I was escorted out into the courtyard by two curious guys from maintenance. And there it was, in all it’s glory, a very heavy rusted iron chair. The guys immediately tried to see if they could move it – they’ll steal anything these people.

Londonist is quite right when he says that the unveiling “marks the 90th anniversary of English PEN… The theme is symbolic of English PEN’s chief cause, defending the rights of persecuted writers around the world.” However, and you can call me an iconoclast here, I’m not entirely convinced it is just because he says it is.

The BBC quote Gormley as saying that “This is a place of witness, cast in massive iron that will simply rest, isolated, for anyone or no-one to occupy”.

Well, sort of. That’s the spin. Or… it’s a chair in a forecourt full of chairs some of which, at any one time, will be occupied and some will  not. Don’t get me wrong – I like deep – but that’s kind of why I’m unsatisfied with this. Gormley’s previous works have, on occasion, touched me quite profoundly. I wasn’t even tempted to sit in this chair and I love sitting!

There’s a fantastic tradition of public art, best exemplified by Henry Moore, whose magnificent figures adorn the lucky, lucky town of  Harlow among other places. However, these are titans that people use as impromptu chairs not chairs that people don’t use as chairs because they aren’t very chairish.

I know the modesty of the piece is part of the point, and often that can work, but I’m unconvinced this time round. I’m even less convinced by the emptiness shtick. Now, it’s some time since I read Satre’s ‘Being and Nothingness‘ and the arguments on how we are defined as much by what we are not as what we are – but if what the chair is is, well, not very impressive then what it is not is something of great significance.

Which is a real shame because Anthony Gormley is genuinely brilliant and it is clearly a very worthy cause to commemorate. Sorry. Check it out for yourself and see if you disagree.