KELPIES ARTIST URGES TOWN TO GRASP PUBLIC ART CHANCE
THE CREATOR of the world-famous Kelpies sculpture says the opportunity for major new public art in Fort William should not be squandered after it was revealed up to £1.3million from the town’s planned new alloy car wheels plant will be earmarked for some kind of creative creations.
Sculptor Andy Scott’s comments came after disagreements emerged over whether such a large amount of money should be spent on public art at a time infrastructure spending in Lochaber is under so much pressure.
GFG Alliance received planning approval last month for its new alloy wheels factory, which will be run by its Liberty British Aluminium subsidiary, as part of a £130million expansion of the Lochaber smelter.
Highland Council - and government - policy is for one per cent of a major development’s costs to be spent on public art and this can be a statue, structure, street furniture or landscaping that makes a positive contribution to the architectural and visual quality of the place in which it is located.
The cost is met by a developer, not the local authority, but leading Lochaber councillor Andrew Baxter has criticised the policy, coming as it does at a time when he says the council is struggling to plug a £26million hole in its budget.
Slamming the situation as ‘ridiculous’, Councillor Baxter said: ‘I argued we need to ditch the policy or find a way of using contribution differently.’
Standing nearly 100 feet high, the two giant horse heads that are the world famous Kelpies sculpture at Falkirk have attracted a staggering three million visitors since opening to the public towards the end of 2013.
And while Mr Scott says the £1.3million would not stretch to something on the same scale - the Kelpies cost £5million to create - a substantial artwork was still possible.
Speaking to the Lochaber Times this week, Mr Scott said the power of major public art to boost the economy and well-being of a local area should not be underestimated.
‘The Kelpies prompted serious debate and in some cases hostility prior to their completion, which was focused on their proposed costs rather than any aesthetic doubts,’ Mr Scott said.
‘Since then they’ve brought three million people to Falkirk and Grangemouth, putting the area on the map, and generating an undeniable feel-good factor in the area.’
Mr Scott added that not only had the Kelpies created jobs, they had also inspired artists and craftspeople, both locally and nationwide; were used by schools to help teach science, art, history and other subjects, and were recently used as tourism icons for the country by both the Scottish and UK tourism bodies.
‘It’s not just the economic benefits, of course, it’s the cultural impact, the sense of pride of place, the intangible wow factor, that makes them worthwhile,’ Mr Scott continued.
‘Lochaber won’t get a sculpture work of the Kelpies’ scale for the budget you mention.
‘But it could bring something quite spectacular if the commissioning body appoint the right artist to produce the right type of art for the right location.’
When first quizzed on whether all of the £1.3million could be spent on a single piece of public art if the council so decided, a Highland Council spokesperson said there was ‘no blanket application of the up to one per cent figure’ and that it would not all be used for an individual item of public art.
However, pressed on this aspect further, the spokesperson added: ‘We are unable to say at this point in time what any public art contribution will be spent on as detailed discussion with Liberty has yet to take place.’
Councillor Baxter says such decisions will probably rest between the developer and planning department.
‘Potentially it could be spent on one piece of artwork but unlikely. However, I disagree that it is appropriate that the money is spent on railings, landscaping on the factory site,’ added Mr Baxter.
‘The company should be spending money on those things anyway.
‘If it has to be spent on items like that, it should be spent in places like Claggan, Upper Achintore or Caol – after all