Hove campaigners lobby for artworks to go on show on seafront

11:30am Wednesday 5th December 2012 in News By Neil Vowles

The plinth would be opposite Queen Victoria's statue at the bottom of The Drive The plinth would be opposite Queen Victoria's statue at the bottom of The Drive

Campaigners want to recreate Trafalgar’s famous empty “fourth plinth” on Hove seafront.

Hove Civic Society is looking to build a £50,000 plinth on the promenade to showcase the best in public sculpture.

The ambitious plans would emulate the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, which has provided a temporary display of work for top artists including Anthony Gormley and Marc Quinn.

A design has been commissioned for the 2.5m tall structure from Brighton design company Millimetre, and a planning application should be submitted in January.

The plinth would be positioned in King’s Esplanade, Hove, across from the statue of Queen Victoria.

Organisers see the plinth as completing a half circle of statues stretching from the Old Steine along the seafront, including the “Doughnut” and the Peace Statue.

If planning permission is granted, the society will then begin a fundraising campaign which will include seeking funding through corporate fundraising, arts charities and funds, as well as reviving the Victorian tradition of public subscription art.

Contemporary artwork

The plinth is designed as a showcase for contemporary artwork and would include the technology for light, sound and digital displays.

Leading arts and heritage organisations in the city including Brighton Museum, Brighton Festival and the West Pier Trust have been sounded out on the plans and organisers say they have responded enthusiastically.

Society member Karin Janzon said: “We see the plinth as creating a focal point for public sculpture.

“We see this as a first step but what we would really like to see is the plinth inspiring more public sculpture throughout the city at other sites as well and put Hove on the map as a place for amazing public sculpture.

“It’s a very prominent, pedestrian access site and the area between the Peace Statue and the King Alfred has been identified in the council’s draft seafront strategy as an opportunity for improvement.

“We very much want to revive the Victorian tradition of public art by subscription by using the modern day equivalent of crowd-funding.”

Talking point: What do you think of the idea? Whose statue would you like to see on the plinth? Share your views by commenting below or email letters@theargus.co.uk

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Comments(44)

phillucas says...
11:34am Wed 5 Dec 12

Excellent, excellent idea. I love it. Some gloomy old guffer will have something negative to say about it though. They usually do.

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Algeria Touchshriek says...
11:43am Wed 5 Dec 12

For 50k I would stand there naked for a week if they would prefer.

It's an awful lot of money for something we don't really need.

I would spend the money on second hand Bentley..........Bri
tish Racing Green with a tan hide interior.

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bruce_ says...
11:46am Wed 5 Dec 12

Let me be that gloomy old guffer, then. Although the only negative thing I can thnik of at the moment is that I don't want to see anyone's statue there, if the idea goes ahead: other works, perhaps, though I may not like all of them in practice. (Of course, it would also be possible to leave that space alone, and not put anything there; which would be fine by me!)

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george smith says...
12:33pm Wed 5 Dec 12

Hardly an original idea, as it is already being done in London, the art work might well be of the same ilk

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ruberducker says...
12:42pm Wed 5 Dec 12

where are we going to park to see this.lol:)

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phillucas says...
12:51pm Wed 5 Dec 12

Ah, Bruce, that wasn't gloomy, it was almost positive.

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ripmaxman says...
1:15pm Wed 5 Dec 12

For a council that is over budget by £20 million it seems a total waste of money. They would gain more credit by putting the money towards one of the services they are saying they will have to cut.

But what can you expect from a council that has never run anything before!!

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phillucas says...
1:32pm Wed 5 Dec 12

I disagree. I want a plinth.

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phillucas says...
1:32pm Wed 5 Dec 12

I disagree. I want a plinth.

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phillucas says...
1:32pm Wed 5 Dec 12

I disagree. I want a plinth.

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phillucas says...
1:35pm Wed 5 Dec 12

Sorry, I didn't mean to post that three times. But my point still stands.

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ruberducker says...
1:38pm Wed 5 Dec 12

if you can have a dead cow,and an unmade bed--and call it art..how about a plinth with caroline lucus on it with the city of brighton and hove shaped as a size 9 boot kicking her out.....merry xmas and goodwill to others,,exept the green party and cyclists:)

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Artificial says...
1:42pm Wed 5 Dec 12

ripmaxman wrote:
For a council that is over budget by £20 million it seems a total waste of money. They would gain more credit by putting the money towards one of the services they are saying they will have to cut.

But what can you expect from a council that has never run anything before!!
If you read the article you'd see no council money is involved.

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phillucas says...
1:44pm Wed 5 Dec 12

This would be the perfect place to site the large bronze statue of a pug that I've been on at the council about for over a year now. They never reply to my letters, and yet, it is a reasonable idea.

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plantwoman says...
3:03pm Wed 5 Dec 12

I certainly wouldn't want to see the one shown in the thumbnail above - I thing that one has outstayed it's welcome. As for a statue of a pug - why would you want to promote the fact that these dogs have been so badly deformed through inconsiderate breeding that their tongues are too big for their mouths and they can't breathe properly? Get yourself a dog with a proper shaped head and nose and stop encouraging this awful trade!

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Fairfax Sakes says...
3:09pm Wed 5 Dec 12

What a great idea, well done and I hope everyone around the area can chip in a coupel of quid.
If anyone involved in the project is foolish enough to read the comments on these pages, please don't not take any heed of the negative guff which inevitabley spews forth. ALL of the posters on here are in-bred, delinquant, wellfare scrounging, sadistic, semi-moronic, chromosome deficit, goat-abusing, pestilent, deformed, urine soaked illiterate mongrels. Apart from me of course.

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HJarrs says...
3:18pm Wed 5 Dec 12

ripmaxman wrote:
For a council that is over budget by £20 million it seems a total waste of money. They would gain more credit by putting the money towards one of the services they are saying they will have to cut. But what can you expect from a council that has never run anything before!!
Where does it mention council funding?

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HJarrs says...
3:22pm Wed 5 Dec 12

Hove Civic Society you are so naive! The only artwork that will gain support from most of the enlightened commentors in the Argus is if you were to pave over the see front to provide free parking preferably digging up any cycle paths in the vicinity.

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MantaRay1 says...
3:29pm Wed 5 Dec 12

I'd like to see a statue of NVH.

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sussexram40 says...
4:42pm Wed 5 Dec 12

Instead of a statue of a pug, i would prefer a statue of a labrador or a german shepherd. Proper sized dogs. I dont like small dogs with podgy faces very much. They could put up a statue of a staffy on whitehawk as well.

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phillucas says...
4:51pm Wed 5 Dec 12

Yes, you're right. This pug idea was a bad one. But a proper sized dog or bear would be a winning idea. I'm so excited about this plinth. I really hope it happens.

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Daneboy1414 says...
4:59pm Wed 5 Dec 12

What about a bronze statue of Chris Eubank.... "Rocky Style" lol

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rolivan says...
5:15pm Wed 5 Dec 12

As long as it doesn't cost half amillion and get stolen and sold for scrap for a couple of hundred I don't see a problem.It should also have a Hove connection nothing to do with Brighton.

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NickBrt says...
5:57pm Wed 5 Dec 12

Can we have a statue of the lovely Caroline and the irrepresithe Jason please? And maybe that idiot Philomena who doesn't like people being mentioned by their gender.

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sussexram40 says...
6:57pm Wed 5 Dec 12

If we're going for people instead of dogs, what about a statue of Carol Barnes the former newsreader who has strong Hove connections?

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Lady Smith says...
7:37pm Wed 5 Dec 12

The Plinth Regent?

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mimseycal says...
8:31pm Wed 5 Dec 12

Lady Smith wrote:
The Plinth Regent?
HA! Wonderful!!!

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Algeria Touchshriek says...
9:07pm Wed 5 Dec 12

How about a statue of Gary Glitter?

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derekhunt says...
9:12pm Wed 5 Dec 12

If planning permission is granted, the society will then begin a fundraising campaign which will include ....... as well as reviving the Victorian tradition of public subscription art.

There are a few other grand old Victorian traditions I wouldn't mind seeing revived also.

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Lady Smith says...
9:12pm Wed 5 Dec 12

I thang you! :-)

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mictrix says...
9:42pm Wed 5 Dec 12

bruce_ wrote:
Let me be that gloomy old guffer, then. Although the only negative thing I can thnik of at the moment is that I don't want to see anyone's statue there, if the idea goes ahead: other works, perhaps, though I may not like all of them in practice. (Of course, it would also be possible to leave that space alone, and not put anything there; which would be fine by me!)
i couldn't make out a word you was trying to say lol the old grammers a bit lacking hahahahaha

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mictrix says...
9:44pm Wed 5 Dec 12

ruberducker wrote:
if you can have a dead cow,and an unmade bed--and call it art..how about a plinth with caroline lucus on it with the city of brighton and hove shaped as a size 9 boot kicking her out.....merry xmas and goodwill to others,,exept the green party and cyclists:)
lol that sounds amazing lets do it! merry xmas

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mictrix says...
9:46pm Wed 5 Dec 12

Algeria Touchshriek wrote:
For 50k I would stand there naked for a week if they would prefer.

It's an awful lot of money for something we don't really need.

I would spend the money on second hand Bentley..........Bri

tish Racing Green with a tan hide interior.
yes i must say that is a wonderful colour combination.i also like dark blue with cream leather piped blue...gorgeous

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Maxwell's Ghost says...
11:40pm Wed 5 Dec 12

Goodness HJarrs its a good job you have moved to our city from London so you can teach us peasants about art and culture.
Maybe you can even teach us how to use a knife and fork.
We are such peasants we couldn't possibly enjoy art and not be Green supporters.
Dreadful heathens the lot of us. Hopefully you will head back to Brent.

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Hove Actually says...
12:32am Thu 6 Dec 12

Why not spend the cash on bringing Live art to Hove seafront in the summer on a purpose built stage

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John60 says...
7:49am Thu 6 Dec 12

Anything to improve the seafront is a good idea.

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MikeyA says...
8:13am Thu 6 Dec 12

There used to be open-air art exhibitions/sales near the Peace Statue, as I recall. Do they still happen? If not, why not revive them by having a semi-permanent display area for local artists?

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LolaShabb says...
11:04am Thu 6 Dec 12

ripmaxman wrote:
For a council that is over budget by £20 million it seems a total waste of money. They would gain more credit by putting the money towards one of the services they are saying they will have to cut.

But what can you expect from a council that has never run anything before!!
Did you even read the article?? Its some local group who want to put it there.

It would be good to have a statue of someone with local connections, maybe a tasteful, modern style?

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rayellerton says...
3:51pm Thu 6 Dec 12

Winston Churchill... Britain's greatest PM.. we don't have one here i think..

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qm says...
9:01pm Thu 6 Dec 12

rayellerton wrote:
Winston Churchill... Britain's greatest PM.. we don't have one here i think..
Can't disagree but would much rather have public toilets . . . . . .

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pjwilk says...
9:05pm Thu 6 Dec 12

Lets forget the statue,we can remember people present or past without them.

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pjwilk says...
9:52am Fri 7 Dec 12

Seems we have got one of the biggest squatter communities in the country,seems there are more importent things than a statue.

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SussexLifeform says...
2:06pm Mon 10 Dec 12

A thoroughly admirable idea. I have two a suggestions for what should sit atop the plinth;

A statute of a parking enforcement officer, one foot on a bleeding motorist, ticket machine held aloft in victory, gazing towards the town hall. Entitled either "The Unknown Peril" or "63 Seconds After Expiry", it can be made using only 'Parking Restriction Ends' signs.

or

A very large hand giving the traditional two fingered salute, facing directly south. Preferrably big enough to be seen from the other side of the Channel, I'd like this one to be translucent and illuminated from within at night.

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SussexLifeform says...
6:35pm Mon 10 Dec 12

'two a suggestions' and 'a statute'

Mondays... I try to like them, really I do.

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