Exposure (sculpture)

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Exposure
Exposure of Antony Gormley by Herman Verheij at Lelystad.jpg
Artist Antony Gormley
Year2010 (2010)
MediumSteel
Dimensions26 m (85 ft) cm(??)
Weight60,000 Kilos
Location Lelystad NL
Coordinates 52°31′18.9″N5°25′31.1″E / 52.521917°N 5.425306°E / 52.521917; 5.425306

Exposure (Exposure) is a steel frame sculpture on the Markerstrekdam near the Houtribsluizen in Lelystad Netherlands by artist Antony Gormley. The work is also known as Crouching man (Squatting man), or popularly called the Shitting Man.

Contents

Background

Since the 1970s, several landscape art works have been realized in the province of Flevoland, examples of which are the Observatory (Robert Morris) (1971-1977) by Robert Morris, The Green Cathedral (1978-1996) by Marinus Boezem and Polderland Garden of Love and Fire (1992-1997 ) by Daniel Libeskind. In 2001, the province gave the municipality of Lelystad money to purchase a work of art. A few years later, the British artist Gormley was approached by the municipality to create the sixth landscape artwork in the province of Flevoland. [1] The artist Antony Gormley (1950) is involved with art in which portrays a human figure. One of his best-known works is Angel of the North , a 20 m (66 ft) steel figure with wings, which was unveiled in Gateshead in 1998. [2]

Design

In creating Exposure Gormley was inspired for his design for Flevoland by the intended location near Lelystad: a breaking dam (spur of the Markerwaarddijk) in the middle of water, with a view of the Markermeer on one side and on the other side a view over the polder. He designed a crouching man, modeled after himself. The figure looks out toward the water. The vastness of the surroundings makes it difficult to estimate the scale of the 26 m (85 ft) high artwork from a distance. The male figure becomes more abstract as the visitor nears the sculpture. [2] Writing about the sculpture, Atlas Obscura said, "Exposure most definitely resembles a giant figure squatting to poop. This is so apparent that the locals have taken to calling the work, 'the shitting man'". [3] The Dutch locals refer to it as "de poepende man" or "the shitting man". [2]

After the permit procedure, the construction of the foundation and construction of the artwork, which weighs about 60,000 kilos, could start in 2009. [4] The work was manufactured by a Scottish firm, which specializes in making Transmission towers. It was unveiled on 17 September 2010 by the artist, in collaboration with deputy Van Diessen alderman Fackeldey van Lelystad. [5]

Gormley sees his landscape sculptures as a still point in a moving world. Over time, however, Exposure will also respond to changes in the environment. The artist predicts that because of Global warming and rising sea levels, the dam will have to be raised at some point, burying the work more and more. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Flevoland is the twelfth and newest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the country in the former Zuiderzee, which was turned into the freshwater IJsselmeer by the closure of the Afsluitdijk in 1932. Almost all of the land belonging to Flevoland was reclaimed in the 1950s and 1960s while splitting the Markermeer and Bordering lakes from the IJsselmeer. As to dry land, it is the smallest province of the Netherlands at 1,410 km2 (540 sq mi), but not gross land as that includes much of the waters of the fresh water lakes (meres) mentioned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lelystad</span> City and municipality in Flevoland, Netherlands

Lelystad is a Dutch municipality and the capital city of the province of Flevoland in the central Netherlands. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who engineered the Afsluitdijk that made the reclamation possible. Lelystad is approximately 3 metres below sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zuiderzee Works</span> Land reclamation in the Netherlands

The Zuiderzee Works is a system of dams and dikes, land reclamation and water drainage work, which was the largest hydraulic engineering project undertaken by the Netherlands during the twentieth century. The project involved the damming of the Zuiderzee, a large, shallow inlet of the North Sea, and the reclamation of land in the newly enclosed water using polders. Its main purposes are to improve flood protection and create additional land for agriculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Almere</span> City and municipality in Flevoland, Netherlands

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Events from the year 1998 in art.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Morris (artist)</span> American sculptor, conceptual artist and writer (1931 - 2018)

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<i>Event Horizon</i> (sculpture) Public sculpture installation by Antony Gormley

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References

  1. "Exposure". Lelystad. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Higgins, Charlotte (27 August 2010). "Antony Gormley drops 60-tonne load for monumental sculpture". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 August 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  3. "Exposure". Atlas Oscura. 2022. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  4. "The making of Exposure - Landart Antony Gormley". Youtube. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  5. "Exposure". flevolanderfgoed. Fleuraaij Art & Culture. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  6. Gormley, Antony. "Exposure, Lelystad, the Netherlands, 2010". antonygormley. Antony Gormley. Archived from the original on 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2022-11-10.