My dear friend Neil invited me to Trafalgar Square where we observed the participants of the 4th plinth. The fourth plinth is 150 odd years old and like an invitation to an artist has never had anything permanent upon it. It may be a singular world of exploration where an empty space is given a form of expression in some way it echoes the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern, but the plinth seems to fail more often than not. We noticed that those taking part seemed not to take full advantage of what is given. They seem to make the wonderful space given much smaller than it is, its as if they are scared and are psychologically confined. They used it like a cliff edge a point of vantage ignoring the people sitting around. I dreamed last night, for some odd and short moment, that the plinth had a bridge crossing it. May be that's the point of the 4th plinth or any plinth that its not meant for a loud self indulgent theatrical performance. I shy away from a soldier on a horse bestriding the plinth it seems so lame and week addition to this monument.
I watched ages ago Andy Warhol films of people moving very slowly. The films at first seemed boring and and self indulgent but once you get into the rhythm of the art it became like animated sculpture. If I had the opportunity of filling that space I would have a large piece of sculpture that slowly changed in a polymorphic fashion. May be a dancing sculpture of Samuel Becket.
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