Tuesday 20 August 2013

Hemispherical sculpture on Madingley Road

01 madingleyfront01

There is a sculpture on Madingley Road,
they call it who knows what.
And it's been the ruin of many an art buff,
and gods, I know, I'm one.

02 madingleychurchillct44madingley cnr bulstrode gdns

03 madingleyfrontandhousebranch

Oh reader, tell your friends and foe,
not to see what I have seen.
Don't spend your day on rot and misery,
to Churchill Court never go.


04 madingley streetview

Well, I'm not entirely sure what redeems this metal thing in front of this block of flats on Madingley Road, at the back of Churchill College.  Do what the good people in the black car pictured above are doing:  zoom past on your way to somewhere better.

05 madingleycuwhitebush

Does a close-up reveal any pattern that is pleasing to the eye or puzzling to the mind?  Or is this just a tangle of bent pipes?

06 madingleyculightbush

03 madingleyfrontandhousebranch

There seems to be a vague idea behind it:  ooh, half a sphere; a dome with a bite taken out of it; let's break it up into squiggly bits so that it's airy and doesn't weigh down on the location.  Also, quite handy to sluice off rain, I imagine.

But why place it on itty-bitty slanty stands that sort of gesture towards a plinth (except also sort of not)?

07 madingleycuskylight

I mean, the sky looks nice.  On a sunny day.

10 DSCF8660

Another view of the object with some traffic in the background.  (And no, that coach didn't stop for a photo opportunity.)

You may have noticed by now that I find this sculpture quite mediocre.  If you, on the other hand, like it, do comment and defend this poor artefact!

Title:  Not known.  There is no plaque.  I was unable to find this out.
Artist: I don't know who the sculptor is.  Do you?  Keith Edkins has no idea who made this sculpture, either.
Date:  Tim Love of the fabulous Cambridge (UK) Open-Air Art page thinks the sculpture may be from around 2006 (?) but has no idea of its title or maker.
Featured:  Real estate agents don't even mention it.  The sculpture is clearly not seen as a feature that adds value.
Where:  Madingley Road, on the left-hand side as you leave Cambridge, across the back end from Churchill College (where ages ago McDonald's used to stand).



Lyrics borrowed from The Animals.


Other posts about pointless sculpture around Cambridge:

Ugly sculpture on Newmarket Road 

Talos:  Is this the ugliest sculpture in Cambridge?
(But note:  some people love this statue.  My son, for example, said this was his favourite sculpture in Cambridge!)



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