Thank you for this wonderful piece on Williams. I recall encountering one of his amazing clocks at the Midsummer Place shopping centre in Milton Keynes, on my one and only visit to that ‘new town’. At first glance, it seemed a bit incongruous with all the glazed malls, but the shopping centre has a few other pieces of art too - including a bronze seat by the sculptor Bill Woodrow (can’t remember if you were allowed to sit on it!). As shopping centres go, it’s quite pretty and it was lovely to see Williams’ work in such a public setting.
Those clocks look wonderful. I've not seen any in person. It is very impressive to have such a wide range of skills. The shopping centre isn't necessarily a cultural wasteland. A bit of thought and money and they can become civic spaces and a home for art. Wouldn't it be great if a little bit of that care and empathy and real artists were employed...
Totally agree about shopping centres! They seem obvious locations for public art. The car park of Chadstone a vast shopping centre here in Melbourne, has been transformed by the addition of some interesting art. The architects of Midsummer Place in Milton Keynes were clearly really influenced by the malls in European cities like Milan - lots of natural light and space. Poor old Milton Keynes was often maligned by leftists in the 80s, for being ‘middle England’ and Thatcherite. I remember Paul Weller and The Style Council writing a very unflattering song called ‘Welcome to Milton Keynes’!
Thank you for sharing and discussing, I've been a KW 'fan' for many years beginning in my time as an art student and then in the decades that followed as an art lecturer, wonderful work.
Hi, Alexander––Wow! I'm not used to bumping into posts on Masquerade. So fun! I thought it might be equally fun for you to know that my father with the original publisher of the book & I have on my shelf the metal type used to print the title. The playfulness, whimsey, and good weirdness I grew up with continues at my company, Enchanted Lion Books.
Thank you for this wonderful piece on Williams. I recall encountering one of his amazing clocks at the Midsummer Place shopping centre in Milton Keynes, on my one and only visit to that ‘new town’. At first glance, it seemed a bit incongruous with all the glazed malls, but the shopping centre has a few other pieces of art too - including a bronze seat by the sculptor Bill Woodrow (can’t remember if you were allowed to sit on it!). As shopping centres go, it’s quite pretty and it was lovely to see Williams’ work in such a public setting.
Those clocks look wonderful. I've not seen any in person. It is very impressive to have such a wide range of skills. The shopping centre isn't necessarily a cultural wasteland. A bit of thought and money and they can become civic spaces and a home for art. Wouldn't it be great if a little bit of that care and empathy and real artists were employed...
Totally agree about shopping centres! They seem obvious locations for public art. The car park of Chadstone a vast shopping centre here in Melbourne, has been transformed by the addition of some interesting art. The architects of Midsummer Place in Milton Keynes were clearly really influenced by the malls in European cities like Milan - lots of natural light and space. Poor old Milton Keynes was often maligned by leftists in the 80s, for being ‘middle England’ and Thatcherite. I remember Paul Weller and The Style Council writing a very unflattering song called ‘Welcome to Milton Keynes’!
Thank you for sharing and discussing, I've been a KW 'fan' for many years beginning in my time as an art student and then in the decades that followed as an art lecturer, wonderful work.
Hi, Alexander––Wow! I'm not used to bumping into posts on Masquerade. So fun! I thought it might be equally fun for you to know that my father with the original publisher of the book & I have on my shelf the metal type used to print the title. The playfulness, whimsey, and good weirdness I grew up with continues at my company, Enchanted Lion Books.