Kanagawa
| Browse information by: Location Makers General Information Classification Object Parts Object Condition History References Photographs |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright for Photograph: Creative Commons |
Location
| Street: | B2145 Chichester Road |
| Town: | Selsey |
| Parish: | Selsey |
| Council: | Chichester District Council |
| County: | West Sussex |
| Postcode: | PO20 |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | Road or Wayside |
| Access is: | Public |
| Location note: | On the roundabout at the entrance to Selsey, junction of Manor Road. |
| In the AZ book: | West Sussex |
| Page: | 183 |
| Grid reference: | J1 |
| The A-Z books used are A-Z East Sussex and A-Z West Sussex (Editions 1A 2005). Geographers' A-Z Map Company Ltd. Sevenoaks. | |
| Previous location: | Cass Sculpture Foundation |
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Makers
| Name : | William Pye |
| Role: | Sculptor |
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General Information
| Commissioned by: | Purchased by housing developer Graham Pye and the Coastal West Sussex Partnership |
| Construction period: | 2000 |
| Installation date: | 2007 |
| Work is: | Extant |
| Owner custodian: | Selsey Town Council |
| Object listing: | Not listed |
| Description: | Large bronze sculpture depicting a giant wave similar to the Hokusai print 'The Hollow of the Deep Sea Wave off Kanagawa'. The sculpture faces oncoming traffic on a roundabout entering Selsey. |
| Signatures: | Signatures to lower edge of sculpture:
CAST BY NAUTILUS (N) William Pye 2000 |
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Classification
| Categories: | Sculptural, Free Standing |
| Object type1: | Sculpture |
| Subject type1: | Figurative |
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Object Parts
| Part 1: | Sculpture |
| Material: | Bronze, patinated blue/green |
| Height (cm): | 200 |
| Width (cm): | 430 |
| Depth (cm): | 360 |
| Part 2: | Base |
| Material: | Inset beach-type pebbles |
| Width (cm): | 470 |
| Depth (cm): | 400 |
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Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Good |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 29/05/2008 |
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History
| History: | Based on the Hokusai print, ‘The Great Wave Off Kanagawa’. Kanagawa is located in the southern Kantō region of Honshū, Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The epicenter of the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923 was deep beneath Izu Ōshima Island in Sagami Bay. It devastated Tokyo, the port city of Yokohama, surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka, and caused widespread damage throughout the Kantō region. The sea receded as much a quarter of a mile from the shore at Manazaru Point, and the rushed back towards the shore in a great wall of water which swamped Mitsuishi-shima. At Kamakura, the total death toll from earthquake, tsunami, and fire exceeded 2,000 victims. At Odawara, ninety percent of the buildings collapsed immediately, and subsequent fires burned the rubble along with anything else left standing.
‘Kanagawa is a prefecture of Honshu Island, Japan, and William Pye has taken its name for the title of this sculpture based on the famous wood-block print of a wave by the artist Katsuhika Hokusai (1760-1849). Pye had been invited to participate in one of the Small Is Beautiful exhibitions at Flowers East, and on seeing massive waves crashing on the Long Island shore where he was staying that summer, was prompted to use the impression as the subject for a small sculpture. With the brief that he should produce a work that paid homage to another artist, the choice of Hokusai was inevitable. Pye then made a series of small sculptures inspired by a number of Hokusai images, and the one with the view of Mount Fuji beyond the great wave of Kanagawa, The Hollow of the Deep Sea Wave off Kanagawa, became the subject for enlarging to a full-scale sculpture. It was challenging for William Pye to work with water as a subject rather than a medium. He had to think differently about processes, and found that he could be more freely expressive than in his more structured works. Pye says, 'Just as a brush stroke can be gestural, conveying energy and movement by its sweep and in the way paint is applied, so it is with clay modelling, which involves a range of actions that may include pushing, scraping, kneading and squashing, hitting and grabbing - all capable of leaving an emotional trace. The violinist reveals his soul as he draws the bow across the strings, and so it is that the sculptor expresses feeling as he works the clay. What is so wonderful about bronze casting is that it can transmute the frail and temporary nature of wet clay into a beautiful and durable material capturing the energy and movement expressed in the original [medium].' (http://www.sculpture.org.uk/work/000000100053/) ‘Revealed: Selsey's new £60,000 sculpture Selsey, the town in danger of being swamped by the sea, has unveiled a new sculpture – and it is based on a tsunami. The piece of art, which represents a giant wave, was designed by William Pye and is made from 2.5 tonnes of bronze. It was been moved in from its former home at the Cass Sculpture Foundation at Goodwood. The sculpture cost a total of £60,000 and was paid for by a donation of £45,000 from housing developer Graham Pye and £15,000 from the Coastal West Sussex Partnership, set up by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). A welcome sculpture was highlighted in the Selsey High Street Vision as a way of improving the appearance and character of the site. But one Selsey resident, John Napper, criticised the choice of the sculpture because of its connection to a major disaster in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The area was devastated by the Great Kanto earthquake and tsunami in 1923, in which thousands of people died. He said: ''Why choose the symbol of a gigantic wave when at this moment in time there is a major threat from the sea to the very future of the town?'' It is hoped the sculpture will eventually be lit and further improvements carried out on the adjacent roundabout over the coming months. Chichester district councillor Maureen Elliot, who has responsibility for the economy, said: ''We hope residents and visitors will be pleased with the new welcome to Selsey. ''The town is a popular tourist attraction and local residents and businesses felt something was needed to mark the entrance to Selsey. ''The sculpture is an ideal landmark because it links with the town's association with the sea.'' (Chichester Observer 6 July 2007) |
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References
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Photographs
Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
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