Sea Change
| 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: | Spitalfield Lane |
| Town: | Chichester |
| Parish: | Chichester |
| Council: | Chichester District Council |
| County: | West Sussex |
| Postcode: | PO19 6SE |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | Inside building |
| Access is: | Public |
| Location note: | St. Richard's Hospital, in the Cloister Courtyard |
| In the AZ book: | West Sussex |
| Page: | 140 |
| Grid reference: | D5 |
| 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. | |
back to top | |
Makers
| Name : | George Cutts |
| Role: | Sculptor |
back to top | |
General Information
| Commissioned by: | Donated by Art for St. Richard’s |
| Construction period: | 1996 (edition of six) |
| Installation date: | 1996 |
| Work is: | Extant |
| Owner custodian: | St. Richard's Hospital, Chichester |
| Object listing: | Not listed |
| Description: | Two thin stainless steel poles slowly revolve and the shape between them changes. The optical illusion created sometimes suggests that the poles are waving and not rotating. The space between the poles can seem almost fluid like water. This optical illusion was disliked by many of the patients looking out of the surrounding ward windows and so it was stopped. The sculpture is now static. |
| Iconographical description: | References the sea and the motion of the waves moving kelp to and fro. |
back to top | |
Classification
| Categories: | Sculptural, Free Standing, Composite, Abstract |
| Object type1: | Sculpture |
| Subject type1: | Non-figurative |
back to top | |
Object Parts
| Part 1: | Uprights (2) |
| Material: | Stainless steel |
| Height (cm): | 1000 |
| Width (cm): | 5 |
| Depth (cm): | 5 |
| Part 2: | Base (2) |
| Material: | Stainless steel |
| Height (cm): | 16 |
| Width (cm): | 50 |
| Depth (cm): | 50 |
back to top | |
Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Good |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 28/07/2008 |
back to top | |
History
| History: | ‘Imagine that you are swimming in the sea, with the motion of waves causing kelp to sway to and fro. This vision inspired George Cutts to create a series of moving sculptures which captured this kind of motion. Sea Change is one of them. Driven by an electric motor, the curved poles create an undulating movement, causing a change in the space between them as they revolve. The generous, expansive sway in Sea Change reflects its organic origin, interesting to contemplate as it is translated through the inorganic medium of stainless steel. The steel poles catch the light as they revolve, again capturing some of the feeling of an underwater world. George Cutts is an enthusiastic scuba-diver, and has used his observations of sea weed, currents, wave motion and light in many of his sculptures. The Kiss 1991, which was exhibited at Sculpture at Goodwood during the first season, was extremely popular with visitors, and whilst it was powered in the same way as Sea Change, the more upright poles gave a very different movement - more curving, less swaying than in this sculpture. The motion in both works has a mesmerising quality, much as the tune of the snake charmer's flute mesmerises the cobra’.
(Cass Sculpture Foundation) |
back to top | |
References
back to top |
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 |
back to top | |