Brick poetry
Mr. Bsag and I were in the city centre on Saturday, doing a bit of shopping (a rare occurrence for us, as we hate shopping with a passion equal and opposite to the love most people seem to have for it). I must have walked past the outside of the Bullring shopping centre dozens of times, but this time I noticed some subtle poetry set into the bricks. It fascinated me, and although we were in a hurry, I dashed off a few shots for one of my flickr sets, with the intention of returning later to make a proper sequence.
The brick poem stretches on for 50 m or more, and for me, it’s a great example of Birmingham wit, light-heartedness, and the joy of creating something new—-even if it’s controversial. I love the cartoon-like ‘BRRrrr’ and ‘ZiiNNGG’, and the puffed-up civic pride in the scale and newness of the building (one set of bricks documents the number of steel discs on the Selfridges building). When I first saw the piece, it reminded me of the little weird or lewd figures that woodcarvers would work into monastic miserichords—-a hidden joke for those who knew where to look. Despite the fact that these bricks are on full display, I suspect that most people (including me until now) are too wrapped up in negotiating the crowds and traffic to notice them. Like many things in life, they are hidden in full view.
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You comment in the photo set about the photos from Bilston. I've found the following info :
<blockquote cite="http://www.wolverhamptoncity.co.uk/files/download/325155751211128.pdf">This piece entitled Witness was produced by Bettina Furnee, an artist who specialises in calligraphy. It comprises 14 cast iron panels containing text from the Bilston Oral History Record. The panels reflect stories of Bilston life as told by Arthur Bullock (steelworker),Josephine Beecher (midwife), Lila Langford (who worked for Sankeyâs Steelworks and in local pubs), Jim Speakman (chemical worker), Eileen Morgan (shop worker) and Irene Everitt (who worked in a lock factory and local shops). A combination of letter shapes and an almost abstract pattern of lettering has been used reflecting calligraphersâs art.</blockquote>
There's more about her here.
Hope that helps answer some questions!----- Sorry about the spacing, but I nicked the text out of a PDF, and it all went a bit tits-up.
by Lyle @ 20/07/2005 7:07 am • Permalink •
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Lyle: Ah, fantastic! I Googled about a bit, but I obviously don't have your searching skills. That's really interesting. It's a great piece---very stark and arresting.
Thanks, and don't worry about the line breaks---I fixed it.
by bsag @ 20/07/2005 4:07 pm • Permalink •
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i googled for something completely different, but found your page... and have to say thanks. nice read.
by Otaro @ 29/11/2005 1:12 am • Permalink •
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