Igor Mitoraj – Tsuki No Hikari II (Light of the Moon II), 2000. Bronze

Yorkshire Sculpture Park is situated in the 500 acre Bretton Estate at Wakefield in the county of Yorkshire. Designed in the 18th and 19th centuries, the landscape has topographical height variations of over 21 metres (66 feet) and has a mixture of woodland areas, water, formal gardens and open spaces (as well as four indoor galleries) It is this variation that creates a rich environment for some of the best contemporary sculptures created by international artists.

 

Soglio VI, Nigel Hall ,1996

At any one time there are at least 40 outdoor sculptures on display, making this landscape a cultural delight for any visitors.

Created in 1977, the changing exhibitions and projects both challenge and inspire.
The works are not constant. Many are loaned from other exhibitions, are on tour, or have been donated for display.Some of those pictured here now, will have changed at a later date.

Wakefield was the home of two of this medium’s most famous exponents: Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. So it is unsurprising to see their work proudly displayed here, alongside the work of artists such as Nigel Hall, Mark di Suvero, Peter Randall-Page, Sophie Ryder, Igor Mitoraj, Jonathan Borofsky, Isamu Naguchi, Anthony Caro and other acclaimed names.

Henry Moore (1898-1986) born in nearby Castleford, was the most celebrated sculptor of his time. Commissioned to produce works for such institutions as the Time Life building in London, the Lincoln Center in New York and the Unesco Headquarters in Paris, he is best known for his monumental bronze sculptures based on abstractions of the human figure. His modernist creations, particularly his reclining figures, appear to be based on the landscapes that surrounded him.

After initially starting out by hand carving his work he eventually took to the less time consuming style of casting them.

Although he lived modestly, large scale commissions gave him a wealth that he used to set up the Henry Moore Foundation, promoting education and the arts.

Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975) was born in Wakefield. Like Henry Moore, her work exemplifies modernism. Its flowing lines show the influence of organic shapes and the landscape.

Family of Man. Bronze 1970

As one of the most significant sculptors of the twentieth century, her work is displayed in museums and galleries around the world. Amongst her works are a Madonna and child, a memorial to her son who was killed in a plane crash whilst serving with the RAF in 1953. The sculpture is in the church in St Ives, in Cornwall, where she lived until she died during a fire at her studio in 1975.

(Thanks to the “Haworth Village” website, it is possible to take a look at a 360 degree view of Hepworth’s “Family of man”: http://www.haworth-village.org.uk/360/days-out/sculpture-park.asp )

 Nigel Hall, a member of the Royal Academy of Arts, is another important British artist who has been creating sculptures for the open air since the late 1980s.

Of his work, Hall said “My work has always been about place. I am fascinated by the way geometry can be discerned in landscape.”

As well as having many commissions, including the Olympic Park in Seoul, his collections and exhibitions are also world wide.

He not only considers the sculpture but also the space around it. How it fits into the landscape and alters the viewer’s perception. “I think when you site work it borrows parts of a view and features of its natural or urban environment” 

These strong solid forms are all found in the Formal Gardens, although Hall states that his ideal sites for his work would be in the desert or mountains.

He has exhibits at the Reflecting Pool at the Sapporo Park in Japan, another open air gallery, founded by Isamu Noguchi.

Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) is also displayed at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Indian Dancer. Granite. 1965-66

He was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect. Known for his Akari work and furniture design, his sculptures are described as Biomorphic.
His works too, are seen around the world and at the Noguchi Museum in New York.

Finding. Granite. 1979.  Isamu Noguchi.

Mark di Suvero, born in Shanghai in1933, to expatriate Italian parents, is an abstract impressionist artist, important for the development of postwar American sculpture.

His enormous sculptures are normally made from steel beams, either welded or bolted together. These spatially dynamic forms, displayed in many places around the world, have been described as being like Chinese characters framed against the landscape and of “conveying human emotion.”

 
(In the background on the right can be seen figures by Elizabeth Frink)

Eros Bendato Screpolato. (Eros Bound Cracked) Igor Mitoraj

Igor Mitoraj (born in Poland in 1944 now based in Italy and France)shows here very clearly the Greek classical influences that appears in most of his monumental sculptures. The pathos of the lone head seems emphasized by the space around it.

He was commissioned to create a statue of John the Baptist and new bronze doors for the basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli in Rome, which he completed in 2006.

Molecule man. Jonathan Borofsky

Jonathan Borofsky (b. 1942) Lives and works out of Maine USA. His works seek to diminish the boundaries between life and art. An enormous piece of work of this nature seems in its element in the wide open spaces of this parkland.

Promenade. 1996. Anthony Caro

English artist Anthony Caro (b.1924) came to understand and appreciate modernism in the 1950s while assisting Henry Moore.
From Figurative art, he explored abstract art and space; from the 80s, the relationship between art and architecture, and more recently, to a renewed interest in the human figure.

This piece was originally exhibited in the Tuileries Gardens as part of a Paris based exhibition. His biggest work to date, the five elements consist of painted steel, and represent the movements of people promenading, or taking a stroll. Awarded a knighthood, Sir Anthony Caro is seen as one of the world’s greatest living sculptors.

Sitting.   Galvanised wire, 2007. 18 feet high   Sophie Ryder

Sophie Ryder (b. 1963 London, England) works in bronze and galvanized wire.

Her mythical looking figures part woman part hare are explained by the Park’s curator, Claire Lilley, as the importance of the hare, for Ryder, being in the animals strength. “She sees traits in hares that are similar to that of women – they are lithe, alert and powerful, but at the same time they appear secretive.”

She has been exhibiting internationally since 2000. 

Paint Pots. Bronze. Height: 7ft. Length: 7 ft, 7 in. Sophie Ryder

It is interesting the contrast seen here as the hares, normally hunted by the Lurchers, seem to have the affection of the dogs. The Park provides very appropriate and natural surroundings for such creatures.

The freedom that such an exhibition gives is immense. One can walk up to and feel the texture and get a feeling of the size and the weight of a piece. As one moves around the sculptures the picture changes as, for example in the case of Sophie Ryder’s “Sitting” When viewed from the front, as shown above, the size  of the piece can be judged in relation to the building behind it. When viewed from the back the figure sits majestically overlooking acres of trees and parkland.

The weather too can alter the appearance of a work. Take for example the “Ha Ha Bridge” by Brian Fell.

The rainy day on which the photograph was taken catches the reflections of the handrail, the trees and the sky on the bridge, which would not be there on another day.

In such surroundings the sculptors do have a competitor. One who has influenced many of them.

Mother Nature herself.

Images credit: Many thanks for the use of these, previously unpublished, photographs to Sue Edwards, Lecturer in Garden Design at Myerscough College, Lancashire.

Other works on art by this writer:
Articles on the Graffiti Artist Banksy
Mosaics: The Decor of Bygone Civilizations

Articles on other places of interest and events:
Fingal’s Cave and the Incredible Architectural Rock Formations of Staffa
Diary From a Greek Island
Carnival: Dirty Jenny in Aalst! (Carnaval: Voil Jeannetten En Aalst!)
Hilarious Flashmob Craze is Spreading Around the World

Advice on the use of photographs in articles:
Black Holes and Revelations: Creative Commons and NASA’s Stunning Images