Dr Fred and I took our grandchildren to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park at the weekend.. good call, excellent day out, the weather was amazing - and if we hadn't have left the picnic bag at home with spare clothes, food, sunscreen etc in it would have been a day with out a hitch!!! However we did forget it and poor Dr Fred had to drive back to get it as travelling with small mammals makes food. drink and especially sunscreen very important!!
While waiting we went and caused chaos in the rather lovely and quite meditative (until we got there) Deer Space designed by Jame Turrell .... not really appreciated by the younger members of our party so it was a fleeting visit - we trekked across the country park but it was very hot so lacking sun screen at this point we repaired back to the visitors centre to be totally entranced by ''Mr Finch The Wish Post'' the exhibition upstairs in the centre.
Beautifully fashioned out of various fabrics, wire, and bits and bobs these intricate little animals depict the fairy tale, The Wish Post. This is a story inspired by the locality of the YSP and is about how woodland animals collect the wishes which have been breathed in envelopes and posted in toadstool letterboxes on one special night of the year. These dreams are whisked away by the wind, but first are prepared by a troupe of hedgehogs, blue suited badgers, rats, rabbits, swans and very smart moles all gathered to send the wishes in the wind... they are fabulously made using a rich variety of materiel's some up cycled, some embroidered, using tapestries, vintage fabrics, they are complemented with an odd selection of vintage boxes, drawers, sliver ware and displayed in a wonderful setting.
We were all completely delighted - the children thought they were wonderful, the little one did try to cuddle one but we got to he just in time....
The picnic bag arrived and it didn't take too long before we were properly organised and sat under a large tree in the shade enjoying the sandwiches and cold pizza - sun screened up, and then ready to face he glorious sunshine and explore the park. the little one did really well. she walked - not entirely without complaint - 4 miles on her little legs, and we got to see just about all the park.
The sculptures and their settings, as always, were fantastic, not as much new stuff as I had hoped for but I did really like this piece called Magnificent Desolation by Matthew Day Jackson - an re-imagining of one of Auguste Rodins most famous sculpture Les Burghers de Calais. Prompted to research it once home, the YSP web site stated;
This piece was lurking by the lake next to the stepping stones, where we has great fun doing lots of jumping.. but more fascinating for the children was the highland cow stood in the lake obviously trying to keep cool completely unperturbed by the large numbers of people taking photographs.
We had a lovely day out, picnic, sun, art, ice cream, the girls behaved themselves Dr Fred behaved himself, so we let the big girl chose a venue for tea and that's how we ended the day with a MacDonalds. We tormented baby all the way home so she didn't go to sleep - personally I thought if I cant sleep neither can she!!! but really it was late to nap and I wanted her to sleep in he bed at night.
My favorite piece in the park remains the Ai Weiwei Circle of Animals, Zodiac Heads , I love the intricacy of it - and I like the stories that go with it, the interpretation of old myths and legends, the political intrigue - this link is worth a look... Also Weiwei hoped they would appeal to children and our two certainly liked them.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/8494376/The-meaning-of-Ai-Weiweis-12-Zodiac-Heads.html
While waiting we went and caused chaos in the rather lovely and quite meditative (until we got there) Deer Space designed by Jame Turrell .... not really appreciated by the younger members of our party so it was a fleeting visit - we trekked across the country park but it was very hot so lacking sun screen at this point we repaired back to the visitors centre to be totally entranced by ''Mr Finch The Wish Post'' the exhibition upstairs in the centre.
We were all completely delighted - the children thought they were wonderful, the little one did try to cuddle one but we got to he just in time....
The picnic bag arrived and it didn't take too long before we were properly organised and sat under a large tree in the shade enjoying the sandwiches and cold pizza - sun screened up, and then ready to face he glorious sunshine and explore the park. the little one did really well. she walked - not entirely without complaint - 4 miles on her little legs, and we got to see just about all the park.
The sculptures and their settings, as always, were fantastic, not as much new stuff as I had hoped for but I did really like this piece called Magnificent Desolation by Matthew Day Jackson - an re-imagining of one of Auguste Rodins most famous sculpture Les Burghers de Calais. Prompted to research it once home, the YSP web site stated;
''Named after Buzz Aldren’s autobiography and first-hand account of landing on the moon, Magnificent Desolation is cast in bronze, a material often used for memorials, and combines the fated heroism of both Les Burghers de Calais and the risks of space travel.
The artist stated that “...re-casting Rodin’s narrative as a way to tell the story of the forced march of the astronauts en route to the moon and to suggest the incredible loneliness these men felt back on earth after essentially cheating death in the process of exploration. The piece offers a way to consider the relics of the very best achievements of human ingenuity, which now lie eternally silent on the surface of the moon. There is more, always more.”
https://ysp.org.uk/openair/magnificent-desolation
This piece was lurking by the lake next to the stepping stones, where we has great fun doing lots of jumping.. but more fascinating for the children was the highland cow stood in the lake obviously trying to keep cool completely unperturbed by the large numbers of people taking photographs.
We had a lovely day out, picnic, sun, art, ice cream, the girls behaved themselves Dr Fred behaved himself, so we let the big girl chose a venue for tea and that's how we ended the day with a MacDonalds. We tormented baby all the way home so she didn't go to sleep - personally I thought if I cant sleep neither can she!!! but really it was late to nap and I wanted her to sleep in he bed at night.
My favorite piece in the park remains the Ai Weiwei Circle of Animals, Zodiac Heads , I love the intricacy of it - and I like the stories that go with it, the interpretation of old myths and legends, the political intrigue - this link is worth a look... Also Weiwei hoped they would appeal to children and our two certainly liked them.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/8494376/The-meaning-of-Ai-Weiweis-12-Zodiac-Heads.html
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