1892 “Eros, a sculptural work by Alfred Gilbert, is now surrounded by the gaudy signs and sights of Piccadilly Circus”

HOLLY WILLIAMS  , LIAM O'BRIEN - From Eros to filling the fourth plinth: A crash course in public art

Saturday 10 August 2013

gaudy definition: extravagantly bright or showy, typically so as to be tasteless.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/from-eros-to-filling-the-fourth-plinth-a-crash-course-in-public-art-8751074.html?origin=internalSearch

London: Guide to the world in Zones One to Six

SIMON CALDER  Sunday 13 January 2013

“The steps above ground at Piccadilly Circus are crowded – strewn with fast-food cast-offs and pocked with the grubby permanence of chewed gum. Hardly a suitable plinth for Eros – the statue at the heart of a city that, by some estimates, is capital of the world. Lovers of travel should descend instead on the opposite stairs, where the world opens up within the handsome circumference of Piccadilly Circus Tube station. It is the starting point for a great little railway journey that carves a slice through London, leading to the most expensive building in Europe.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/london-guide-to-the-world-in-zones-one-to-six-8449059.html?origin=internalSearch

Giant Christmas snow globe to 'protect' statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus shatters in high winds

LIZZIE DEARDEN  Monday 23 December 2013

“The 30ft plastic shell was erected around the Grade I listed London landmark last month for the festive season. Westminster Council aimed to add some seasonal sparkle as well as shielding the statue from drunken vandals and souvenir hunters. The statue's most recent accident came when its bow had to be fixed after it was broken by a tourist in May 2012.In a statement ahead of the snow globe’s instalment, creators Wildstone said: “The memorial which was built in 1892, is one of the UK’s most photographed and loved landmarks, and the snow globe will protect it for the enjoyment of future visitors.” The inflatable PVC membrane was constructed by “fabric structure experts”, it said. Adverts were also displayed on boards surrounding the globe. Planning permission was granted last year for it to be installed for every Christmas until 2016 but it lasted little over a month.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/giant-christmas-snow-globe-to-protect-statue-of-eros-in-piccadilly-circus-shatters-in-high-winds-9023089.html?origin=internalSearch

Darkened landmarks add to global demands for energy change

Sunday 28 March 2010

“In Europe, London's Big Ben turned off its lights and the bank of advertising neons in Piccadily Circus went dark. It is thought to be only the fourth time since World War II that the huge Coca-Cola sign there has been dimmed. But some onlookers said the city should have gone further.

"I thought it was going to be the whole of Piccadilly and it's just the screens. It should have been all the lights and all the buildings around here," said Sandra Herrera, 23, visiting from Bilbao in Spain.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/darkened-landmarks-add-to-global-demands-for-energy-change-1929887.html?origin=internalSearch

LS Lowry painting bought for £5.6m

Thursday 17 November 2011

“The 1960 painting of Piccadilly Circus was sold at Christie's for £5,641,250 (including buyer's premium), matching the previous record for Lowry's work set in May 2011 with the sale of The Football Match, which also went for £5.6 million. Last night's sale was also the joint highest world record in the category of 20th century British and Irish art, the auction house said. The picture of the famous London landmark went under the hammer at the evening sale as part of a collection of 14 works known as The Lord Forte Collection of Paintings by LS Lowry.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/ls-lowry-painting-bought-for-56m-6263441.html?origin=internalSearch

Juhani Pallasmaa – the eyes of the skin.

“Good architecture offers shapes and surfaces moulded for the pleasurable touch of the eye.” Pg 44

“The eye is the organ of distance and separation, whereas touch is the sense of nearness, intimacy and affection.” Pg 46

“During overpowering emotional experiences, we tend to close off the distancing sense of vision; we close the eyes when dreaming, listening to music, or caressing our beloved ones.” Pg 46

“Homogenous bright light paralyses the imagination in the same way that homogenisation of space weakens the experience of being, and wipes away the sense of place.” Pg 46

“most contemporary public spaces would become more enjoyable through a lower light intensity and its uneven distribution” pg 47

“An efficient method of mental torture is the use of a constantly high level of illumination that leaves no space for mental withdrawal or privacy; even the dark interiority of self is exposed and violated.” Pg 49

“Every building or space has its characteristic sound of intimacy or monumentality. Invitation or rejection, hospitality or hostility.” Pg 50

“But our cities have lost their echo altogether. The wide, open spaces of contemporary streets do not return sound, and in the interiors of todays buildings echoes are absorbed and censored. The programmed recorded music of shopping malls and public spaces eliminates the possibility of grasping the acoustic volume of space. Our ears have been blinded.” Pg51

NYE time lapse video click here

NYE TIMES SQUARE

On-Site sketch - freezing cold = shaky hand!

'Piccadilly Circus not such a circus' - A year of London

Deserted Circus

Early Christmas morning leaves the usually packed Piccadilly Circus strangely deserted. 

Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly. In this context, a circus, from the Latin word meaning "circle", is a round open space at a street junction.

Street Dancers

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