S2 Ep6: Sculpting Lives: Making Sculpture Public

Over the last year public sculpture has become a hugely controversial issue. No longer passive objects that we simply walk past on our streets, public sculptures are part of a vigorous debate about contemporary society – who is commemorated and represented, and why. In this episode we delve further into this subject, interviewing the people associated with our most recent sculpture commissions of and by women, speaking to critics and researchers who are reflecting on the historical dimensions of this contemporary moment, and the contemporary sculptors who are making objects that occupy our streets and squares. Jo and Sarah also visit the Breaking the Mould Exhibition: Sculpture by Women Since 1945, organised by the Arts Council Collection, to talk to the curator and some of the artists involved in this landmark display. Together, they discuss the relevance of the public display and exhibition of the histories of women working with sculpture and broader questions about gender and representation in the art world and public sphere in 2021 . Contributors:  Hettie Judah, Art Critic and WriterNatalie Rudd, Senior Curator, Arts Council Collection Kate MacMillan, King’s College, London Bee Rowlatt, Chairwoman of the Mary on the Green campaign Natalie Rudd, PhD Researcher and formerly Senior Curator, Arts Council Collection Bianca Chu, Kim Lim Estate Holly Hendry, Artist Katie Cuddon, Artist Permindar Kaur, Artist Rosanne Robertson, Artist Digital image: Maggi Hambling, Statue for Mary Wollstonecraft, 2020. Photography: Sarah Victoria Turner

Om Podcasten

Sculpting Lives is a podcast series written and presented by Jo Baring (https://www.jobaring.com/about) (Director of the Ingram Collection of Modern British & Contemporary Art) and Sarah Victoria Turner (https://www.paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk/about/people/sarah-victoria-turner) (Deputy Director at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art in London). Dame Barbara Hepworth, Dame Elisabeth Frink, Kim Lim, Phyllida Barlow and Rana Begum – some of the most globally well-known British artists are women sculptors. Conversely, the profession and practice of sculpture was seen by many throughout the twentieth century (and before) to be very much a man’s world. Often using heavy and hard materials, sculpture was not typically viewed as suitable for women artists. Series one explores the lives and careers of these five women who worked (and are still working) against these preconceptions, forging successful careers and contributing in groundbreaking ways to the histories of sculpture and art. Series two features episodes on Dora Gordine, Gertrude Hermes, Veronica Ryan, Alison Wilding and Cathie Pilkington. At a moment when public sculpture is the subject of contentious debate, the final episode of the second series focuses on questions of gender, public sculpture and display, and explores women’s representation – both as subjects and artists – in our public spaces and exhibitions. Each episode is recorded in places that are significant for the women sculptors featured – their studios, as well as galleries and public places where their work is on display – and includes new interviews with curators, friends, family and the artists themselves, creating intimate soundscapes of their private and public worlds. The @SculptingLives Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sculptinglives) feed contains more information about the podcast and the artists and artworks featured in it. Written and hosted by: Jo Baring and Sarah Turner Produced by: Clare Lynch Research by: Isabelle Mooney (Series One) & Chloe Nahum (Series Two) Music by: Pauline Oliveros, [Silence] (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Pauline_Oliveros/EASY_NOT_EASY_Festival_Oct_8_2010/Silence_1082010) Visual identity by: Vanessa Fowler-Kendall This podcast has been made possible through support from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. We are also extremely grateful to Art UK (https://artuk.org/) and National Life Stories: Artists' Lives (British Library) (https://www.bl.uk/projects/national-life-stories-artists-lives) .