Report to the People
10th January 2005
Doing
the Honours
Along
with a number of selfless and hardworking local people, Gourock sculptor, George
Wyllie, was recognised in the New Year honours, receiving a long-overdue MBE.
Now
in his eighties, George has for years created, among many other works, landmark
sculptures which are famous throughout the world. (Remember the straw locomotive you could see suspended from a
hammer-head crane at Finnieston as you drove along the M8 in 1987?)
But,
despite this international renown, there is no permanent Wyllie sculpture here
in Greenock.
That’s
an embarrassment – especially when we have no shortage of derelict waterfront
land which would be an ideal site for one of Dr Wyllie’s large-scale works.
Having
spoken to George about this on several occasions, I know he has been keen to
drive this project forward for some time. Now,
in what seems a positive move, he will be meeting with a number of figures in a
bid to make his vision a reality.
Being
greeted by a striking work of art, perhaps reflecting our past and looking to
our future, as you enter Inverclyde would be a far better advert for the area
than the current vacant brown-field sites.
Not
only would a project like this help make the first impression of Greenock a
eye-catching rather than a depressing one, it would at the same time be a
fitting tribute to a great local artist. You
don’t need to be a Member of the Royal Academy to see that.
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