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A sculpture of cloud for the Mersey skyline: Anthony McCall shortlisted for ambitious new art commission
FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) and Liverpool Biennial are delighted to announce that Anthony McCall’s Projected Column has been shortlisted for Arts Council England and London 2012’s Artists Taking the Lead project.
Produced by FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) and Liverpool Biennial, Projected Column is a slender, sinuous, spinning column of cloud rising into the sky from the surface of the water in the Liverpool Docklands. Extending vertically as far as the eye can see, and visible on a clear day from 20km away, the column will disappear and re-appear in slow, structured sequences, exploiting the tension between its ephemerality and its monumental scale. A sculptural landward based on pure energy, Projected Column echoes the dynamism of a city that has recently undergone major cultural and economic development as Capital of Culture in 2008.
British artist Anthony McCall (born 1946) has a cross-disciplinary practice in which film, sculpture, installation, drawing and performance overlap. He was a key figure in the avant-garde London Film-makers Co-operative in the 1970s and has dedicated much of his career to projected works, including the now legendary ‘solid light’ film series – simple projections in mist-filled rooms that emphasise the sculptural qualities of a beam of light.
Projected Column will be McCall’s largest scale and most public project to date. Drawing upon his interest in the play of light on mist, Projected Column reverses the idea behind his earlier works with the mist projected and lit by natural light.
Mike Stubbs, Director/CEO, FACT
“FACT is thrilled to be partnering with Liverpool Biennial to develop the work of one of Britain’s senior artistic figures. Anthony McCall has a long history of creating intelligent, engaging art and his influence on a whole generation of artists is undisputable.
Lewis Biggs, Artistic Director, Liverpool Biennial
“Anthony McCall’s proposal is fabulous, and Liverpool Biennial is delighted to partner with FACT to realise one of the most ambitious and visible artworks in the UK – a stratospheric column of water to celebrate Liverpool’s status as an international cultural destination.”