''A Spire for Mansfield'', also shortened to ''A-Spire'' is a 13-metre (42.7-foot) sculpture, which lies within the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was officially endorsed by the former local mayor

Tony Egginton Tony Egginton (born 1951) was the first directly elected Mayor of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, England. He was elected to the position on 17 October 2002, beating Labour's Lorna Carter by 588 votes, ending 30 years of Labour control. Egginton ...

and Mansfield District Council. The sculpture was installed in late 2007, as the third piece of artwork for public art in Mansfield and appears as a large metallic feather. The sculpture was created by two artists;

Wolfgang Buttress Wolfgang Buttress (born 1965) is an English artist. He creates multi-sensory artworks that draw inspiration from our evolving relationship with the natural world. Buttress explores and interprets scientific discoveries, collaborating with archi ...

and Heron, and was intended to mark the legacy of local coal mining, the canaries once taken underground,

Sherwood Forest Sherwood Forest is a royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous because of its historic association with the legend of Robin Hood. The area has been wooded since the end of the Last Glacial Period (as attested by pollen sampling cores ...

, and Mansfield's engineering traditions. The tines of the feather were cut by

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

from 3mm

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

and were meant to "capture the breeze" and allow the sculpture to gently sway, portraying the branches of a tree. The highly polished stainless steel aimed to reflect the light and act as "a counterpart to the surrounding trees".Wolfgang Buttress, 2007, A Spire, Detail
Retrieved 25 June 2010.

References

Outdoor sculptures in England Mansfield 2007 sculptures Steel sculptures in England {{UK-sculpture-stub

See also

References