The ''Big 4'' is a sculpture made of steel bars located outside the headquarters of the
Channel Four Television Corporation
Channel Four Television Corporation is a British state-owned media company headquartered in London. Its original and principal activity is the British national television network Channel 4.
The company was founded in 1982 as the Channel Four T ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. It is designed to represent the logo of
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
while providing a basis for a number of art installations. As of November 2012 seven installations have been made on the statue's steel framework, including those to coincide with the
2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...
, covered with both newsprint and umbrellas, and a design to simulate the statue breathing. A further dressing to celebrate the devolution of Channel 4 from London to a series of regionally-based offices, alongside the Horseferry Road HQ has recently been approved and will be erected later in 2019.
Design and construction
The design and construction of the ''Big 4'' was a collaboration between Mike Smith Studio,
Freestate and
Atelier One Atelier One is a British structural engineering company, established in 1989 with offices in London and Brighton. The company has collaborated with architects, designers and artists (including Anish Kapoor and Rachel Whiteread), and is consistently ...
, and was designed to show Channel 4's logo when the statue is correctly aligned, similar to how the logo formed in Channel 4's idents at the time. The statue itself is made out of steel bars, and the structure was fabricated by Mike Smith Studio. The intention was to allow other artists to use the framework of the statue for art installations.
The statue is located outside the headquarters of
Channel Four Television Corporation
Channel Four Television Corporation is a British state-owned media company headquartered in London. Its original and principal activity is the British national television network Channel 4.
The company was founded in 1982 as the Channel Four T ...
on
Horseferry Road
Horseferry Road is a street in the City of Westminster in central London running between Millbank and Greycoat Place. It is perhaps best known as the site of City of Westminster Magistrates' Court (which until 2006 was called Horseferry Road ...
, London.
It was unveiled on 16 October 2007 by
Culture Minister
A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizat ...
Margaret Hodge
Dame Margaret Eve Hodge, Lady Hodge, (née Oppenheimer, formerly Watson; born 8 September 1944) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Barking since 1994. A member of the Labour Party, she previously served as ...
,
to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Channel 4 and to coincide with the television series ''
The Big Art Project''.
Art installations
During the course of the first year, four artists created installations for the ''Big 4''. These were photographer Nick Knight, Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...
shortlisted artist Mark Titchner, sculptor El Anatsui
El Anatsui ( h-nah-ch-wee born 1944) is a Ghanaian sculptor active for much of his career in Nigeria. He has drawn particular international attention for his " bottle-top installations". These installations consist of thousands of aluminum piec ...
and a fourth artist chosen from an open competition for young arts graduates.[ The first installation covered the statue in photographs of the inside of the human chest around the heart.][ Titcher's take on the ''Big 4'' was entitled "Find your world in ours, Find our worlds in yours", and incorporated a video booth installed at the base of the statue where members of the public could record their views on Channel 4 and broadcasting, which were then edited into a montage of footage which played over large screens on the outside of the statue.][ The design by ]El Anatsui
El Anatsui ( h-nah-ch-wee born 1944) is a Ghanaian sculptor active for much of his career in Nigeria. He has drawn particular international attention for his " bottle-top installations". These installations consist of thousands of aluminum piec ...
wrapped the ''Big 4'' in newsprint created from donated printing plates from a variety of newspapers and magazines including ''Creative Review
''Creative Review'' is a bimonthly print magazine and website. The magazine focuses on commercial creativity, covering design, advertising, photography, branding, digital products, film, and gaming. The magazine is published bimonthly in print and ...
'', ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' and those of Trinity Mirror.[ Feedback on the installation was mixed, with praise coming from Mark Hooper of '']The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', while commenters at ''Creative Review'' were mostly negative.
Stephanie Imbeau won the competition for young art graduates. The work "Shelter" saw the ''Big 4'' covered in hundreds of umbrellas for the concept of showing the value of an everyday object which is taken for granted. A further competition was run for a designer for the ''Big 4'', which was won by Kingston University
, mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress"
, established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute
, type = Public
, endowment = £2.3 m (2015)
, ...
fashion design graduate Hannah Gourlay. Her design covered the framework with a material which inflated and deflated in a manner to simulate breathing. The material itself came from Dartex Coatings, and is more commonly used to cover NHS
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
bed mattresses. Electric fans drew air into the ''Big 4'' and were then turned off, which allowed the tension in the fabric to push the air back out again.[
Prior to the ]2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...
in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, the ''Big 4'' was given a Paralympic theme to coincide with Channel 4's coverage of the Games. The "Monument to the Unintended Performer" was designed by Tony Heaton and meant to bring together three elements of the discus thrower based on the Greek sculpture "Discobolus
The ''Discobolus'' of Myron (" discus thrower", el, Δισκοβόλος, ''Diskobólos'') is an Ancient Greek sculpture completed at the start of the Classical period at around 460–450 BC. The sculpture depicts a youthful male athlete thr ...
", a circle to represent the international symbol of access and also the inclusion of the gold, silver and bronze colours as per the Paralympic medals.[ It was first unveiled at an event attended by Lord Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Games,][ and hosted by the Chief Executive of Channel 4, David Abraham.][ Claire Watson created the final design for 2012, based on the theme of '']The Snowman and the Snowdog
''The Snowman and the Snowdog'' is a 2012 British animated short film. It is the sequel to ''The Snowman'', and was created to mark the 30th anniversary of the original short film. ''The Snowman and The Snowdog'' is dedicated to John Coates (the ...
'', which is due to be broadcast at Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
on Channel 4.Vocalism
has been responsible for securing planning for the structure and all dressings throughout the duration of the project.
Gallery
Image:Shelter on the Big 4.jpg, Stephanie Imbeau's "Shelter"
Image:Monument to the Unintended Performer by Tony Heaton, Channel 4 Building.jpg, Tony Heaton's "Monument to the Unintended Performer", during the 2012 Paralympic Games
Image:Channel 4 building.jpg, The installation on the ''Big 4'' by Hannah Gourlay
Image:Snowman Big 4.JPG, ''The Snowman and the Snowdog
''The Snowman and the Snowdog'' is a 2012 British animated short film. It is the sequel to ''The Snowman'', and was created to mark the 30th anniversary of the original short film. ''The Snowman and The Snowdog'' is dedicated to John Coates (the ...
'' themed installation
Image:Channel 4 building in Horseferry Road.jpg, The ''Big 4'' sculpture in Pride colours during the 2014 Winter Paralympics
The 2014 Winter Paralympics (russian: Зимние Паралимпийские игры 2014, Zimniye Paralimpiyskiye igry 2014), the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were a ...
References
External links
*
Video of the construction of the ''Big 4''
{{Public art in London, other works
Outdoor sculptures in London
2007 in London
2007 in art
Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster
Buildings and structures completed in 2007
Channel 4
Individual signs
2007 establishments in England