The ''Concrete Cows'' in
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
, England are an iconic work of sculpture, created in 1978 by the American artist Liz Leyh. There are three cows and three
calves, approximately half life size.
The ''Cows'' are constructed from scrap, skinned with
fibre glass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
reinforced concrete donated by a local builder.
Context
The artist was an "
artist-in-residence
Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...
" in the early days of Milton Keynes and part of her role was to lead community participation in art. The ''Cows'' was one of a number of pieces created during her stay.
Other examples of her work here include ''The Owl and The Pussy Cat'' at
Netherfield and a concrete mural near the leisure centre at
Stantonbury. They were originally constructed at Stacey Hill Farm near
Wolverton
Wolverton is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located at the northern edge of Milton Keynes, beside the West Coast Main Line, the Grand Union Canal and the river Great Ouse. It is the administrative seat of Wolverton and Gre ...
, where she had set up her studio. The base
armatures were metal, with chicken wire used to create the general shape, then stuffed with newspaper. The original colouring of the cows was achieved using dyes. Some cows were brown. It is only through
the council painting the cows that the uniform black and white has appeared. The artist also ensured that each cow had a heart shape used as part of the pattern on the cow skin.
Later commentators have interpreted it as an example of
conceptual art
Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...
: the artist poking fun at the preconceived notion of the
new city, held by commentators who had never seen the place, that it would consist entirely of concrete pavements where once there were fields, and where its deprived children would need models to know how real cows once looked.
[ (video) ] The reality of course was different:
Milton Keynes Development Corporation
Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) was a development corporation operating from 1967 to 1992 oversee the planning and early development of Milton Keynes, a new town midway between London and Birmingham.
Establishment
MKDC established o ...
was building "a city in the forest", with substantially more open green space than found in traditional cities. Furthermore, there are real farms with real cows within of the site, and the cows are currently located in a real field.
Response
![Milton Keynes Concrete cows, Aug 1985 (4541410486)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Milton_Keynes_Concrete_cows%2C_Aug_1985_%284541410486%29.jpg)
On their site in a public park, the ''Cows'' have been vandalised and modified. Sometimes they have simply been damaged, while at other times they have been painted pink, become
zebra
Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...
s,
become
skeletal
A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...
,
had pyjama bottoms added,
have been beheaded
in the style of
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst (; né
Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...
, have acquired
BSE
BSE may refer to:
Medicine
* Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease, a neurodegenerative disease of cattle
* Breast self-examination
Stock exchanges
* Bahrain Stock Exchange, Bahrain
* Baku Stock Exchange, Azerbaijan
* B ...
(mad cow disease)
graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
,
had one of the calves kidnapped (with ransom notes to the local papers).
One of the ''Cows'' briefly enjoyed the services of a
papier-mâché
upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti
upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico
Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...
bull. When UK Culture Minister
Kim Howells
Kim Scott Howells (born 27 November 1946) is a Welsh people, Welsh Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd (UK Parliament constituency), Pontypridd from 1989 Pontypridd by-election, 1989 to ...
referred to modern art trends as "conceptual bullshit", the ''Cows'' acquired concrete
cow-pats.
Significance
In a programme, ''The Sculpture 100'', made for
Sky Television in December 2005, the ''Concrete Cows'' were included in a list of the 100 most influential works of twentieth-century open-air sculpture in England.
The list also includes another piece in Milton Keynes: ''Triple Starhead'' by
Paul Neagu
Paul Neagu (1938-2004) was a Romanian artist living in England who worked in diverse media such as drawing, sculpture, performance art and watercolor. He died on 16 June 2004 in London.
His influences included Cubism, Marcel Duchamp, Constantin ...
(in
Furzton
Furzton is a district in south-west Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and in the civil parish of Shenley Brook End The man-made Furzton Lake is a balancing lake that covers approximately half of the district.
History
The housing in Sout ...
).
Two of the ''Cows'' featured at the
British pavilion
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
at the
Venice Biennale of Architecture
Venice Biennale of Architecture (in Italian
Mostra di Architettura di Venezia) is an international exhibition of architecture from nations around the world, held in Venice, Italy, every other year. It was held on even years until 2018, but 202 ...
(2014).
In popular culture
The home supporters stand at
Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
is known as "The Cowshed", while
its home stadium was briefly nicknamed 'The Moo Camp' (after
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded ...
's
Nou Camp
Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Barcel ...
). The team mascots are two
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
-style cows named "Donny" and "Mooie".
Actor Russell Crowe joked about the cows in 2007 while promoting the movie ''
3:10 to Yuma''.
The cows appear in
Charles Stross
Charles David George "Charlie" Stross (born 18 October 1964) is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy. Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. Between 1994 and 2004, he was also an active writer for the magazine '' ...
' story ''
The Concrete Jungle'', and in
Mark Wallington's ''Destination Lapland'', where he marked seeing them a highlight of his passing visit.
Location
![Concrete Cows at CMK](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Concrete_Cows_at_CMK.jpg)
The ''Cows'' were made at Stacey Hill Farm, now the site of the
Milton Keynes Museum
Milton Keynes Museum is an independent local museum in the parish of Wolverton and Greenleys in Milton Keynes, England. It is mostly run by volunteers with a small number of paid staff.
The museum is housed in a former Victorian farmstead.
I ...
.
and originally located at a parkland site in
Bancroft. They have subsequently resided at the
National Hockey Stadium
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
and
Midsummer Place, beside the
Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre
The Central Milton Keynes shopping area is a regional shopping centre located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England which is about north-west of London. It comprises two adjacent shopping centres, the grade II listed building thecentre: ...
.
In spring 2016 they were moved to MK Museum which is where they originally started out as a temporary exhibit.
However the replicas (made by Bill Billings) in Bancroft are perhaps better known and are sited next to the A422
The A422 is an "A" road for east–west journeys in south central England, connecting the county towns of Bedford and Worcester by way of Milton Keynes, Buckingham, Banbury and Stratford-upon-Avon. For most of its length, it is a narrow sin ...
(Monks Way) between V5 Great Monks St. and V6 Grafton St.) where it passes under the West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
, near its junction with the A5. Direct access on foot or by bike is possible by redway. The nearest rail stations for Bancroft or the MK Museum are Milton Keynes Central and Wolverton
Wolverton is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located at the northern edge of Milton Keynes, beside the West Coast Main Line, the Grand Union Canal and the river Great Ouse. It is the administrative seat of Wolverton and Gre ...
. Buses for Bancroft include MK Metro
MK Metro was a bus company operating in Milton Keynes from 1997 until 2010.
History
In 1997, Stagecoach Group, Stagecoach was ordered by the Office of Fair Trading to divest of its operations in Milton Keynes and Huntingdon. This followe ...
buses 5 and 6 between Bletchley
Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south-west of Milton Keynes, and is split between the civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley.
Bletchley is best known ...
, Central Milton Keynes
Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a #Civil parish, civil parish in its own right, with a town council#England and Wales, town council.
The district is approximately long by w ...
and Wolverton
Wolverton is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located at the northern edge of Milton Keynes, beside the West Coast Main Line, the Grand Union Canal and the river Great Ouse. It is the administrative seat of Wolverton and Gre ...
which call at near-by bus stops on each side of Monks Way near the junction with H3's northern carriageway and Octavian Drive. If approaching on foot or by bike from these stops, a stream separates the cows from the eastern (Octavian Rd) side of H3. There is a bridge over the stream next to the southern carriageway of H3, and an underpass links this bridge to the cows' field.
See also
* Harold F. Clayton another sculptor of cows
*CowParade
CowParade is an international public art exhibit that has featured in major world cities. Fiberglass sculptures of cows are decorated by local artists, and distributed over the city centre, in public places such as train stations, important avenu ...
a festival of cow sculpture
*Bancroft Roman Villa
Bancroft Roman Villa is a Roman villa in the Bancroft district of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, 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 no ...
, also in Bancroft Park and a short distance from the ''Cows''.
References
External links
360° animated picture of the ''Cows''
from BBC Three Counties
part of the Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
Clutch Club website
{{coord, 52.051085, N, 0.795195, W, format=dms, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title
Outdoor sculptures in England
Milton Keynes
1978 sculptures
Cattle in art
Painted statue public art
Vandalized works of art in the United Kingdom
Sculptures of bovines