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Shock and awe at birth of icon

Feb 14 2008 by David Whetstone, The Journal

THE Journal’s Arts and Entertainment Editor David Whetstone remembers the day the Angel arrived.

I’LL NEVER forget the feeling of shock and awe that morning back in 1998 as I drove through Low Fell on the Durham Road (A167), pen and notebook at the ready.

Shock because, although it was early, the wingless body of the Angel of the North was already standing proud against the sky.

Blimey! I’d missed some news breaks in my time but surely I hadn’t missed the Angel going up? It wasn’t as if I hadn’t seen it coming. I’d been writing about it for years.

Awe because of what it was and the way it looked.

After all the heated talk, here it was. Bad weather could have delayed it but that February Sunday had dawned uncannily still and fine – and here, finally, was the sculpture forged in the eye of the storm.

The lads from Hartlepool Steel Fabrications had brought the bits up on low loaders the night before. On a windless morning, everyone had been keen to crack on.

Writing at the time, I noted how slender and graceful Antony Gormley’s creation appeared.

There had been much talk of double-decker buses, Gateshead Council having decided people could better imagine buses piled one on top of the other than a sculpture 20m high. It had even been likened to a jumbo jet.

It’s a neat trick when you are trying to get something controversial driven through. Make it sound bigger/scarier/ worse than it could ever be, then hear the sighs of relief when worst fears aren’t realised.

So I can’t have been the only one, as a huge steel figure with aeroplane wings appeared above Low Eighton and the Team Valley, thinking it looked a little smaller than I’d imagined it would.

Big it certainly was – but a bus pile-up equivalent to a New York skyscraper it patently was not.

A carnival atmosphere characterised the day. Antony Gormley had booked 20 members of his family into the pub over the road which had magically acquired a new name – the Angel View Inn.

TV crews vied for interviews and a crowd of spectators enjoyed the view and the spring weather.

The first wing went on at 10.45am, the second at 3.15pm.

The mind does play tricks. I’d remembered helicopters involved in the job but now realise the choppers must have been courtesy of the media vying for aerial shots.

There was a small plane, too. It was said a man from Scandinavia had flown across to witness the event.

The Angel of the North was up by nightfall. The next day was horrible. Arts Council chairman Lord Gowrie and a crowd of London art critics staggered off a bus into a howling gale.

“Where is Gateshead?” demanded one of the bemused critics. Lord Gowrie, with more sense of occasion, said: “This is the most exciting and proudest day of my 30 years in public life.”

Many of us felt excited and proud on that memorable weekend.

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Angel facts

ANTONY Gormley’s sculpture cost £800,000 and is believed to be the largest angel sculpture in the world.

It contains 3,153 pieces of steel which contain a small amount of copper, which forms a patina on the surface that will mellow with age.

Thomas Armstrong Construction dug 20m foundations at the raised Gateshead site overlooking the A1, anchoring the Angel into place with 700 tonnes of concrete and 32 tonnes of reinforced steel.

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Spectacular party is lined up

A YEAR of spectacular events marking the 10-year anniversary of iconic North East landmark the Angel of the North is set to kick off today.

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, a unique competition is being launched that will enable 10 lucky couples to make history by renewing their wedding vows at the foot of the sculpture.

The newly-appointed Bishop of Jarrow, the Right Reverend Mark Bryant, is due to conduct the special ceremony in the spring.

He said: “With Valentine’s Day being the 10th birthday of the Angel, what better way to celebrate than to renew your wedding vows in the shadow of the amazing sculpture.

“It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get really involved in the celebrations.”

An opportunity has also been created to help the region’s residents to remember their own Valentines and other angels that may have touched their lives.

A thousand helium-filled balloons are set to be launched from the Angel to help local people remember their loved ones that have passed away.

Each balloon will be tied with a personal remembrance message for each individual’s relative, partner or friend.

Schoolchildren and local people will also be able to get involved in a vast array of angel-themed events in their own communities as part of the build-up to the year’s main activity, a huge street party which organisers say will be the highlight of the summer.

According to the Angel’s artist, it has changed the face of public art in the UK.

Antony Gormley said: “The old idea of art only belonging in museums or being for rich people got completely overturned. The Angel, in some ways, was the agenda setter for that.

“It was unique – the right people and the right opportunities came together. The fact that the Angel is rarely alone suggests it has become part of everyday life for the people of the North East.

“I think that’s the highest test of success.”

To win a balloon for your loved one, text the name of the person the message will be for along with your own name and message, up to a maximum of 150 characters, to 07797 803 054.

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Angel events

EVENTS taking place to mark the Angel of the North’s 10th anniversary include: