Category: Factual
& Arts TV
Date: 03.01.2005
Printable version
The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Great Britons Churchill
memorial sculpture, Song, will be unveiled to the public on Wednesday
9 February 2005 in the historic Westminster Hall of London's Houses
of Parliament.
The medieval Westminster Hall, built in 1097 and the oldest individual
building in the Houses of Parliament complex, was the site for Churchill's
ceremonial lying-in-state in 1965.
Created by sculptor Paul de Monchaux, Song will be on free public view
in Westminster Hall until early April 2005 before visiting regional
venues and being installed in a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ London building.
The installation of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Churchill memorial in Westminster Hall has
been made possible by the kind permission of the Houses of Parliament
Advisory Committee of Works of Art and its Chairman Tony Banks MP.
The memorial is the culmination of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TWO series Great Britons,
in which the wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill was voted overall
winner by Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ viewers in a poll to find the greatest Briton of all time.
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The sculpture is funded by profits from the telephone
voting for the television series.
A television programme, Winston Churchill In Art (working title),
produced by James Morton-Haworth, will broadcast on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ FOUR during
the week of the unveiling, looking at the creation of the memorial and
representations of Churchill in art.
Song is a freestanding timber tower made from green English oak heartwood,
measuring 2.1 metres by 1.4 metres by 1.4 metres.
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Inspired by Churchill's wartime speeches, the structure
of the memorial reflects their insistent message of strength through
cooperation.
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"What he said, when he said it and how he said
it threw up a defensive barrier of words against catastrophe when little
else was available," explains de Monchaux.
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"The memorial is a structure that is immensely
strong when all its components are joined together but quite unstable
if any are missing."
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Facsimiles of Churchill's speech drafts, called Β‘hymn
sheetsΒ’ by his staff, are embedded in the work.
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The title, Song, comes from Churchill's own description
of his contribution to a meeting of French leaders at the time of Dunkirk:
"I sang my usual song: we would fight on whatever happened."
Paul de Monchaux's proposal was selected in July 2004 from a shortlist
of five contemporary artists by a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ selection panel comprising: Susan
Brades, former director, Hayward Gallery; Richard Cork, art critic and
art historian; Mark Harrison, Creative Director, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Arts; Roly Keating,
Controller, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TWO; Vivien Lovell, Director, Modus Operandi art consultants;
Jane Root, former Controller, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TWO; and Alan Yentob, Creative Director,
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.
The unveiling of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Great Britons Churchill memorial coincides
with the opening on Friday 11 February at the Cabinet War Rooms of the
world's first major museum dedicated to the life of Sir Winston Churchill.
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The museum will combine cutting-edge technology, rare
historical objects and thousands of images, film and sound recordings
to tell the story of Churchill's life.
Notes to Editors
Biography - Paul de Monchaux
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Paul de Monchaux was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1934.
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He studied at the Art Students League in New York, USA,
before coming to the Slade School of Fine Art in London in 1955.
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He was Lecturer in Sculpture at Goldsmiths College
(1960-65) and was also Head of Sculpture & Fine Art at Camberwell
School of Art (1965-86).
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He retired from teaching in 1986 to concentrate on
his sculpture.
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Public commissions include sculptures for Brunswick
and Oozells Squares in Birmingham; Enclosure for West Park Southampton;
the Wilfred Owen Memorial in Shrewsbury; Basilica for the Crown Court
in Coventry and the four Time benches at Euston station in London. He
won a Civic Trust Award with Townshend Associates for his work in Oozells
Square.
Great Britons
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The Great Britons television series ran on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TWO from
20 October to 24 November 2002.
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The series launched with a public poll people to nominate
the person they thought was the greatest Briton of all time.
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The top 10 (in alphabetical order) then featured in
a 10-part series in autumn 2002 in which high-profile presenters including
Mo Mowlam, Michael Portillo and Jeremy Clarkson argued the case for
their chosen Great Briton and asked viewers to vote by phone or through
bbc.co.uk.
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All 10 Great Britons were debated in a final programme
which then announced the winner.
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The series captured the public imagination and generated
much interest and debate.
In total 1.6 million people registered votes and the final rankings
were: 1) Winston Churchill; 2) Isambard Kingdom Brunel; 3) Princess
Diana; 4) Charles Darwin; 5) William Shakespeare; 6) Isaac Newton; 7)
Elizabeth I; 8) John Lennon; 9); Lord Nelson; 10) Oliver Cromwell.
The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Great Britons memorial
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Five contemporary artists were shortlisted to submit
proposals for the memorial.
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No particular medium was stipulated for the commission,
other than that the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ was not seeking a conventional proposal as it
was felt the UK already had the definitive Churchill figurative sculpture
in Ivor Roberts-Jones' work of 1973 in London's Parliament Square.
The Great Britons memorial is funded by the profits from the telephone
voting up to the final programme.
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Profits from the telephone voting in the final programme
were donated to Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Children In Need.
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The total budget for the memorial is Β£50,000,
which includes materials, construction, installation, touring costs
and the artist's fee.
