Something Proper

If you stand for long enough and look at something, its more than likely somebody will become curious over what you are doing, and then join you in looking at it too. While we were involved in the Wonders of Weston meetings to research the project from a residents perspective, we ended up near the Silica, and spent some time looking up at it, even taking a few photos. We noticed a woman near us, who decided she was going to take a photo of it too. She was a tourist, and she told us she didn't know why she was taking the photo, but because we were photographing it she decided it must be a landmark worth noting!

I had an echo of that encounter today. I was walking near the Winter Gardens, and decided to take a photograph of Tim Etchells "Winter Piece" as I hadn't yet seen it in darkness. I only had my mobile on me to take the pictures, so I was spending quite a bit of time stood in one spot, trying to get even a half decent photo! I noticed a little old lady, who had stopped near me, and was looking at the artwork, and we got chatting. She told me that she thought it looked quite pretty, and she was intrigued as to the meaning. She said she liked the look of it, despite not really understanding it. When I began to tell her it was a public art project, her demeanor immediately changed. "Well, what a waste of money!" she declared. "They should spend the money on something PROPER".

I felt amused that she quite liked the piece, until she found out that it was actually ART...