Brixton's proposed £1m crowdfunded David Bowie memorial - news and opinions

[cuppa tee]

£990k crowdfunded Bowie memorial proposed for Brixton

Crowdfunding campaign launched for a ‘monumental’ Brixton memorial to David Bowie

that is horrendous

 

[editor]

that is horrendous

Regardless of the aesthetics it does seem wildly out of scale for that narrow stretch, it overshadows the mural and blocks the traditional spot for the Christmas tree. And it's ludicrously expensive. Given that it has been spontaneously 'claimed' for Bowie by fans since his death, I would have preferred that small stub of of road to be renamed Bowie Square or something and some smaller scale interactive pieces installed.

 

[cuppa tee]

Regardless of the aesthetics it does seem wildly out of scale for that narrow stretch, it overshadows the mural and blocks the traditional spot for the Christmas tree. And it's ludicrously expensive. Given that it has been spontaneously 'claimed' for Bowie by fans since his death, I would have preferred that small stub of of road to be renamed Bowie Square or something and some smaller scale interactive pieces installed.

the aesthetics are rubbish too....the original Bowie flash was a bit of face painting....that looks like something Mussolini would approve of.....

 

[T & P]

I suspect the man himself would have shaken his head in disapproval at such proposal as this.

 

[editor]

I suspect the man himself would have shaken his head in disapproval at such proposal as this.

I liked the idea of spacey-educational-installations-artworks. Maybe some kind of telescope or screen or interactive installations to look at the stars to inspire rather than an oppressive zig-zag.

 

[boohoo]

£990k crowdfunded Bowie memorial proposed for Brixton

Crowdfunding campaign launched for a ‘monumental’ Brixton memorial to David Bowie

It's ugly - I hate it - wot a waste of money.

Also oversized, shit location, money could be put to much better use in the area.

 

[bimble]

I have a suggestion: The same sort of structure, in the same place, but smaller and high up - suspended between wires/poles/whatever, between the body shop side & cafe nero side. So it appears to sort of hover in midair. It'd be out of the way of taggers, etc, but still visually quite dramatic.

Could probably be done for way less than 990K as well!

I think this is a great idea. It could be lit up/ glow and not get in anyone's way and just kind of float there.

 

[boohoo]

I think this is a great idea. It could be lit up/ glow and not get in anyone's way and just kind of float there.

just need to make sure it gets maintained - general history with public art is it is just allowed to rot over the years.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

It's a daft idea.....

 

[cuppa tee]

That bleeding zigzag is clogging up my Facebook now
......people not from Brixton seem to like it......a lot.
will probably get the funds and we'll have to live with it

 

[editor]

I've been out and about tonight and I wasn't getting much love for this Bowie memorial. Everyone was aghast at the £990,000 price tag.

 

[Winot]

I'd imagine there's a cheaper way to get your name on the memorial.

 

[cuppa tee]

not my cup of tea..is it gold?

is what gold ?

 

[editor]

So Lib Peck is all over this and the Ritzy is also showing the love.

Note: I'm going to spin the Bowie memorial chat off into a separate thread as it's clearly going to be an ongoing story for some time.

 

[Sirena]

I think it's a stupid looking thing.

In a couple of months, it'll be tagged to hell and in a couple of years, it'll start to rust and look really dilapidated

And, in the Summer evenings, it'll block the sunset light that pours down Tunstall Road and goes right down the tube mouth....

 

[editor]

It's now had a fair bit of national press but the fund has only reached 3% of their target ( £29,765 raised of £990,000 target). I still can't get over the cost of this thing.

 

[bimble]

I sincerely hope they don't get the funding to install this design.
A smaller version suspended above street level (as someone suggested above) would work well and not cost anything like this obscene amount of money.

 

[Sirena]

I sincerely hope they don't get the funding to install this design.
A smaller version suspended above street level (as someone suggested above) would work well and not cost anything like this obscene amount of money.

Paint it on Morley's side wall above the painting of Bowie.

Should cost a cuple of hundred quid maximum.

 

[urbanspaceman]

This is a terrible idea. Bowie’s connection to Brixton is tenuous: yes, he was born there, but moved to Bromley when he six years old. And his time in Bromley was much more formative – so put the sculpture there. The sculpture’s disproportionate size intimidates, looming over the already congested streetscape. Adequate funds must be permanently ring-fenced to maintain what will inevitably be a major graffiti magnet. But worst of all, the sculpture possesses no artistic merit. It’s mind-numbingly banal and literal, lacking any spark of artistic creativity.

 

[Sirena]

Are people pledging or actually being debited the money?

This can't have planning permission so the whole thing is just totally speculative.

It's obviously a money-making scam of some sort (the floated cost shows that - unless the monument is to be made of a gold-titanium alloy).

 

[urbanspaceman]

This is a terrible idea. Bowie’s connection to Brixton is tenuous: yes, he was born there, but moved to Bromley when he six years old. And his time in Bromley was much more formative – so put the sculpture there. The sculpture’s disproportionate size intimidates, looming over the already congested streetscape. Adequate funds must be permanently ring-fenced to maintain what will inevitably be a major graffiti magnet. But worst of all, the sculpture possesses no artistic merit. It’s mind-numbingly banal and literal, lacking any spark of artistic creativity.

And I noticed this from a commenter on cbc.ca: "The costs for a utility scale wind turbine range from about $1.3 million to $2.2 million perMW of nameplate capacity installed. Most of the commercial-scale turbines installed todayare 2 MW in size and cost roughly $3-$4 million installed'. So this non-functional 9 meter piece of ironwork costs as much as full-scale wind turbine. The costs are completely out of whack.

 

[editor]

This is a terrible idea. Bowie’s connection to Brixton is tenuous: yes, he was born there, but moved to Bromley when he six years old. And his time in Bromley was much more formative – so put the sculpture there. The sculpture’s disproportionate size intimidates, looming over the already congested streetscape. Adequate funds must be permanently ring-fenced to maintain what will inevitably be a major graffiti magnet. But worst of all, the sculpture possesses no artistic merit. It’s mind-numbingly banal and literal, lacking any spark of artistic creativity.

It's more than 'tenuous.' Where you're born is a very important part of your identity. He went to primary school in the area. Bowie regularly came back to Brixton for inspiration when he was growing up, seeing bands in places like the Ram Jam Club. In 1983 he put on a big benefit for the Brixton Neighbourhood Association at the Hammersmith Odeon:

David Bowie who was born in Stansfield Road, Brixton, recently said “I left Brixton when I was still quite young, but that was enough to be very affected by it. It left strong images in my mind. The idea of this charity show was to contribute something concrete to the Brixton community which has had its unfair share of heartbreak over the past few years.”

In 1989 he returned to Brixton to open a new community centre.

In the Seventies, for example, he was fond of likening his early childhood in Brixton to the rites of passage experienced by young bloods on the mean and picaresque streets of Harlem... David Bowie interview from 1996: 'I have done just about everything that it’s possible to do'

He revisited in 1993:

David Bowie told the driver to stop when they got to the house where he was born. He was weeping. “It’s a miracle,” he said quietly to himself, looking out of the tour bus, which was squeezed into a tight back street in Brixton, south London. “I probably should have been an accountant instead.”

This very private moment happened in 1991, when Bowie was almost at the height of his powers, and was observed only by a member of his band, according to Paul Trynka’s biography, Starman.
Following Bowie's journey from post-war Brixton to A Life on Mars

He played Brixton many times and also returned for a visit before he died. I'd say all that adds up to a meaningful connection with the area.

I've no doubt that other areas have a valid claim on Bowie - Berlin, Bromley, New York a farm up in Yorkshire for example - but it's a bit daft to suggest that the place he was born does't have a strong claim too.

 

[lefteri]

Well I think it looks like a gigantic lavatory

 

[editor]

Are people pledging or actually being debited the money?

This can't have planning permission so the whole thing is just totally speculative.

It's obviously a money-making scam of some sort (the floated cost shows that - unless the monument is to be made of a gold-titanium alloy).

Lambeth have gushed their full support to the project.

 

[editor]

PATRICK SALVO: You were born in Brixton, how far were you from Her Majesty's Prison?

DAVID BOWIE: About 700 yards.

SALVO: You had a good view then.

BOWIE: They had a good view of me as well.

New Again: David Bowie

 

[editor]

Looks like he wasn't so keen to remember Beckenham

But when he went back for the funeral of Marc Bolan, one of his oldest friends, he decided to take a look at Brixton, the area where he was born.
The house he had lived in as a child, in Stansfield Road, was still there, but he had not felt able to ask if he could see inside. Brixton seemed more intimidating than he had remembered it.
Only five years ago, I point out to him, he was living in Beckenham and working on his campaign to take over the world. He recoils. Horrible memories! Horrible. But the past keeps turning up. When last in London he was presented with a bill for unpaid rent by his old Beckenham landlord. No, he is unlikely to live in London again.
Bowie Golden Years : Melody Maker February 1978

 

[discobastard]

Are people pledging or actually being debited the money?

This can't have planning permission so the whole thing is just totally speculative.

It's obviously a money-making scam of some sort (the floated cost shows that - unless the monument is to be made of a gold-titanium alloy).

All of this information is on the crowdfunder page. Including a cost breakdown and a list of people/organisations to whom the protagonists are offering their thanks (featuring some familiar names).

 

[Rushy]

This is a terrible idea. Bowie’s connection to Brixton is tenuous: yes, he was born there, but moved to Bromley when he six years old. And his time in Bromley was much more formative – so put the sculpture there. The sculpture’s disproportionate size intimidates, looming over the already congested streetscape. Adequate funds must be permanently ring-fenced to maintain what will inevitably be a major graffiti magnet. But worst of all, the sculpture possesses no artistic merit. It’s mind-numbingly banal and literal, lacking any spark of artistic creativity.

And I noticed this from a commenter on cbc.ca: "The costs for a utility scale wind turbine range from about $1.3 million to $2.2 million perMW of nameplate capacity installed. Most of the commercial-scale turbines installed todayare 2 MW in size and cost roughly $3-$4 million installed'. So this non-functional 9 meter piece of ironwork costs as much as full-scale wind turbine. The costs are completely out of whack.

A £million in construction terms is roughly equivalent to 500sqm of good quality new build. Or eleven one bedroom flats.

 

[Dan U]

Probably become some kind of shrine for confused Alt Right folk as it looks a bit SS

 

[skyscraper101]

£1Mill for that, Jesus.

Well if they don't reach their target, maybe they could get the guy who did the whacko statue for Fulham FC to do a Bowie one. A snip at £100k