Angela Conner Explained

Honorific Suffix:FRSS
Nationality:British
Known For:Rising Universe
Spouse:John Bulmer
Awards:Fellow of the Hereford College of Arts
Patrons:Barbara Hepworth

Angela Conner FRSS (born 1935) is an English sculptor who works in London. Conner has exhibited internationally and has large scale sculptures in public and private collections around the world.[1] [2]

Sculpture

In her early life as a sculptor, Conner assisted Barbara Hepworth.[3] She works in a wide range of materials including marble, steel, stone and perspex, with many of her sculptures incorporating water as an integral feature.[4] Conner's kinetic sculptures are concerned with utilizing "natural elements like water, sun, gravity or wind to create mobiles that entice viewers to stop and watch their gentle movement".[5] The movement of Conner's sculptures entirely depend on the natural forces they react with and not electricity. "If mankind were suddenly to die out, and if as a result there were no artificial power, the sculpture would still continue its pattern of opening and revealing, then closing and embracing"[6] [7]

Unfortunately, despite claims that her sculptures would still continue to function sans human life, in reality electricity powers her sculptures and they are connected to a water utility rather than a spring or artesian well. In her long career, Conner has created many notable large scale kinetic sculptures which are entirely powered by natural forces. Conner's 129 ft water and wind sculpture 'Wave'[8] at Park West Dublin is possibly the tallest kinetic water and wind sculpture in Europe.

Conner is also well known for her enigmatic figurative work modeled from life, which "on an intimate and personal level probe the character behind the mask".[9] Conner has created posthumous portraits, but prefers to work from life, -"working from life is a form, perhaps, of an osmosis. It has to be done by instinct; its not something you can do intellectually."[9] Chatsworth House has a collection of 14 bronze busts located in the grounds, including portraits of Lucian Freud, the Eleventh Duke of Devonshire, Harold Macmillan, Roy Strong, HRH the Prince of Wales, Camilla Parker-Bowles and John Betjeman.[10] Conner was commissioned to sculpt from life Queen Elizabeth II by the Knights of the Garter to mark the Queen's 80th birthday.[11] [12] [13] Conner's statue of Laurence Olivier playing Hamlet was commissioned to celebrate the centenary of his birth and is located on the South Bank opposite the Royal National Theatre.

In 1982 Conner created a memorial fountain to honour those repatriated as a result of the Yalta Conference following World War II. These were Russian and Eastern European people who were forcibly repatriated to the USSR, often facing torture and execution. The first memorial from 1982 was a tilting water sculpture made of Hopton Stone, located on the north side of Thurloe Square opposite the Vicitoria and Albert Museum. It was repeatedly damaged, so Connor raised funds for a second memorial, Twelve Responses to Tragedy, which was dedicated in 1986. The monument stands in the Yalta Memorial Garden in South Kensington.[14] [15]

She has work in a number of US public collections including the Jewish Museum, New York and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. Her work Quartet, for Heinx Hall Plaza Pittsburg, uses the weight of water flowing to make the four stainless steel shapes move in a regular rhythm.[4]

Commissions

Kinetic sculptures

Figurative work

Exhibitions

Solo shows

Group shows

Awards and honours

Personal life

Conner is married to the photographer John Bulmer who often videos and photographs her sculptures. The couple live at Monnington on Wye, where they breed and train Morgan horses.[35] [36] [37] [32]

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20120425073108/http://www.angelaconnerportraitsandstatues.co.uk/ Portraits and Busts by Angela Conner
  2. Web site: Angela Conner FRSS. Royal Society of Sculptors. sculptors.org.uk.
  3. Web site: Angela Conner Authorised Biography – Debrett's People of Today. debretts.co.uk.
  4. Book: British sculptors of the twentieth century. 2002. Ashgate. Windsor, Alan.. 1-85928-456-6. Burlington, VT. 50091596.
  5. Web site: Angela Conner Sculptor. angelaconner.co.uk.
  6. Rob Cassy garden designer describing 'Revelation'; declared one of England's best water features by Country Life magazine.
  7. http://www.countrylife.co.uk/article/78233/Go-With-the-Flow.html{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
  8. News: bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 2 October 2003 . Giant moving sculpture unveiled: Europe's tallest moving sculpture - Irish Wave - has been unveiled in Dublin by its creator. 25 August 2011.
  9. Web site: Sculptor Angela Conner of Monnington Court, Herefordshire. Herefordshire Life. 14 July 2014.
  10. Web site: Bronze busts by Angela Conner. chatsworth.org. 24 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110817041957/http://www.chatsworth.org/collections/the-devonshire-collection/bronze-busts-by-angela-conner. 17 August 2011. dead.
  11. Web site: Maev Kennedy: People. Maev Kennedy. The Guardian. 13 April 2006 .
  12. Web site: The Times – UK News, World News and Opinion. The Times. 25 August 2011.
  13. News: Bust is best. The Times.
  14. Web site: Communist Victims/Twelve Responses to Tragedy. War Memorials Online. 30 January 2016.
  15. Web site: Kingman Daily Miner – Google News Archive Search. Kingman Daily Miner. 25 August 2011.
  16. News: UK – England – Queen Mother statue unveiled. 13 March 2003. BBC.
  17. Web site: de Gaulle statue. London Remembers.
  18. News: Hush-hush tribute to SAS founder. 22 April 2002. The Daily Telegraph.
  19. Web site: Portrait busts at Chatsworth. chatsworth.org. 25 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220064527/http://www.chatsworth.org/attractions-and-events/art-archives/art-and-archives-collections/collection/sculpture/bronze-busts%7ctitle=Collection%7cwork=chatsworth.org. 2016-12-20. dead.
  20. Web site: Angela Conner Sculptor » Face to Face with Angela Conner opens at American Museum and Gardens. en-US. 2020-03-08.
  21. Web site: Angela Conner (Open Library). openlibrary.org.
  22. Web site: Sculptures for landscape (Open Library). openlibrary.org.
  23. Web site: Sculpture in the Garden . University of Leicester . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140725131338/http://www2.le.ac.uk/institution/botanic-garden/events-1/sculpture2014 . 25 July 2014 .
  24. Web site: Burghley House. burghley.co.uk.
  25. Web site: A Celebration of Modern British Sculpture | Art | EYES IN . 18 July 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140728020317/http://www.eyesin.com/blog/2012/06/18/a-celebration-of-modern-british-sculpture/ . 28 July 2014 .
  26. Web site: Summer Exhibition 2012 – A Celebration of Modern British Sculpture at Beaux Arts. isendyouthis.com.
  27. Web site: SHIFT – HAPPENING – A CELEBRATION: MODERN BRITISH SCULPTURE. SHIFT.
  28. Web site: jerwoodsculpture.org.
  29. Web site: New pieces for Jerwood Sculpture Park. Redditch Advertiser.
  30. Web site: Home. kinetic-art.org. 18 July 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20060110112226/http://www.kinetic-art.org/. 10 January 2006. dead.
  31. https://www.businesstoarts.ie/awards/
  32. Web site: Hereford College of Arts – Angela Conner. hca.ac.uk.
  33. Web site: Angela Conner Sculptor » Conner Receives Pratt Legends Award. en-US. 2020-03-08.
  34. Web site: Martin Jennings FRBS wins the prestigious PMSA Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture for second time. PMSA. en-GB. 2020-03-08.
  35. News: Morgan Horses Bought by British Sculptress. The New York Times. 23 February 1975. Corrigan. Ed.
  36. Web site: Sculptor Angela Conner of Monnington Court, Herefordshire. Herefordshire and Wye Valley Life. 19 February 2010. 10 February 2013.
  37. News: Drusilla . Beyfus. Angela Conner: See the light. The Telegraph . 6 October 2007. 10 February 2013.

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