Big Things on the Beach 2007 - WONDER

Bob Jefferson · Post by **Bob Jefferson** » 25 Jun 2007, 16:35

http://www.porty.org.uk/forum_links/pyramids.mov

Pal of Porty · Post by **Pal of Porty** » 27 Jun 2007, 17:01

Just on my way to pick up PoP Junior from the pyramids. Yesterday there must have been at least 50 kids having great fun and the pyramids were still intact.

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 27 Jun 2007, 21:16

The antics of the pyramid swarmers - young and older - are better than the telly! And the number of photographs that have been taken is amazing!

Dakota · Post by **Dakota** » 12 Jul 2007, 17:36

I was past the other day and they were looking the worse for wear - one was semi-demolished. Any ideas whether there is an ongoing maintenance commitment?

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 12 Jul 2007, 18:07

The pyramids have been mostly been eroded by the users using the topmost sandbags to make steps up them - "constructive destruction" certainly not malicious....until last night when a youth started to systematically demolish the eastmost one (he appears to have been one of a gang who left a heck of a lot of litter after their late night picnic). He moved off when another wee group of teenagers appeared - they tried to restore it but seem to give up when they couldn't lift the bags, but good on them. This morning the scaffolding inside the middle one was (and still is) exposed which does concern me a little from a safety point of view.

I'm sure I saw Jephson here late one evening this week?

SoupDragon · Post by **SoupDragon** » 12 Jul 2007, 18:31

I see the sandbags holding the fencing in place at the hovercraft site seem remarably like our pyramid ones. Is there a standard issue for sandbags?

magbagpuss · Post by **magbagpuss** » 14 Jul 2007, 10:08

AAWWWHH are you telling me there is no stargate at the pyramids , dissappointed or wot ? I was looking forward to that !

Puerto bella · Post by **Puerto bella** » 15 Jul 2007, 21:54

I though it was v. exciting and can't wait to go on it.

Folk were mentioning the pyramids earlier - has anyone seen them today they are a mess. The middle one has all the boarding showing. Wonder if they will get put back together or whether they will stay as long as it takes to rip them apart. Maybe that's part of the evolving 'art', man.

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 16 Jul 2007, 21:36

magbagpuss wrote:AAWWWHH are you telling me there is no stargate at the pyramids , dissappointed or wot ? I was looking forward to that !

One has taken off

Puerto bella · Post by **Puerto bella** » 16 Jul 2007, 22:43

We noticed this afternoon that it was being dismantled - how sad.

None of the usual numpties that had been clambering over them for the past few weeks showing off their ability to conquer a pile of sand dared to show their skills while the dismantlers were there today.

Its a real shame that the pyramids are so wrecked now. With something like this you have to either encourage people to climb in which case a more durable material would be appropriate or make them so difficult to climb that people don't bother. Signs saying keep off would have been another option. As it was it ended up a free for all and normal rules of respect for other people's work or property went out the window. There is something almost Lord of the Flies about it all and at times I found it quite disturbing.

rapunzell · Post by **rapunzell** » 16 Jul 2007, 22:48

That's a shame. I hope the other two survive.

I heard from a Towerbank Primary School mum that they all thought the pyramids were climbing frames and sent their kids down there to play. In fact, whenever a sandbag came off and decked one of the kids, the mums were getting increasingly angry that the council should have built such unsafe climbing frames...

I did explain!

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 16 Jul 2007, 22:51

rapunzell wrote:they all thought the pyramids were climbing frames and sent their kids down there to play. I did explain!

indeed!

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 16 Jul 2007, 22:56

rapunzell wrote:I hope the other two survive.

The other two don't have scaffolding inside, so have a chance of wearing away more "naturally" - I seem to recall that that was part of the idea: they would evolve and change like Portobello itself. I just don't think it was intended that they evolve and change so quickly!

rapunzell · Post by **rapunzell** » 16 Jul 2007, 22:57

Poppy wrote:
rapunzell wrote:they all thought the pyramids were climbing frames and sent their kids down there to play. I did explain!
indeed!

There were almost some outraged mummys and sandy little darlings ready to picket the pyramid playpark! The irony...

Puerto bella · Post by **Puerto bella** » 17 Jul 2007, 09:51

Some people....any excuse to blame someone else. Did they never think to have respect for someone's work and keep control of their kids. Something sadly lacking today and one of my theories on why the older 'yout' have a free run.

Post by **wangi** » 24 Jul 2007, 14:17

Updates on the pyramids on the BTOTB website, along with news about an exhibition currently on at the library:

http://www.bigthingsonthebeach.org.uk/

Article in today's EN:

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinb ... 1153962007

BEACH art organisers have vowed to rebuild on Portobello's sands, despite their giant pyramids being wrecked within six weeks.

The residents behind the Big Things on the Beach trust, which commissioned the sand pyramids, said they would return next year to create a similar work of public art.

Scores of community volunteers helped fill sandbags to build the 13ft-high sculptures.

...

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 24 Jul 2007, 17:01

My experience overlooking the site is that the "destruction" and "vandalism" has been mostly caused by people playing on them, and flattening the top to let more people sit or stand, then the bags were used to built a stair up the pyramids. Of course there was some deliberate destruction, but actually a lot less than might have been expected?

Last night some youngsters worked hard to built this "fort" (but it was gone by the time I get home at 4 today):

Bob Jefferson · Post by **Bob Jefferson** » 24 Jul 2007, 17:59

Even by EN standards this was a very poorly-written article. For starters, the headline 'Pyramids of Porty to return despite waves of vandalism' is entirely misleading as it suggests, wrongly, that the pyramids are to be re-built. The sub-title declares 'Organisers vow to replace wrecked sandbag artworks'.

I can only assume that the reporter has misunderstood Caroline Muirhead's statement that 'something similar' would appear on the beach next year, since I can't imagine that BTOTB would ask the same artist to produce the same work next summer. Surely, all she means is that BTOTB will not be discouraged from commissioning further works of art on the beach?

The statement that 'one has now been completely destroyed' is also incorrect. It was partially dismantled, exposing the metal framework, and BTOTB then removed the rest themselves (presumably for health and safety reasons) as Caroline makes clear.

Yes there has been some late-night vandalism, but let's not forget that hundreds of young children, including my own, have had a great time playing on the pyramids. Indeed, it is the children and their parents that have made up most of the 'visitors' to this work. It's not Art to them, it's a series of climbing frames. So what? They are 'interacting' with the work and, as Poppy's photo demonstrates, even creating their own constructions from it.

Anyone who has a kid, or who has ever been a kid, could have foreseen that this is exactly what would happen. We need more of this kind of art on the beach and less pretentiousness and po-faced attitudes.

Bob Jefferson · Post by **Bob Jefferson** » 24 Jul 2007, 19:29

A vandal at work yesterday:

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 24 Jul 2007, 19:38

Disgraceful. I trust you reprimanded the shockingly over-indulgent and lax parents, Bob

ecm · Post by **ecm** » 24 Jul 2007, 19:49

Bob Jefferson wrote: Anyone who has a kid, or who has ever been a kid, could have foreseen that this is exactly what would happen. We need more of this kind of art on the beach and less pretentiousness and po-faced attitudes.

We had a good clamber yesterday too.

I've spent the last two days down at Porty beach with Dan and a couple of his wee mates. The boys loved playing on the pyramids as well as the usual 3 or 4 hours spent digging holes in the sand and filling them with water.

I have to say, I always thought the pyramids looked a bit ridiculous in a Spinal Tap/Stonehenge kind of way. Also, sand bags are ugly things if you get too close to them no matter how they're piled up.
I'd rather the money (how much was it btw or aren't we meant to ask/know?) had been given to the couple who made those exquisite sand sculptures last summer.
But what do I know about art apart from what I like.

Bob Jefferson · Post by **Bob Jefferson** » 24 Jul 2007, 21:14

ecm wrote:I'd rather the money (how much was it btw or aren't we meant to ask/know?) had been given to the couple who made those exquisite sand sculptures last summer.

That 'commission' was probably the best £50 the CC ever spent.

Post by **wangi** » 24 Jul 2007, 21:44

Bob Jefferson wrote:A vandal at work yesterday:

Great pic

ecm · Post by **ecm** » 24 Jul 2007, 21:51

Bob Jefferson wrote:
ecm wrote:I'd rather the money (how much was it btw or aren't we meant to ask/know?) had been given to the couple who made those exquisite sand sculptures last summer.
That 'commission' was probably the best £50 the CC ever spent.

£50?!

A real bargain then.

Bob Jefferson · Post by **Bob Jefferson** » 24 Jul 2007, 22:04

I wanted to give them £100 but I was out-voted. Considering that they worked all day on it, I reckon they earned about £2 an hour each for their efforts. Having said that, they were very grateful and they didn't consider themselves to be artists anyway.

I have an email address for them so I'll get in touch - i'm sure they will be interested in Wonder.

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 31 Dec 2007, 12:29

That's The End!

All traces of the Pyramids have been combed away by the fancy plough thing they use to clean the beach. And as I type the stencilled sign on the Prom wall is being steamed off!

It was fun. Thanks to all involved.

Talk Porty ~ Portobello

Big Things on the Beach 2007 - WONDER

Hovercraft

The missing pyramid

Stargate Porty