Liverpool opinions
The fourth Grace - A new addition to the Liverpool family
By John Williams
Well, having just seen a thumbnail size photograph of the new building that will grace Liverpool's waterfront, Will Alsop's entry, I am in a quandary. You see, I know that the building will now go ahead and so for me to voice any criticism of the design will place me in the ranks of those who backed against the winning horse, especially if it is a huge artistic and cultural success. That said, I have to make some comments and, since I have only seen an artist's impression, they will necessarily be barely digested gut reactions.
To say that I was startled when I saw that Alsop's vision had won the competition is a bit like saying that the Parthenon has seen better days. Of the four entries only Alsop's has abandoned the linear tradition of the present waterfront, where the angular vertical lines of the Three Graces appear to be perfectly natural, set as they are on the horizontal base of the river. Instead, he has presented us with what looks like a crushed ball of silver foil abandoned by a smack addict. Set on stilts, the building reminded me of a Dali painting; a bouncing ball of a building about to vault the Mersey
One of the arguments put forward in favour of Will Alsop's vision was that people would clamour to see it. Well, let's face it, if you exhibited hundreds of naked Scousers bonking inside a glass cage and suspended it above the designated site then the queues to enjoy the exhibition would be backed up to Beijing. Notoriety is not necessarily a guide to cultural worth; Madame Tussaud's waxwork museum attracts millions of visitors but only a total barmpot would describe looking at an effigy of David Beckham as a cultural experience.
Perhaps I should stop perceiving Alsop's creation as the 4th Grace and instead see it as new and exciting addition to Liverpool's architectural heritage. Now that I can do. It's just a question of framing. When I view it as an individual piece of Cosmopolitan furniture I can see why some people are getting excited, and I don't mean those people who are already girding up for a messy fratricidal fight.
If we ignore the intentions of the competition's organisers, who wanted to create a baby sister for the century old Graces, and see Alsop's creation in its own light then it assumes new dimensions. I mean, if we reverse the formula then it's a bit like juxtaposing Atomic Kitten with Dame Nellie Melba and expecting people not to be disturbed by the contrast.
Who of us has the right or the temerity to add to the family of Zeus? Again, if the Three Graces, Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Good Cheer) were good enough for Rubens then they are good enough for me. The Three Graces of ancient mythology wielded great power and influence. They counseled, nurtured and inspired the gods to protect the faithful and to deceive them. Let us not be deceived into precipitating a civil war of words, but rather accept with grace a new beauty to our city. As Zeus was was the God of hospitality, why not welcome Will Alsop's offspring, with open arms and open minds?
08/12/2002
20/07/04
The Cloud has been cancelled, but whether this will guarantee sunshine remains to be seen. I am neither disappointed nor elated at the decision. Perhaps it was a piece of bad timing for Will Alsop that the Pier Head was recently declared a world heritage site and so his Cloud would been perceived to have appropriated a legacy it had in no possible way earned.
It would have been as if a Cairo architect had built a high rise dwelling in the middle of the Pyramids and a year later woke up to discover that his creation, the desert equivalent of Entwhistle Heights, had been granted world heritage status. Will Alsop would no doubt be the first to admit that it would have been expecting too much of Lady Luck.