I'm adding this post to my blog so I've got everything in one place - ie it doesn't quite belong here.
We were asked to pick an image and write about 250 words on a "formal" and "content" analysis of it. I didn't have a lot of time so I picked something easy, something I owned.
On reflection, I should have picked something harder, a work of art that I didn't understand or like in the hopes of seeing the light. When I have a spare moment I'll try to do this!
Red Rum
Formal Analysis
One of the most striking aspects of this sculpture is its size. It’s a life-size bust of a famous racehorse, Red Rum, mounted on a wall in similar way to a stag’s head. It dominates its surroundings.
The construction of Red Rum is also unusual. It’s made by hand-crocheting a skin of
coarse brown wool over a polystyrene armature. The direction of the stitching has been used to highlight
the musculature of the horse’s body in a very effective way. The wool gives the surface of Red Rum a
“horsey” tactile texture.
Content Analysis
Red Rum is the only horse to have won the Grand National
steeplechase three times. The race is considered to be “the ultimate test of a horse’s courage”
according to Tony McCoy, a famous jockey [1].
The large scale of this sculpture and the method of
emphasising the musculature of the horse captures Red Rum’s enormous strength
and courage. The way it is mounted
– as a trophy – indicates that this is no ordinary horse.
Some people might also say this sculpture symbolises
Liverpool because the Grand National is staged there and Red Rum is buried on
the finishing line.
In addition, this sculpture was given by the artist, Shauna
Richardson, to Liverpool Love [2], an art auction, from which 90% of the
profits went to a Liverpool-based children’s hospice.
I bid for the sculpture in the auction and got quite a
surprise when I won. Red Rum hangs
on a wall above our stairs in our upside-down house in Looe, Cornwall.
For me, the sculpture has an additional symbol – the Olympic
Games. When I went to the Olympics
I encountered the huge crocheted lions made by Shauna Richardson for the “Cultural
Olympiad”. It was love at first
sight – I took a note of her name, searched for other work she’d made and found
Red Rum up for auction at Liverpool Love. [3], [4], [5].
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