Blank Canvas
Art In Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire
Discover Blank Canvas in South Bank, a striking steel sculpture by Ray Lonsdale celebrating heritage, resilience and the passing of skills between generations.
This part of Middlesbrough is unknown to me, and after doing a bit of research, I found out it is now a far cry from the proud heritage that once thrived in the area.
Ray Lonsdale (born 1965), the Steel Artist, reputedly one of the North East's best, created Blank Canvas in 2019.
'Blank Canvas' was commissioned by Redcar and Cleveland council to depict the strength and resilience of the Southbank area in the face of almost losing its steel making heritage. The piece shows an old worker about to retire passing the steel baton (the lump of steel between the figures) to the first-year apprentice, who is the blank canvas for the future......The council were offered 3 options by me. 1 was a huge abstract germinating pod which was considered a little too weird. Another was a larger than life female figure bursting from the ground and suspended 6 metres by a number of steel poles. This was apparently a close runner up. The chosen option was regarded as the most suitable for the area by the panel.
Ray Lonsdale
Ray's style involves using plated Corten steel and developing it into a three-dimensional composition. His signature is that you can clearly see the joins. The faces of these two figures are made of multiple strips of Corten steel, depicting the contours of the face.
A theme in Mr. Lonsdale's work is the heritage and relationships between people. In this case, it is the older and younger generations. The project was discussed and developed with St Peter's School pupils and the Kidz Konnekt youth group.
A working title, Tabula rasa, was used early on for Blank Canvas. How cool is this!
Tabula rasa is the idea of individuals being born empty of any built-in mental content, so that all knowledge comes from later perceptions or sensory experiences. Proponents typically form the extreme "nurture" side of the nature versus nurture debate, arguing that humans are born without any "natural" psychological traits and that all aspects of one's personality, social and emotional behaviour, knowledge, or sapience are later imprinted by one's environment onto the mind as one would onto a wax tablet. This idea is the central view posited in the theory of knowledge known as empiricism. Empiricists disagree with the doctrines of innatism or rationalism, which hold that the mind is born already in possession of specific knowledge or rational capacity.
Wikipedia
It is a must to get a photo like this one of Ray. Don't forget your poker face!
Our thanks to Ray for his insights and use of photographs from his workshop. The park opposite has a nod to the steel trade, too.
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How To Find Blank Canvas
Where To Park For Blank Canvas?
This is beside a car park beside the sculpture.
Contributed by Rosalind Parker
Thank you for reading. I hope it sparks your interest. It’s always a pleasure to get out and explore, whatever the weather. I enjoy uncovering little snippets of information, especially when they’re obscure, amusing, or meaningful. All photos were taken on a mobile phone.
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