Bottle Of Notes
Art In Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire
A 30 foot high bottle with a quote from Captain Cook's journal.
We were in Middlesbrough for a concert at the Town Hall and took a wander to the nearby Russell Street. I would not have sought out the sculpture Bottle of Notes, as I was unsure if it was poking fun at the drinking culture.
It is designed by Claes Oldenburg (1929 to 2022), who is known for depicting enlarged everyday objects with his wife Coosje van Bruggen (1942 to 2009).
The swirly steel construction, which gives the bottle its shape, depicts the writing taken from Captain James Cook's journals, and the internal blue steel is a poem.
For the outside of the bottle, van Bruggen selected a line of text from Captain Cook's Journals, written during his first voyage of exploration in the Pacific in 1769: We had every advantage we could desire in observing the whole of the passage of the planet Venus over the Sun's disk. The text on the inside comes from a poem she wrote, 'Recalling Amsterdam', which links the English shore to the European continent: “I like to remember seagulls in full flight gliding over the ring of canals.
Tees Valley Museums
At certain angles, the bottle is slanted and can to be construed as a message in a bottle.
The sculpture is positioned on a slant, to appear as if it had been left stuck in the sand by a receding wave - a giant message in a bottle to local people and the wider world.
Tees Valley Museums
At nearly 30 feet high it's around the height of a 3-storey house.
Here is my abstract photograph taken looking up from inside the bottle. Please note I didn't climb in it!
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How To Find Bottle Of Notes
Where To Park For Bottle Of Notes?
Lat / Long
54.573671, -1.233515
What three words
There are a few car parks to choose from. Emily Street car park is near.
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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