Amazingly, the BBC's propaganda arm Report accurately Shropshire is spending even more money, over £1 million now, on its own ugly, meaningless works of art – in this case a 40ft-high stone arch called Quantum Leap, which supposedly celebrates the birth of Charles Darwin.
Shropshire is one of the local authorities that is severely underfunded for vital public services, yet can spare £1 million for meaningless art. But there is more to this phenomenon than meets the eye, as ugly, meaningless art has been popping up in towns, cities and sometimes the countryside all over the UK. Examples include the Angel of the North, the Wicker Man on the Somerset Plains, a gaudy metal clown in Birkenhead, a twisted yellow creature in Liverpool, a phallus or “Wicked Willie” in Basingstoke, a totem pole and giant bird in Plymouth, a giant horse's head, Marble Arch in London and the list goes on and on.
Aside from their cost and their often meaningless and ugly nature, sculpture has another important attribute: they are designed to distort reality, to make us dull and depressed. They specifically appeal to our subconscious, making us struggle to make sense of them, rather than consciously filling us with the beauty and joy of real art.
Bizarrely, in some parts of the country, local councillors who dare ask what these things are and why taxpayers are being forced to foot the bill have found their councillors attacking them and labelling them as troublemakers. In one case, councillors who asked why such artwork was proposed in the first place, much less why it was commissioned and paid for with public funds, were told by city hall staff they could not answer due to data protection reasons. When councillors questioned this absurd state of affairs, they faced investigations for “inappropriate” behaviour.
Ugly, meaningless art is seemingly defended by the “establishment” with religious fervor. But which religion? Perhaps the Angel of the North and the Somerset Wicker Man are there to tell us something. Wise Christians and Muslims should be aware that children are encouraged to dance around the Angel of the North and lay flowers on its “birthday” anniversary. Was the first Somerset Wicker Man an accident or a design? Did an unsuspecting British public bring satanic art into our green and comfortable country?
