Art in Blackpool South Shore

Blackpool Views

Glamrocks by Peter Freeman

South Shore Sea Defences
Blackpool and the Fylde Coast has embarked on a programme to strengthen its sea defences. The South Shore Promenade area from Starr Gate to South Pier was completed in 2001.
The Promenade was relaid with some imagination, and a number of pieces of modern artistic scuptures were commissioned and installed, including Glamrocks.

Glamrocks
"Hundreds of fibre optic lights which slowly change colour and sparkle."
One of the aims of modern art is surely to invoke thought. "What is it" is a common reaction, or perhaps "What is it supposed to be". On catching sight of "Glamrocks" for the first time, the visitor may think they are fossillised dinosaur eggs, giant puffball fungi, or just plain boulders left on site by careless construction workers.
Get closer and you can see small specks all over them, and on close examination, these "specks" turn out to contain coloured light. To see Glamrocks at their best, you need to return after dark to watch their colours change.
Any visitor encountering them at night for the very first time would surely be even more mystified when approaching them.

Discovery Trail
For walkers or tourists, we believe feature such as Glamrocks add interest and excitement to a spot of gentle exercise. We can imagine that young children could get very exited by the various modern art features, dashing from one to the next asking parents "What is it". Naturally it must be quite frustrating for parents to admit that they don't know. Anything which creates interest and exitement, and stimulates questions must be a good thing. Lets see more of it.

Peter Freeman
Peter Freeman was born in Manchester in 1956. He gained a B.A. honours degree in Fine Art Sculpture from Bristol Polytechnic in 1979, an M.A. in Fine Art from Goldsmiths University College of London in 1991, and has studied glass blowing, light and architecture.
He has awards for his work with neon lighting and fibre optics.

Have you any comments?