A monument to touchy feely art

I love the sculptures in Monument Park.

They are great for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that They give me an excuse to use words like “juxtaposition”, “fusion” and “organic”, all of which should be a part of regular conversation but for some reason are under-utilised.

So … back to the sculptures, which my friend Mikey and I wander past, admire, lean into and – wait for it – STROKE – from time to time on our meanderings down NewQuay.

I say stroke because there is a kind of softness – kinda like suede – to the look of the sculptures that encourages a tactile response. So there is a juxtaposition of hard, unyielding concrete and soft, pliable suede.  Organic, a fusion of the senses. Ha!

How’s that for a general exercising of the vocab? Not to mention the interactivity of it all that encourages engagement by sitting (on them).

Encountering art on lunchtime strolls is a feature of working at Docklands, and one which comes to mind whenever someone, who usually doesn’t and never has worked here, asks me what I think of it.

Usually I mention the water first, followed by the relaxed pace of life here, oh, and there’s also the library.

All of which make the transition from holidays spent sleeping in, brunching, chatting to friends, letting the kids off doing any reading or chores, late nights and long cocktails all the easier.

My youngest started high school this year. Speaking of touchy feely, this is probably the last year that he will willingly grab me in a bear hug and hold me close. That’s if his 15-year-old brother is anything to go by!  

Enjoying each stage of life, and work, and play, and lunchtime, being fully present in the experience can be challenging. Our minds tend to race ahead determined to conjure up future problems and feverishly invent theoretical solutions to the imagined mishaps we will encounter.

However you characterise it – worry, anxiety, stress – it takes us out of the here and now and puts is into a kind of twilight zone.

Art that is good brings us into the present in that it fully engages. Like a bear hug from a loved one. Or these precious little moments we have on holidays when the summer seems endless and our worries far away.

Til next time.
X  Maria