Treebeard Statue

[davem]

This statue of has been designed by Tolkien's great nephew Tim Tolkien

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/6412017.stm. Some of the designs from the Moseley Statue Website are wonderful. )BTW the photo is a 'fake' & the real one will be coloured brown-bronze-green)

More here: http://moseleystatue.org/

If you check out the 'Designs & Illustrations' section you can't help but think of Tolkien's own style of illustration, & the children's playground & the gates in the 'Tim's Other Work' section are amazing - they remind me of some of Pauline Baynes' drawings for Smith.

I like the design a lot:
"Treebeard" who is being designed to be striding towards the 2 life-size boys of JRR and his brother Hilary in the trees in front of him.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Fantastic! :D

I trust that folk will be permitted to take swords to those who would desecrate the monument?

[Lalwendë]

I wonder how long it will be before the obligatory yellow Netto bag gets caught up in its branches? Or a student adds a traffic cone 'hat' to it? ;)

[Bêthberry]

The statue has a fascinating form in comparison with that of the trees in the square. I do hope the trees never suffer the fate of an axe as then the delightful juxtaposition will be lost.

A bit rare for public art to have such whimsy--well, at least over this side of the pond. Kudos to Tim Tolkien. He seems to have a share of The Professor's sense of humour--a trait which perhaps CT does not share?

[The Might]

I saw this article before, but I admire the statue everytime I see it, I like the design too.
I'd like to see a balrog statue done too...I bet there would be lots of controversy of the "wings" ;)

[the guy who be short]

I wonder how long it will be before the obligatory yellow Netto bag gets caught up in its branches? Or a student adds a traffic cone 'hat' to it?Ha! Look at his head... he'd need a few traffic cones.

I wonder why students love traffic cones so. Will I develop a traffic cone obsession next year?

[Nimrodel_9]

Ooo, that's awesome! It's fun to see that people care about the Professor's work! :D :cool:

[Lalwendë]

Ha! Look at his head... he'd need a few traffic cones.

I wonder why students love traffic cones so. Will I develop a traffic cone obsession next year?

And his hand is just ripe for hanging one of those little yellow roadworks lanterns from...

Of course you will develop a traffic cone obsession when you become a student! It's the Law! Also beware of the following: collecting beermats, saving up all your empty beer bottles and cans to make 'sculpture' out of, buying a Che Guevara and/or Monet's Waterlillies poster in Freshers' Week. ;)

I just hope they will also build a layby nearby as people will be wanting to stop and take photos of this sculpture!

[Elmo]

Why wait till your a student, much fun can be had with traffic cones when you're still at high school

[Estelyn Telcontar]

http://forum.barrowdowns.com/images/chatskwerl.jpg Back to the topic, please.

[Mithalwen]

I think the statue is wonderful ..though it looks slightly "bendable" ;)

I think it is a bit unfair to suggest that CT is humourless... there is evidence of a rather dry sense of humour in some of his comments in HoME.... for example the origin of the name "Bingo" and it's possible connection to the family of toy koalas made me "lol". And on a French Tolkien website, someone who met him at a dinner party said he was absolutely charming and very amusing.

However given the nonsense he has to put up with I can understand if he was prone to sense of humour failure....

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

If you check out the 'Designs & Illustrations' section you can't help but think of Tolkien's own style of illustration, & the children's playground & the gates in the 'Tim's Other Work' section are amazing - they remind me of some of Pauline Baynes' drawings for Smith.

So true, and I can't help but wonder if these might be his influences. Or is it genetics? The gates in particular remind me very much of the artist's elder relative, and the tree of Baynes' work.

Nice to see that the ent design has turned out so well and seems to match its surroundings. Does anyone else have mixed feelings about the leaf idea? It seems to verge on commercialism (or sanctioned graffiti) and yet it could be fun to read the names or inscriptions.

[Mithalwen]

No because the leaves probably won't be readable but you will "know" it is there. I think it is a lovely way to encourage individuals and companies to subsidise public art.... which while it is important is always a tricky area of hard pressed councils. My sister paid to write her name in the lead used to repair the roof of Salisbury Cathedral. Noone will see the names of the benefactors until they have to reroof again - hopefully many years hence.

[Lalwendë]

They did a similar thing to fund the refurbishment of the 199 steps up to Whitby Abbey. People (individuals or groups) could 'sponsor' a step for £1,000 each. It worked too, and they got the necessary funds really quickly. I wonder if it will also work with this? It will need enough publicity towards Tolkien fans I should imagine, but I wonder tight-fisted us fans are - tight-fistedness meaning you have more money to buy collectable books of course... ;)

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

I do hope that you both are right, and it is encouraging see that this has worked well else where. I had fixed in my mind's eye, visions of large signatures scrawled across the leaves at the ent's feet.

I didn't see JRRT and Hilary T. in the mock photos, though the drawing shows them behind the ent. I wonder if they might be happily mistaken for Misters Meridoc and Peregrin! :)

[Mithalwen]

Sad to say that the locals are objecting - philistines ..here is a link but in the Telegraph they said they were afraid of drunks climbing it ....

http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2007/03/06/j_r_r_tolkien_memorial_sparks_local_outr

[Lalwendë]

Typical British suburbanites. They object to anything remotely approaching art but they're quite happy to have anonymous retail sheds thrown up all over the place like vomit. They've been moaning here about the nice new mosque near my house because of the 'dome', but are quite happy to have three domes on the 'palace of retail' that is Meadowhall. :rolleyes: The amusing thing is that 100 residents think they represent the area - thousands more who remain silent have not objected thankfully.

[the guy who be short]

Afraid of drunks climbing it? Why? Surely I'm not the only one to see no logic in this statement.

"I have a profound fear of people - in no way related to me - climbing a structure only related to me by virtue of being in the same general area."

The mind boggles.

[Mithalwen]

Well even as a first generation emigrant from the W Midlands, (my dad was born just down the road from Moseley), I would venture to suggest that Brum's redbrick architecture is not so marvellous that this statue will not be an enhancement - I mean even the Louvre's older and lovelier courtyard was enhanced by Les Pyramides..and drunks land softly ....

v. tempted to write to the council saying how wonderful it is and how I shall make a point of visiting on my next trip to see the clan...

[Elmo]

Treebeard won't like being turned into a statue, ha ha I'm only joking I know he isn't real

[Lalwendë]

When it goes up, they'll find it will be a real asset to the area. Tolkien fans will make a special trip just to see it with the knock on effect of additional business for local shops and cafes/pubs. Plus the local kids will absolutely love it and I remember reading something about the positive effects of public art on house prices - once they see that effect they will be quite happy to have the statue. ;)

Art and Nature go together very well, and if anyone's in doubt they only need to go to the fabulous Yorkshire Sculpture Park...

[Mithalwen]

Also this is an attractive statue even if you no nothing of Tolkien. I mean you could understand people getting a bit narked if they had to face up to a balrog before they had a caffeine shot ... but I most people like ents even if they aren't rapt by other things. There was a chap on the radio once years ago who hated the Lord of the Rings and chose it as the book he would consign every copy of to the Titanic (reverse of a desert island choice) but his only qualm about it was he rather liked the ents....

[Lalwendë]

Maybe they are a bit scared of the metal Treebeard coming to life overnight and herding up all the green trees of Moseley and leading them in a botanical march against their 4x4s? ;)

Even my Dad likes Ents and has been known to say: "Ooh, that tree! It looks Entish!" And he wouldn't pick up a copy of Lord of the Rings if you paid him (the only bit of the films he liked were the parts with Ian McKellen, Sean Bean and Bernard Hill, and only then if they weren't being 'silly and far fetched'). :)

Anyway. It might give people a genuine reason to visit Birmingham...

[Mithalwen]

Apart from the Baltis, the jewellery quarter and Selfridges? And it isn't far from Cadbury world :D

[Lalwendë]

Apart from the Baltis, the jewellery quarter and Selfridges? And it isn't far from Cadbury world :D

Alright, you're convincing me. What girl could resist a shopping trip in Selfridges, followed by a pig out on choccy and curry and a visit to a big sparkly tree? ;) Though I have to say that having to get there on one of Richard Branson's cattle trucks could put me off...

Hey, if they made miniatures of the sculpture that would be excellent! I'd definitely buy one!

[Mattius]

Typical British suburbanites. They object to anything remotely approaching art but they're quite happy to have anonymous retail sheds thrown up all over the place like vomit. They've been moaning here about the nice new mosque near my house because of the 'dome', but are quite happy to have three domes on the 'palace of retail' that is Meadowhall. :rolleyes: The amusing thing is that 100 residents think they represent the area - thousands more who remain silent have not objected thankfully.

Meadowhall is pretty much an aweful eyesore and I think the new Mosque just off Chesterfield Road is quite stunning, especially looking down at the city on a clear day.

The statue is wonderful (maybe the Entwives settled in Dudley), I only wish we could have something like that here in my city- perhaps a bronze Sean Bean as Boromir with his hand held aloft holding his sword as you approach Bramall Lane :)