Olympic Tangle

The ArcelorMittal Orbit opened last week as the newest addition to the London skyline and caused much debate.   Publicly funded, the structure was designed by artist Anish Kapoor and it offers a panoramic views from the top for an entry fee of £15.

Criticisms have been compared to the time the Eiffel Tower was revealed and we have been assured that over time we, the public, would grow to love it.  I sincerely doubt it as I don’t like it.  I watched a BBC News story at the Orbit’s unveiling and Anish Kapoor was asked to comment on his design and he just looked blankly, slightly nervous, and said something along the lines of “…um…yes…”.  That was it – remarkable.

I’ve no doubt Anish Kapoor is a talented artist and I have enjoyed his exhibitions both in London and Delhi.  Perhaps I am prejudiced though as my favourite rust coloured structure, not far from my family home in Scotland, is the wonderful Forth Rail Bridge (it may even have inspired the Orbit):

The rail bridge was finished in 1890, survived the World Wars and still stands proudly strong helping around 200 trains cross the Firth of Forth daily.

If you want to read a wonderfully pretentious article about the Orbit read this one on the Guardian website.

Bubbly

Tags: Anish Kapoor, ArcelorMittal Orbit, Architecture, Art, BBC, Britain, design, Eiffel Tower, Forth Rail Bridge, london, London Olympics, Olympics, orbit, Orbit tower, Scotland, tower, UK