There is a roundabout on Hastings sea front that is causing quite a kerfuffle. Please read about it here.
We now have the stick-in-the-muds who just want the rather sad looking fountain renovated and that can only be used when it isn’t windy because in those conditions cars using the roundabout think they’re in a carwash and we have David Kowitz sounding more than a little dismayed about the whole sorry affair because no-one wants the 2nd hand sculpture on offer from the Fairlight Arts Trust. I believe that Mr Kowitz is American and therefore English is not his first language so his use of the word ‘garbage’ might not have been intentionally very rude.
Anyhoo the different sides seem to be squaring up to achieve the result that absolutely nothing will be achieved accept resentments, cultural divides and fodder for the media of course. Therefore I feel that I should come up with a suggestion and save the day.
I’d commission a local steel fabricator to make a gigantic traditionally shaped lobsterpot which would be a true representation of the history of Hastings leading right up to now and it would also reference the shape of the fountain that exists at the moment.
I would then ask our local town sculptor, Leigh Dyer, …
Sculpture by Leigh
… to make two lobsters like this …
or
…  this for instance, to pop in the pot. BTW these images of lobster sculptures were just nicked off the interweave to show the different directions the works could go in.
This would sit very nicely on the roundabout, would be see-through for drivers for safety reasons, be very low maintenance, be pretty vandal and water proof and be appreciated by all ends of the Hastings cultural spectrum.
Hastings is a fascinating town peopled by a mixture of the bucket-and-spade brigade, the cultural vultures, the young, the old, the stuffed shirt and the let-it-all-hang-out. I believe that my idea, or something similar, could straddle this complicated population and become well loved by the vast majority. *drops a curtsy and devours a gingernut*
11 Comments