Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project
Conversation Pieces Photograph
Region ID | EM | |
Work ID | 113 | |
Manual Reference | LE110TCBMAY | |
Type | Sculpture | |
Title | Conversation Pieces | |
Sculptor | Atherton, Kevin | |
Date of design | ||
Year of unveiling | 1992 | |
Unveiling details | [?] July 1990 (in original location) | |
Road | Gravel Street | |
Precise Location | In St Margaret's Bus Station; just inside the New Road / Gravel Street entrance | |
A to Z Ref | 4 C2 (1) | |
OS Ref | SK586049 | |
Postcode | ||
Work is | Extant | |
Listing Status | Not listed | |
Duty of Care | Leicester City Council | |
Commissioned by | Leicester City Council | |
Notes | ||
3 portrait busts on tall stands arranged into a group facing inwards towards each other as if having a conversation. | ||
This group of three heads is actually one of an inter-related set of three groups originally located in Market Street, Cheapside and Gallowtree Gate. Unfortunately the heads on their glass pedestals proved particularly vulnerable in such open locations. Within weeks of their installation several had been vandalised and various measures were proposed for their protection, including their nightly removal to storage. Ultimately all three groups were removed and placed in storage until January 1992 when one set was relocated in the more secure surroundings of St Mary’s Bus Station. Although there are nine heads in all, two were repeated, making seven different heads taken from casts of local people. The idea was that a head from the first group would be repeated in the second and another from the second in the third, so conveying the idea of the spread of information mouth-to-mouth around the city. | ||
circa | ||
raw year | 1992 | |
Condition | Good | |
At risk | Not at risk | |
Inscriptions | - on stand of James Welsh bust: JAMES WELSH / PHIL LEACH / CLEO CRAIG / "CONVERSATION PIECE" / by KEVIN ATHERTON / COMMISSIONED BY LEICESTER CITY COUNCIL / THROUGH PUBLIC ART DEVELOPMENT TRUST / 1990 | |
Signatures | - founder's mark on righthand part of upper surface of Cleo Craig stand, incised into the bronze (arranged into a monogram): A A LONDON | |
Elements
Element Details
Part of work | Material | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|
James Welsh bust | bronze, painted brown | h. 36 cm; w. 49 cm; d. 31 cm |
stand for James Welsh bust | plexiglass | h. 145.5 cm |
Phil Leach bust | bronze, painted brown | h. 35 cm; w. 41.5 cm; d. 23 cm |
stand for Phil Leach bust | plexiglass | h. 143.5 cm |
Cleo Craig bust | bronze, painted brown | h. 39 cm; w. 39 cm; d. 20.5 cm |
stand for Cleo Craig bust | plexiglass | h. 127.5 cm |
Assessment of Condition
Surface Character
Detail | Comment |
|---|---|
Other | surfaces dirty |
