King Kong statue
{{Short description|Sculpture by Nicholas Monro}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox artwork
| image_file = Nicholas Monro's King Kong statue in original colours - crop.png
| image_size = 250px
| title = King Kong statue
| alt =
| caption = The statue, in its original colours, being temporarily exhibited at Gosta Green in Birmingham in 1975
| artist = Nicholas Monro
| subject = King Kong
| year = {{start date|1972}}
| type = Statue
| material = Fibreglass
| height_metric = 550
| metric_unit = cm
| imperial_unit = in
| weight = {{Convert|890|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
| city =
| museum =
| coordinates =
| owner = Lesley Maby
| italic title = no
}}
A statue of King Kong by Nicholas Monro was commissioned in 1972 for display in Manzoni Gardens in The Bull Ring, in the centre of Birmingham, England.{{cite book|last=Noszlopy|first=George T.|title=Public Sculpture of Birmingham including Sutton Coldfield|publisher=Liverpool University Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/publicsculptureo0000nosz/page/170 170]|year=1998|series=Public Sculpture of Britain|volume=2|isbn=0-85323-682-8|url=https://archive.org/details/publicsculptureo0000nosz/page/170}} It was later displayed elsewhere in Birmingham, then at markets in Edinburgh, Penrith (where it was subsequently stored), at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, and now in the owner's garden in Cumbria.{{Cite journal|last=Fisher|first=James|date=2017 |title=Britain's King Kong: a history of Nicholas Monro's King Kong|url=https://online.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/sj.2017.26.3.7 |journal=Sculpture Journal |volume=26|issue=3|pages=377–386|doi=10.3828/sj.2017.26.3.7 |issn=1366-2724}}
The Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol owned a maquette of the statue which is now in the collection of Wolverhampton Art Gallery.
History
= Birmingham =
Modelled on the fictional giant gorilla King Kong, the fibreglass statue was commissioned for display in Birmingham from March to November 1972, by the Peter Stuyvesant Foundation for the Sculpture for Public Places Scheme{{cite web|url=http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/art/artist/nicholasmonro/|title=University of Warwick Art Collection - Artists - Nicholas Monro|publisher=University of Warwick|access-date=22 August 2011}} "City Sculpture",{{cite journal |last=Peter Stuyvesant Foundation, City Sculpture Project 1972 Staff |year=1972 |title=City Sculpture (A Special Issue) |journal=Studio International |isbn=0-902063-09-X |publisher=Warehouse Publishing Ltd |volume=184 |issue=946 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p1ufAAAACAAJ}} in partnership with the Arts Council of Great Britain.
The statue is {{Convert|5.5|m|ft|0}} tall and weighs {{Convert|890|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.{{cite news|last=Anon|date=4 October 2005|work=Edinburgh Evening News}} It was constructed at the artist's studio at Hungerford.Radio Birmingham interview with Munro, 11 May 1972, transcribed in part in {{cite journal|last=Towers|first=Alan|date=July–August 1972|title=Birmingham: Nicholas Munro|journal=Studio International|volume=184|issue=946|page=18}} Monro's brief was to make something "city orientated" and he said that he "immediately thought of King Kong".
The statue was displayed in Manzoni Gardens (previously the site of Birmingham Market Hall; now subsumed beneath the Bullring shopping mall). On 14 July 1972 it was "occupied" by two flying pickets, who were protesting about low wages in the building industry as part of the national builders' strike. They sat on its shoulders and hung from its neck a banner reading "King Kong says nothing less than £30 for 35 hours and up your T.P.I."{{cite web|url=http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-the-two-building-workers-staging-their-sit-down-demonstration-on-the-20204860.html|title=The Two Building Workers Staging Their Sit Down Demonstration On The Stock Photo, Royalty Free Image: 20204860 - Alamy|publisher=Almay|access-date=15 November 2016}}
After the statue had been on display for four months, Birmingham City Council was offered the opportunity to purchase the work at a reduced rate of £2,000,{{Cite news|title=Is a gorilla a bargain at £1 a lb?|last=Everitt|first=Anthony|date=28 August 1972|work=Birmingham Post}} but decided not to retain it, and so in September 1972, it was sold for £3,000{{cite news|url=http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/reveal-what-happened-birminghams-iconic-222845|title=We reveal what happened to Birmingham's iconic King Kong statue |work=Birmingham Mail |first=Anuji |last=Varma |date=23 January 2011}} to a local used-car dealer, Mike Shanley,{{Cite episode|title=Birmingham garage owner buys King Kong statue |url=http://www.macearchive.org/Archive/Title/atv-today-18091972-birmingham-garage-owner-buys-king-kong-statue/MediaEntry/18015.html |access-date=5 May 2013 |series=ATV Today |network=ATV Midlands |date=18 September 1972 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120409210316/http://www.macearchive.org/Archive/Title/atv-today-18091972-birmingham-garage-owner-buys-king-kong-statue/MediaEntry/18015.html |archive-date= 9 April 2012}} who changed the name of his dealership to King Kong Car Co.{{cite web|url=http://www.superhumanism.eu/art-collection/nicholas-monro/|title=Nicholas Monro |access-date=22 August 2011}} and displayed the statue at his sales lot on the A34 Stratford Road, next to the former Holy Trinity church in the Camp Hill area of the city. While there, it was dressed up as Father Christmas in season, and it also survived a fire in June 1974.{{Cite news|title=Baking Kong|date=1 July 1974|work=Birmingham Post}}
During 1975 it was loaned to Birmingham School of Architecture, between 30 June and 3 July, as a symbol for the 'City of the Future' symposium which took part at the Gosta Green campus.{{Cite news|title=King Kong becomes festival VIP|date=30 June 1975|work=Birmingham Post}}
By 1976, the statue had moved to a new location on Ladypool Road, Sparkbrook, close to the Clifton Road junction. It stood at the rear face of the Clifton public house. It was still being used to advertise a King Kong cars dealership at this locationKing Kong at this location can be seen in the second episode of the first series of the BBC TV series 'Gangsters'. 21 minutes into this episode, one of the characters is shown walking down Ladypool Road passing King Kong Kars Ko and the statue of King Kong. and Mike Shanley was still the owner of this business.
= Edinburgh =
File:King Kong statue by Nicholas Monro at Ingliston Edinburgh.jpg
In 1976, it was sold for £12,700 to Nigel Maby's Scottish company Spook Erection Ltd{{cite web|url=http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/01/25/king-kong-statue-could-be-heading-back-to-birmingham-97319-28046951/|title=King Kong statue could be heading back to Birmingham|date=25 January 2011|work=Birmingham Mail|access-date=12 August 2011|archive-date=4 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004204646/http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/01/25/king-kong-statue-could-be-heading-back-to-birmingham-97319-28046951/|url-status=dead}} and displayed at Ingliston Market in Edinburgh. During that period, it was falsely reported destroyed, and repainted several times, including once in tartan, and, in 2001, in shocking pink. Before removal from Edinburgh on the closure of that market in 2005,{{cite web|url=http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk/news/king-kong-sculpture-soon-to-tower-over-cumbrian-saturday-market-1.803980|title=King Kong sculpture soon to tower over Cumbrian Saturday market|date=28 January 2011|work=Cumberland News|access-date=22 August 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324011228/http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk/news/king-kong-sculpture-soon-to-tower-over-cumbrian-saturday-market-1.803980|archive-date=24 March 2012}} the statue suffered damage by vandals to its back, and a broken arm, requiring repair.
= Penrith =
It was subsequently displayed at Skirsgill Auction Mart, a market site in Penrith, and was still there in January 2011 albeit lying down, in a car park near its former position. There were calls for it to be returned to Birmingham, but the owner, Lesley Maby (wife of the late Nigel), refused to sell it.
= Leeds =
File:King Kong statue - Leeds - Derek Horton - 05.jpg
In November 2016 the statue, which had been repainted in its original colours, was moved to the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, to be exhibited at the City Sculpture Projects 1972 exhibition, commemorating the original "City Sculpture" programme, which was held from 24 November 2016 to 19 February 2017, and where Monro spoke on 23 November.{{cite web|url=https://www.henry-moore.org/whats-on/2016/11/24/city-sculpture-projects-1972|title=City Sculpture Projects 1972|publisher=Henry Moore Foundation|access-date=14 November 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.henry-moore.org/whats-on/2016/11/23/gallery-discussion---city-sculpture-projects-1972|title=Gallery discussion - City Sculpture Projects 1972|publisher=Henry Moore Foundation|access-date=14 November 2016}} The statue's maquette, on loan from Wolverhampton Art Gallery, was also part of the exhibition.
= Cumbria =
= 2022 recreation =
In 2022, a second, {{convert|7|m|ft|adj=on}} tall version of the statue was created, with the blessing of members of Monro's family. It was unveiled in a pop-up park on Great Hampton Row in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter in July, to coincide with the Commonwealth Games held in the city.{{cite news |title=King Kong returns to Birmingham after 50 years |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-62253515 |access-date=22 July 2022 |work=BBC News |date=22 July 2022}} Plans have been submitted for it to be relocated to the Chung Ying Plaza development on Thorp Street in Birmingham's Southside quarter, at a later date.{{cite web |title=King Kong to return to Birmingham for the 2022 Commonwealth Games |url=https://www.birminghamworld.uk/news/king-kong-to-return-to-birmingham-for-the-2022-commonwealth-games-3742787 |website=Birmingham World |access-date=25 June 2022}}
In media
The comedian and entertainer Victoria Wood wrote a song about the statue, in 1973, as part of her studies at the University of Birmingham. Part of it was broadcast in a 2020 BBC programme about her career.{{Cite episode |title=Episode 1 |series=Victoria Wood: The Secret List |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000qrym |access-date=25 December 2020 |network=BBC Television |date=25 December 2020}}
The music journalist Peter Paphides wrote in his 2020 autobiographical work Broken Greek that his childhood phobias included:{{cite news |last1=Petridis |first1=Alexis |title=Dave Greenfield: putting beauty at the rotten heart of the Stranglers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/may/05/dave-greenfield-putting-beauty-at-the-rotten-heart-of-the-stranglers |access-date=31 August 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=5 May 2020 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Paphides |first1=Pete |title=Broken Greek |date=2020 |publisher=Quercus |location=London |isbn=978-1529404432}}{{Page needed|date=August 2021}}
{{quote|worms, biting into mushrooms, insects, the fibreglass King Kong which stood next to a ring road in Birmingham city centre...}}
Images of the statue feature extensively in the 2020 documentary film King Rocker.{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/feb/06/tv-tonight-the-story-of-brummie-punk-robert-lloyd|title=TV tonight: the story of Brummie punk Robert Lloyd|date=6 February 2021|website=The Guardian}}
Locations
{{PoI start}}
{{PoI|Manzoni Gardens|52.477682|-1.895131|GB|10 May 1972}}
{{PoI|King Kong Car Co. (Camp Hill)|52.471475|-1.877836|GB|September 1972}}
{{PoI|Birmingham School of Architecture|52.4874156|-1.8883999|GB|On Loan - June 1975}}
{{PoI|King Kong Car Co. (Ladypool Road, Sparkbrook)|52.454989|-1.877578|GB|1976}}
{{PoI|Ingliston Market|55.942555|-3.382936|GB|1976}}
{{PoI|Skirsgill Auction Mart, Penrith|54.653538|-2.766318|GB|standing location - April 2008}}
{{PoI|Skirsgill Auction Mart, Penrith|54.651820|-2.766822|GB|recumbent location - January 2011}}
{{PoI|Henry Moore Institute, Leeds|53.7999301|-1.5475642|GB|November 2016}}
{{PoI|Cumbria|||GB|February 2017|}}
{{PoI end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
{{KML}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20161116101429/http://www.macearchive.org/Archive/Title/atv-today-11051972-king-kong-statue-in-birmingham/MediaEntry/17400.html Film interview with Monro] filmed by ATV in Manzoni Gardens, Birmingham, in 1972
- [http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/01/25/king-kong-statue-could-be-heading-back-to-birmingham-97319-28046951/ Birmingham mail article with photos] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004204646/http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/01/25/king-kong-statue-could-be-heading-back-to-birmingham-97319-28046951/|date=4 October 2012}}
- [https://www.flickr.com/groups/1784478@N22/ Flickr group for pictures of the statue]
{{Public art in Birmingham}}
{{King Kong}}
Category:Outdoor sculptures in England
Category:History of Birmingham, West Midlands
Category:Fiberglass sculptures
Category:Culture in Birmingham, West Midlands
Category:Outdoor sculptures in Edinburgh
Category:King Kong (franchise)
Category:Statues of fictional characters