tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912529977982751506.post3951730368146529413..comments2024-03-28T16:04:17.263+00:00Comments on ORNAMENTAL PASSIONS: BBC Broadcasting House, Langham Place/Portland Place W1Chris Partridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14883064324795042491noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912529977982751506.post-12883875747610962302010-03-31T08:39:48.585+01:002010-03-31T08:39:48.585+01:00I think the Reithian ego might have been even bigg...I think the Reithian ego might have been even bigger than you suggest, Chris. One interpretation of The Tempest is that Prospero is in part a personification of Shakespeare, the mage-like artist who, through the power of his art, brings enlightenment to us all; Prospero renouncing his art at the end of the play is like Shakespeare going into retirement, The Tempest being his last play as sole author. Of course it's an interpretation that lays aside the dodgy side of Prospero, but in Reith's time people were more inclined to see it this way than we are now, in these post-colonial times. Anyway, in this view of things, Reith sees himself as a Shakespeare-like figure, dispensing culture to the masses and filling the island full of enlightening noises. Which makes us all Calibans, I suppose. Oh dear..Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912529977982751506.post-48461219759660797212010-03-30T08:12:03.151+01:002010-03-30T08:12:03.151+01:00And thank you Hels. Most of the notable architects...And thank you Hels. Most of the notable architects of the day seem to have been involved at one point or another, including Wells Coates, the Australian Raymond McGrath and Edward Maufe. Such a pity they chose such a sensitive site for such an enormous building.Chris Partridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14883064324795042491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912529977982751506.post-5000228391532397402010-03-30T08:04:40.292+01:002010-03-30T08:04:40.292+01:00Thanks for the input, EPB. I understand the reason...Thanks for the input, EPB. I understand the reasoning but it is still a bit thin. Much more plausible is that Lord Reith, who was possessed of one of the largest egos in history, regarded himself as Prospero and the BBC as his slave.Chris Partridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14883064324795042491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912529977982751506.post-24788802318031426612010-03-30T01:43:39.200+01:002010-03-30T01:43:39.200+01:00Very funny :) Broadcasting House was opened in 193...Very funny :) Broadcasting House was opened in 1932 and Gill died in 1940. So he wasn't THAT old when the sculptural works were commissioned and created. But even for a religious man, his Rasputin-like behaviour must have shocked the good citizens of London, going about their daily business ha ha.<br /><br />One of the architects was Serge Ivan Chermayeff, a hero of mine and partner of Erich Mendelsohn. Just have a look at De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill ( http://melbourneblogger.blogspot.com/2009/08/bauhaus-in-britain-chermayeff-and.html ). No wonder Broadcasting House got such a Deco look in its architecture and its sculpture.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912529977982751506.post-50198707322953376202010-03-29T23:15:52.125+01:002010-03-29T23:15:52.125+01:00"Why the magician and control freak Prospero ..."Why the magician and control freak Prospero and his invisible enforcer Ariel were considered particularly appropriate"<br /><br />From Wikipedia:<br />Their choice was fitting since Prospero was a magician, and Ariel, a spirit of the air, in which radio waves travel. There was, reportedly, controversy over some features of the statues when first built and they were said to have been subsequently modified[the controversial feature was apaprently Ariel's penis, which was more or less removed in order to protect delicate sensiblities!] . They were reported to have been sculpted by Gill as God and Man, rather than simply Prospero and Ariel, and that there is a small carved picture of a beautiful girl on the back part of Prospero's statue. Other sources claim that Gill intended them as God the Father and Son, as supported by the fact that the statue of Ariel bears stigmata.Exit, Pursued by a Bearhttp://russells-theatre-reviews.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com