Sculpture That Will Make You Feel Everything With Dr Susan Owens

Today on the show, Lucy Branch interviews Dr. Susan Owens, author, independent scholar and former curator of paintings at the V&A about her recent article in Country Life magazine titled "Time Stands Still" which takes readers on a tour of Britain through 50 monuments. They discuss the significance of some of the UK's public monuments, their cultural impact, and highlight several remarkable examples.Key Discussion PointsDr. Owens' background at the V&A Museum and her transition from 2D to 3D artworksThe challenge of selecting just 50 monuments from Britain's rich landscape of commemorative worksHow monuments function as "the collective memory of our country"The cultural significance of controversial monuments like the Edward Colston statue and Mark Quinn's guerrilla installation of Jen ReidThe lack of proper curation for public monuments and spacesThe ongoing debate about memorializing tragedies like GrenfellMonuments HighlightedPenelope Boothby memorial (1791) - A moving marble sculpture by Thomas Banks of a five-year-old girl in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, commissioned by her grieving fatherBoudicca monument at Westminster Bridge - Thomas Thornicroft's bronze masterpiece depicting the Celtic queen in triumph, drawing parallels to Queen VictoriaSir Walter Scott Monument in Edinburgh - A Gothic structure housing not just Scott's statue but figures from his novels, illustrating his influence on historical fictionRoyal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park - Charles Sargeant Jagger's WWI memorial featuring realistic depictions of soldiers and their equipment, including the controversial fallen soldier figureAbout Dr Susan OwensAuthor of "Imagining England's Past: Inspiration, Imagination, Obsession" (Thames Hudson, 2023)Recently published "The Story of Drawing: An Alternative History of Art" (Yale University Press, October 2024)Instagram: @Susan_x_OwensInsightsThe emotional power of monuments to move us across centuriesBritain's tradition of commemorating beloved animals alongside historical figuresHow monuments can become meeting places with personal significanceThe human cost of creating monuments, such as the silicosis that killed many workers on the Scott MonumentPlease support the show by buying one of my non-fiction books, Bronze Behaving Badly: Principles of Bronze ConservationorWax On Wax Off: How To Care For Bronze Sculpture This podcast is created by Antique Bronze