Cosmopolite: The work of Matt Tucker

Since Rachel Wardell stepped off the JCB crane on the 6th July, the Plinth has become home to some 340 people. From the active to the sedentary: there have been Artists, Campaigners, the employed, the unemployed, those with deeply personal stories to tell and those who wish to remain anonymous. All have had something to give.

Some have also asked for the public to give something back: charitable donations and support.

With the recession hitting public generosity hard, charity campaigning is a fitting use of time for many Plinthers. Many would argue that now, more than ever, is the time for us to give the most, as those worst affected by the economic downturn need help.

But is charitable campaigning on the Fourth Plinth an activity that stays true to the Artist's intention? A question that prompts subjective answers, but I think some critics may not see the link between Art and the act of giving.

The act of giving strikes me as being at the heart of Art: the Artist gives their creative expression, the viewer then receives and interprets the Art. Regardless of the Artist's intention of their Art, it is in the act of giving it to the viewer that their work takes form.

With this act of giving, the Art can then enlighten and inspire the viewer. The question 'But is it Art' is often bandied around: my answer is yes; if it inspires, enlightens, or prompts the viewer to act in a way they otherwise wouldn't.

My favourite example of Art that succeeds in doing this is the work by the MFPA (Mouth & Foot Painting Artists); an international Association of artists who paint by using their mouth or foot. The roots of the organisation go back to 1956 when the painter Erich Stegmann (right) and a small band of handicapped artists from eight European countries launched a self-help association.

Not only do I find the work of the MFPA highly accomplished and stunning, I also find it inspiring that the paintings are produced in a method that could be called unique and remarkable. The Art also raises money for charitable causes, as the MFPA sell prints of their associated Artists' work as postcards and greetings cards.

One member of the MFPA, Artist Alison Lapper, is no stranger to The Fourth Plinth. A marble statue of Alison appeared on the Plinth in 2005 when Artist Marc Quinn sculpted her when she was eight months pregnant. Taking ten months for Marc to complete, Alison called it a "modern tribute to femininity, disability and motherhood".

So are charity campaigners part of a true representation of the UK? Think back to the image of Rachel Wardell standing with calm dignity on that Monday morning, green lollipop in hand, declaring to the world the NSPCC slogan "cruelty to children must stop. FULL STOP." There is the answer; Rachel chose to express her greatest care and concern in her life; the welfare of children.

Rachel added to her 'performance' by saying "I wanted to show my kids now, and when they're older, that you can do and be part of anything, no matter how ordinary you are or feel." Job done; I am enlightened and inspired.

One & Other has had its share of Philanthropic Plinthers: from a man dressed as a poo highlighting water sanitation, to a Time Warping dancing campaigner for Action for Children.

Here are a few Philanthropists from the first week of One & Other:

Monday 6th July

09.00 Rachel Wardell, 35, from Sleaford in the East Midlands. Her aim was to raise awareness for the NSPCC.

11.00 Jill Gatcum, 51, an IT consultant from London, released 60 helium balloons. She asked the public to buy her balloons by making a donation to their favourite charity and hopes to create a portrait of modern philanthrophy in the UK via her website.

Tuesday 7th July

10.00 Oliver Parsons-Baker, 26 from Birmingham, dressed as a lump of faeces to promote water sanitation and then changed into a fish costume to highlight the impact of overfishing.

Wednesday 8th July

08.00 Jon Guest, 23, Newcastle, an activist. He said, "I will use my time to eat my breakfast and take a few photographs dressed as a tap, hand or toilet to promote the work of WaterAid."

18.00 Frances, 56, from Leamington Spa, used her hour to help the homeless charity Shelter, erecting a house of giant cards in the windy weather.

Thursday 9th July

06.00 Andrew Clark, a black-clad student from Dartford, said "I thought it would be crazy, fun and an unusual opportunity." He campaigned for diabetes awareness while up there.

08.00 Michael Bottomley, a lift consultant from Halifax, says: "The UK lift industry charity was set up to support the unfortunate in our industry. I will use my time on the plinth to sing ... 100% of the proceeds will go to the lift charity."

12.00 Julia, a human rights advocate from London, said: "While in Ethiopia, I came across the highly taboo, difficult subject of female genital mutilation, which affects over 3 million girls a year, across the world. I would like to use my hour to highlight these issues to anyone who is willing to listen."

20.00 Chris, a nurse from Aldershot, wanted to raise awareness on behalf of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. "During my hour in Trafalgar Square I will be dressed in the full RNLI crew kit of yellow trousers and jacket, yellow wellies and red lifejacket, as a testament to the dedication and bravery of our lifeboat crews."

Friday 10th July

21.00 Dianne, from White Notley, will celebrate the 140th birthday of the charity Action for Children. "My supporters and I will be singing and dancing along to the Rocky Horror Show's The Time Warp. I'm hoping people will come along to join in."

Saturday 11th July

13.00 Diana S, a debt caseworker for the Citizens Advice Bureaux from Yeovil, intended to "draw attention to the sterling work of CAB throughout the UK." She wore a sash and carried a placard bearing their logo.

14.00 Charlie, an office worker from Wolverhampton, also plays guitar in a band called Funcky Muckers. She said: "I may stand on the plinth with my fave Telecaster but I'm also trying to find a way to highlight the work of the disabled children's team I work for and the mostly unrecognised struggles of disabled children, their parents and carers as well as the team members."

15.00 Linda, from London, dressed in the red and white of her native Liverpool, including a T-shirt with the slogan "Hillsborough 96 Justice". She then released the balloons one by one.

.... if you don't like it, wait an hour and it will change!

What a week for Antony Gormley and the Fourth Plinth: media attention, protestor controversy, artistic debate, and a stream of crowds gazing up as Plinthians do their thing. The 168 year-old Plinth has probably never had so much attention in its stony faced history.

One & Other has been everywhere this week, I have even heard of television reportage in Canada. Picking up national newspapers on Tuesday, I found major stories on the project. My favourite is an article by Charlotte Higgins on the front page of The Guardian, describing the initial British self portrait as "a mosaic of polite rule-breakers, exhibitionists with a social conscience and slightly inept publicans". The Independent had a double page spread profiling the first ten Plinthians and positing the question 'is it really art?'

Perhaps the funniest items were cartoons in The Sun and The Daily Mail, one showing a bedraggled Gordon Brown standing on the Plinth with a 'Vote Labour' placard, and the other showing a trench-coated elderly man flashing the Trafalgar Square crowd.

One columnist who bought a personal touch to critiquing the project was Times writer Libby Purves. She traversed through London on Tuesday at 3am "past ragged sleepers and a lone street cleaner and scavenging, squawking seagulls" to see her brother Morris dance on the plinth at 4am. "So was my brother a piece of art?" wrote Libby Purves, "Actually, I think so."

Comedian and Writer Frank Skinner was certainly impressed, writing in The Times yesterday "One & Other makes me proud to be British ... [it] is a fabulous symbol of freedom and free speech."

Aside from Journalists and Art Critics, there is another avid audience for One & Other: Twitter followers! As fellow-blogger Tina-Louise asked yesterday "Is Twitter-heckling Art too?"; Twitter has become a place for continual commentary of Plinthian activity - One & Other became so popular on Monday that it was in the top ten Twitter trends in the UK! I'm not surprised; this website received 70,000 hits on Monday (with 260 welcome hits filtering down to my blog!)

I have to admit, I have been tweeting a lot this week (@matt_tucker if you're interested), with my tweets on the project reaching triple figures! But it's all part of the idea that is One & Other - bringing New Media and Art together - reinforcing Gormley's intention of making the public the focus of the Art.

If you are of the Twitter persuasion, don't forget to follow @oneandother. You can also follow @Plinthwatch, which is curated by guardian.co.uk. The team behind @Plinthwatch have been tweeting day and night, providing insightful comments for insomniacs across the UK.

So now the project is well and truly underway, a question has been flying around; 'Is it Art?'. Divided opinions are already appearing in the media, some calling it "middle class big brother."

I don't like Big Brother, I viewed series one (way back in 2000) and concluded that watching people trying to scoop media deals was not entertainment. But, I wholeheartedly believe there is a place for 'reality viewing' in Art and Culture. Television shows have used our fascination with the format to their advantage; selecting people who provide shock-factor entertainment to boost ratings, giving the medium a very bad name. I hope One & Other will change that trend. Do you think it will?

With spirited debate on the both sides of the argument, it has already achieved what I hoped it would: discourse between people from all walks of life, not just Artists and Critics.

As the project progresses through the weeks I'm sure it will lead me to many conclusions on British Art, but for the moment, I love it; my plinth-cam addiction was confirmed on day one.

Whether you love it or hate it, One & Other is here to stay for the next 93 days. So treat it like an unwanted relation visiting in the spare room, hogging the bathroom in the morning, or welcome it like an old friend, one who is going to stand on a plinth for your consideration!

I leave you with a couple of Youtube videos, the first is a highlight of Mark Korczak's hour on the Plinth on Monday at 8pm, nicely edited to give you a sense of the pace of the first day:

The second video is of aspiring Plinthian Doug Blane practising his plinth party piece; he wants to do a Yoga vinyasa Urdhva Padmasana upside down lotus pose on the Fourth Plinth. The beautiful scenery behind is in Aurlandsfjord near Flåm, Norway.

I hope he can hold that position for a whole hour - he might need a pillow...

Londoners awoke on Monday morning with a unique art installation in their backyard: members of the public will be standing on the 168 year-old Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square for one hour - 2,400 Plinthians will take turns to occupy the Plinth until mid-October. I’m a plinth applicant and a blogger for the project on oneandother.co.uk.

As you may know, the Project kicked off with an unexpected twist; an apparent saboteur took a running leap at the safety net and clambered on to the plinth before the organisers could reach for their walkie-talkies. The man who scaled the Plinth, Mr Stuart Holmes, was acting in the spirit of the project – he was there to protest against actors smoking in films – but he was not a certified Plinthian. Gormley rebuffed the man when he shouted down for a microphone: “You should have brought your own! That’s the rules!”. Thankfully, Holmes gave up his place for the first Plinthian, Rachel Wardell.

By the end of this week there will have been over 100 people on the Plinth. Here are three of my favourites from the first day:

Jill Gatcum: Releasing balloons with charity request donations attached. Her second party piece was inhaling helium from a canister and singing “follow the yellow brick road” in a munchkin voice.

Scott Illman: The heckling from the crowd began for Scott as he used the prime location to promote 2-for-1 cocktail offers at his pub, showing that Art and advertising is not a popular combination. As the JCB crane came to take him away he was heard to say “there was a really nasty man down there” - it’s a good thing he didn’t read what people were saying on Twitter….

Suren Seneviratne: Dressed in a Panda costume ‘custom’ made by his girlfriend, Suren held a placard with his mobile number on and then paced the plinth as he chatted to strangers on the phone. The pacing actually got quite extreme in what appeared to be an impression of a Panda on Redbull.

Watching the Pinthians on webcam is a harmless pass time, but I have to admit - Gormley has led me into a bit of an addiction. What started as keen interest in a unique art project, has rapidly led to plinth-stalking as I check the plinth pinth-cam every hour. The solution might be to cancel my Internet Service Provider. Having said that, there is live streaming of the project below, courtesy of the ‘One & Other’ website. Come rain or shine, there will be a Plinthian for you to view.

So now the project is well and truly underway, there is the looming question ‘is it Art?’. Divided opinions are already appearing in the media, some calling it “middle class big brother.” I don’t like Big Brother, I watched the first hour of series one (way back in 2000) and concluded then that watching people trying to scoop media deals was not entertainment. But perhaps there is a place in Art and Culture for ‘reality viewing’, i.e. the largely unedited documentation of reality. Previous television shows have used our fascination with this medium to their advantage; selecting people who provide shock-factor entertainment to boost ratings, which has given a very bad name to the medium that is ‘reality viewing’. I hope Gormley will change that trend. What do you think?

Whether you like it or hate it, ‘One & Other’ is here to stay for the next 97 days. So treat it like an unwanted relation visiting in the spare room, hogging the bathroom in the morning, or welcome it like an old friend, one who is going to stand on a plinth for your consideration.

Flickr image from tiredoflondon's photostream.