Dimensions: object: 345 x 390 x 110 mm
Copyright: © The estate of Lynn Chadwick. All Rights Reserved 2010 / Bridgeman Art Library | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: This is Lynn Chadwick's "Maquette for R34 Memorial," and although undated, it's a bronze sculpture in the Tate Collection. The angular, almost bird-like form is quite striking. As a memorial, how do you interpret its public role? Curator: Memorials are fascinating because they embody collective memory. Chadwick's piece, though abstract, likely aims to provoke reflection on flight and perhaps loss, given the 'R34' reference. How do you think abstraction serves public mourning? Editor: Perhaps the lack of specific detail allows for broader identification and empathy. It’s more suggestive than prescriptive. Curator: Exactly. And the choice of bronze, a durable material, speaks to the intention of permanence, a commitment to remembrance shaped by the political and social context of its time. Editor: I hadn't considered the material's significance in that way. Thank you. Curator: My pleasure. Considering the public life of art always enriches our understanding.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/chadwick-maquette-for-r34-memorial-t12023
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Chadwick was commissioned to produce a memorial to commemorate the first double crossing of the Atlantic by the airship R34 in July 1919. It was intended for London (Heathrow) Airport but the commission was cancelled as some people didn't like his proposal. This is a bronze cast of the model; the full-size work was made as Stranger III (displayed on the floor to your left). Here, a winged figure seems an appropriate subject to commemorate a feat of manned flight, while the two heads probably refer to the two-way crossing made by the R34. Gallery label, August 2004
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