Turning Forms facts for kids
Turning Forms (BH 166) is a cool concrete sculpture made by Barbara Hepworth. She was a famous artist. This artwork was one of her first big public art projects. She created it in 1950 for the Festival of Britain.
Hepworth made two sculptures for the Festival. The other one was called Contrapuntal Forms. It showed abstract standing figures and is now in Harlow. Turning Forms has been at a school in St Albans since 1953. Both of Hepworth's sculptures were officially protected as Grade II buildings in 1998.
How the Sculpture Was Made
Most sculptures for the Festival of Britain were ordered by the Arts Council. But Turning Forms was special. The Festival board itself asked for it directly. This happened because an architect named Jane Drew wanted it for her design of the Thameside Restaurant.
Barbara Hepworth worked with Jane Drew on this sculpture. Hepworth used a style called Constructivism. This style often uses geometric shapes and looks like machines. It was similar to the work of another artist, Naum Gabo. His Revolving Torsion is a good example. Hepworth even made a drawing in 1957 with a similar idea, which is now at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge.
What Does It Look Like?
Turning Forms is an abstract artwork. This means it doesn't show real-life things, but uses shapes and forms. It stands about 84 inches (210 cm) tall.
The sculpture is made of twisting loops of concrete. It's painted white. Inside, there's a metal frame that holds it up. This metal frame was made in Plymouth. Then, it was covered with a light material called vermiculite. After that, Hepworth added layers of concrete and shaped them at her studio in St Ives. The white surface is made from a special white cement called "Snowcrete." It's also covered with a white paint called "Snowcem." Both products came from a company called Blue Circle.
Where It Has Been
The sculpture was first shown outside the Thameside Restaurant at the Festival of Britain in 1951. This was near Waterloo Bridge. It was placed on a special stand that slowly turned. The whole sculpture would spin around in two minutes!
Later, Hertfordshire County Council bought the sculpture. At that time, the Council was building many new schools. They wanted to buy artworks to make the schools look nice. For example, a sculpture by Henry Moore called Family Group is at Barclay Academy in Stevenage. Hepworth's sculpture has been at St Julian's School, now called The Marlborough Science Academy, in St Albans since it opened in 1953.
The sculpture was taken away for a short time in October 2000. This was to clean and fix it. Then, it was shown at the Hepworth Wakefield museum from May to November 2021. This was the first time it was displayed with Contrapuntal Forms since 1951! After that, it went back to the school.
