Six Decorative Panels on Normanton Road Labour Exchange Doorway
Location - Normanton Road, opposite junction with Wilmot Street
Artist - unknown
Almost seventy years of Derby weather has taken its toll on these public artworks. But our commentator, Derby Museum and Art Gallery Exhibitions Officer Chris Kennedy, describes them as 'one of the unknown delights of Derby.' He adds that 'there are grander and more obvious pieces of public art, but there are few that speak so eloquently about their time and about ordinary people'.
There are six decorative panels, in stone, three on each side of the doorframe. As shown in the photographs (all taken by Chris), they feature industrial scenes. Unfortunately, we do not know the name of the artist or the building's architect - if you know, please tell us - but we do know that the building dates from 1936.
Chris said:
'This Labour Exchange is plainly (and it is plain) the visualisation of a rational method of getting unemployed people into the core industries. The building's elements, from the brickwork to the detailing of the façade and the lettering all speak of a rational humanism without frills. The presence of the carved stone icons around the door is therefore something of a surprise.
This stonework was clearly not intended to be merely ornamental but to encourage and prepare the visitor through the pleasure and gravity of art. As jobless people entered the building, their minds would be concentrated on the power of industry and the prospect of employment. The skill of the sculptor has turned this rather banal concept into something more powerful. These abstracted cranes, trains and power stations embody a graphic power and symbolism that is in advance of the term decorative.
And today, when most of these industries have vanished from the lexicon of job opportunity, it is strangely moving to think of this era and the new rational world that was to be built upon the back of honest toil.
There is no struggle with these reliefs. Unlike today, when architects are often self-conscious about integrating art into buildings, this industrial iconography sits at ease around the door. The charm and power of the sculpture is in the way that the art slowly nudges its way into the consciousness, and having made its presence felt, refuses to leave.'
The Derby Public Art Strategy sets the scene for future public artworks in the city.
For further information please contact the Built Environment Team:
Telephone 01332 255060 Minicom 01332 256666 Fax 01332 255989 e-mail urban.design@derby.gov.uk