Interview with Andy Scott, sculptor of the monumental Kelpie horses, part 1 of 2

That kelpies as they are known are two towering horse heads designed by Glasgow sculptor Andy Scott as part of a canal renovation project near Glasgow. The memorials were intentionally designed with the industrial aesthetics of Glasgow and Falkirk in central Scotland in mind, with structural columns and beams visible through the skin's riveted laser-cut steel panels. The manes are rendered as geometric, overlapping steel plates. The two buildings, recently completed, are illuminated both inside and out to create a breathtaking spectacle in hours of darkness.

Andy modeled his work after local Clydesdales horses. It is this workhorse theme that captured Scott's imagination and propelled the project forward.

This is the second part of a two-part interview with sculptor Andy Scott, who took the time to talk to me about his sculpture towering over the Scottish landscape. Andy describes his technique.

I mentioned that there are very few artists throughout history who think big like Andy. I wondered if it was a genetic gift.

Andy replied, You know, a lot of my pieces might look pretty similar, but with each one I make, I'm taking the technique a step further than I was before. That play of light that comes through is very important. When I do these things, I usually do a linear three-dimensional drawing and then I dress over it. Sometimes it would be easier to just encase it completely. But for me, there is a tremendous thrill and pleasure and challenge in leaving parts of the sculpture exposed and completely transparent, bringing about that play of light, the way the atmosphere works with it, and various other unexpected pleasures.

Even if I'm being honest, I think it lends itself to some kind of distinctive appeal because it's very unusual. While it's by no means unique, it's a fairly unusual technique.

I mentioned to Andy that I had read about how he had built two smaller models of his pieces and that last year they were shipped to Chicago and displayed in a location overlooking Lake Michigan. Andy explained, “They're not in Chicago anymore. They moved to Purdue University in Indiana. Judy Jacobi asked me if I could have her for a while and I was delighted to say 'yes'.

We took her there in August. Purdue will house these sculptures through next March, and then they will be on display at Bryant Park in New York City in March. So it's a tremendous thrill not only to have them in Purdue, but as you know it's a very rural and very open area so looking at the horse statues sitting there makes for a nice view in front of the main campus building. The next venue is almost exactly the opposite - he sits in the middle of a big city between all the buildings. I look forward to it. It will be a challenge in a way, but a great opportunity to showcase it.

Getting back to the mechanics, I made two sets of models. The ones currently in the States are the second of the two. This is a large-scale development site that has expanded here in Scotland.

I've been associated with some fantastic engineers from day one. One of them, Nick Cooper, is an absolute genius. He told me that my goal shouldn't be to worry about the technique, but to make it pure sculpture. His job was to do whatever he could to influence or not damage or deviate from my artistic intent. It was an amazing scenario. It ended up costing considerably more than it might have cost, but the engineers were incredibly adept at following my vision of making these things as sculptural and equine as possible.

So it was quite a lengthy process. The models have been carefully scanned with advanced laser scanners. It was very high tech - they used a James Bond machine. Im afraid I don't know much about the technique. They drew each individual piece of steel and created a three-dimensional computer model. Then, engineering firm Atkins (one of the world's leading design and engineering consultancies) took these scans and analyzed them down to the last detail, arriving at a system of an internal tubular steel frame and stainless steel cladding of the Skin. This took many months and was an incredibly painstaking and meticulous process. Atkins invited me to their offices several times to work with them and work out some of the details of the sculpture. This allowed me to avoid the sculpture's vision being diluted by the construction process, which often happens.

The tubular frame was laminated by a company called Angle Ring. They are one of the largest steel producers in the UK. Angle Ring is a company specialized in the bending of metals and alloys for sixty years. It claims to have the UK's largest steel bending range at its West Midlands manufacturing facility.

The interesting thing about The Kelpies is that each one is made up of about eighteen thousand components. No two components are the same, so there is no duplication in any of the Kelpies, so you can imagine the challenge that would not only be for engineers in the first place, but also for the steel fabricators and the various other fabrication specialists involved.

"A veces pienso que sería mejor dejar la escultura sin piel, ya que el marco interno es una delicia". It's incredible. I have to say that the fabrication company - the company installing the steel structure - is SH Steel Fabrication & Cladding, did an incredible job of translating those engineering drawings into the structure you can see now.

I had read that the original plan for The Kelpies was for them to act as a counterweight to the new lock, allowing them to move up and down as the lock opens and closes. I asked Andy to explain to me how this should work. But then he corrected me when he explained: "The original intention was to move The Kelpies as a counterbalance on the eviction lock. Unfortunately, The Kelpies is sitting on the extension of the Forth and Clyde Canal with the development of the design. The Kelpies actually represent a gate on either side of a new lock. The original idea was that the mass of Kelpies would act as a counterweight to the new lock. The volume of water in the canal changed, and it turned out that the original counterbalance idea would not work. After much discussion, we decided to do away with the clockwork as it would be a purely theatrical issue and really wasn't necessary. As part of the change, we had to return to one of the main promoters of the project. I'm happy to say he didn't mind the change. They are completely in love with the sculpture itself. The movement idea was secondary anyway, so the change didn't bother them too much. We then redirected our attention to the inner part of the sculpture, to make the interior space within each piece more accessible and open to the public.

“We are currently working with architects to find a suitable interior space or exhibition space. That in itself was a very interesting part of the project. Some people would like to see it as a paid entry room. But for some of my colleagues involved in the project and I, it's a lot more about the sacredness of the art making sure people can see the actual effort and structure and the incredible glimpses of what's inside as it really phenomenal is this part runs very well. Between these aspirations there is always a way to find a happy compromise. So that's where we are at the moment. It's taking shape very well. The construction portion of the project will likely begin within the next two months.

"We're almost done now. The topping-out ceremony, so to speak the actual completion of the "skin", is scheduled for November 27th. Then it will be officially done. The actual opening to the public, however, will not last until next April 19th. The reason for this is that there is still a lot of landscaping, the completion of the canal lock, the lighting and the hard surfaces to be completed. We are building a visitor center with a café. There are a number of uncompleted items that are incidental to The Kelpies, but we cannot allow the public onto the site until these items are completed.

Also, you really don't want to visit these places in the Scottish winter. It's always better to have the opening when there's a reasonable chance of nice weather.

I then asked Andy how such a large project was funded, whether private or public. Andy responded that it had been published, but from a different source. The National Lottery had an initiative called 'Living Landmarks' and together with my clients, Scottish Canals and Falkirk Council they submitted an application for the Living Landmarks Project around six years ago. You were successful. Ultimately, the 'Big Lottery Fund' as it was known (the national lottery in the UK) awarded the largest amount ever donated to the country, £25 million (over US$40 million). was then topped up by various other sources such as various councils and other local governments. The maximum sum at the end was around forty-nine million pounds (almost $80 million). I hasten to add that the Kelpies are only a tiny part of it The Kelpies are based in a newly created park called Helix, a fantastic 300 acre landscaped park with trees and bike paths, they even built a small beach and lagoon area that is absolutely amazing is, so the Kelpies r are really just a part of this program of environmental regeneration."

As we finished our interview, I asked Andy about his family. Andy is fifty years old and married to the beautiful Hanneke Scott-van Wel, an architect originally from Holland. They currently have no children, only a crazy cat named Dido and an adorable Hungarian Vizsla dog named Cobus.

clydesdale horse
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