Events - The London Olympics - art for everyone, art by everyone - 25-07-2012

The London Olympics - art for everyone, art by everyone

by Henry

Artist Martin Creed has devised a work of art entitled 'Work no. 1197.' "All the bells in a country rung as quickly and as loudly as possible for three minutes." This will be performed worldwide, at 8.12 a.m. UK time on 27 July 2012. It celebrates the first day of the Olympics, and it is timed so that the three-minute bell ring is exactly 12 hours before the opening ceremony.

Any bells. Church bells. School bells. Door bells. Dinner bells. Cow bells. Butler bells. Bicycle bells. Car horns. They will all ring in celebration of the start of the Olympics. You can do it at home, or (better) take part in a bell-ringing get-together in wherever you are in the world. Or you can start your own event. Just sign up at http://www.allthebells.com/ The time will be adjusted so that all over the world, people will be ringing bells at the same time. For example, in Milan, the local Brit community (with Vic Annells, Consul General) will be ringing in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele at 9.12 a.m. local time.

The work was commissioned as part of the London 2012 Festival to help mark the first day of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Big Ben will be taking part: it will ring forty times during the three minutes. It is the first time that it has been rung outside its normal schedule since 1952.

Photo courtesy Darren Deans/sxc.hu