Manual Ref* SUseHV002 Show 4 images 692
Title*

CHOCHMAH
County Suffolk   District Council St Edmunsbury 
Civil Parish or equivalent Haverhill  Town/Village* Haverhill 
Road Chalkstone Way 
Precise Location Courtyard inside Samuel Ward Upper School 
OS Grid Ref TL675456  Postcode CB9 
Previous location(s)  
Setting   Access Public 
Artist/Maker Role Qualifier
Neil Williams  Sculptor(s)   
Hannah New, Jake Henry  Apprentice(s)   

Commissioned by

 Art department Samuel Ward Upper School 

Design & Constrn period

 2003 

Date of installing

  

Exact date of unveiling

 28/11/2003 

Category
Abstract Animal Architectural
Commercial Commemorative Composite
Free Functional Funerary
Heraldic Military Natural
Non-Commemorative Performance Portable
Religious Roadside, Wayside Sculptural
Temporary, Mobile Other  

Object Type
Building Clock Tower Architectural
Coat of Arms Cross Fountain
Landscape Marker Medallion
Mural Panel Readymade
Relief Shaft Sculpture
Statue Street Furniture War Memorial
Other Object Sub Type: Four seted Buddhas

Subject Type
Allegorical Mythological Pictorial
Figurative Non-figurative Portrait
Still-life Symbolic Other

Subject Sub Type
Bust Equestrian Full-length
Group Head Reclining
Seated Standing Torso
Part Material Dimension
Buddha-like figures  Concrete  ea. H. 1 metre 
Base  Concrete  H. 90 W & D 50 cms. 

Work is
Extant Not Sited Lost

Owner/Custodian

 Samuel Ward Upper School 

Listing status
Grade I Grade II* Grade II Don't Know Not Listed

Surface Condition
Corrosion, Deterioration Accretions
Bird Guano Abrasions, cracks, splits
Biological growth Spalling, crumbling
Metallic staining Previous treatments
Other  
Detail: Minor

Structural Condition
Armature exposed Broken or missing parts
Replaced parts Loose elements
Cracks, splits, breaks, holes Spalling, crumbling
Water collection Other
Detail:

Vandalism
Graffiti Structural damage Surface Damage
Detail:

Overall condition
Good Fair Poor

Risk
No Known Risk At Risk Immediate
Signatures/Marks  
Inscriptions On plaque opposite: CHOCHMAH/ WISDOM/ A SCULPTURE BY/NEIL WILLIAMS/ HANNAH NEW JAKE HENRY/ 2003/ THIS COURTYARD HAS BEEN DESIGNED BY STUDENTS/ OF OUR SCHOOL WITH GRATEFUL HELP OF LANDSCAPE DESIGNER/ POLLY BURNS DENNIS BAKER AND PHILLIP BAKER/ OPENED BY RICHARD SPRING MP/ FRIDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2003 

Description (physical)

 Four Buddha like figures are seated with their backs to a column studying texts. The sculpture is in the centre of the courtyard set in a brick roundel. The column is topped with a small pyramid. 

Description (iconographical)

 The theme was chosen by the art students and the figures and pyramid embody Chochmah ‘wisdom’ or the ’input’ into the mind. It is the information we have been taught or more so the flash of inspiration - when an idea pops into our head. The Tanya -a Chassidic/Kabbalistic work describes Chochmah as consisting of two Hebrew words: koach mah meaning ‘potential.’ For Chochmah is pure potential. It is an idea waiting to be developed. The scheme was undertaken on the initiative of the school's art master Neil Williams. He designed the first of the Buddha-like figures inspired by the students’ interest in Oriental art and in Epstein. The remaining figures were undertaken by the students. Initially the design was worked in clay which was formed a mould for the concrete. The sculpture and work on the courtyard was planned to give new interests to students who had been vandalising the town centre. 

Photographs

 Date taken:  19/9/2007
Date logged: 

Photographed by:
Sarah Cocke

On Site Inspection

 Date:  19/9/2007

Inspected by:
Richard Cocke

Sources and References

 Information from Neil Williams /www.aish.com/spirituality (accessedd 24/09/07) 

Database

 Date entered:  24/9/2007

Data inputter:
Richard Cocke