How does this artwork elucidate its Reception?
The local Member of Parliament, Steve Double, said that 90% of the comments that he had seen and heard about the sculpture were negative. He said that he would not be present at its official unveiling. A St Austell town councillor, Richard Pears, said he liked it and thought that " ... the purpose of art is to provoke, it's to be worthy of talking about. A sculpture that nobody gave a damn about would be a complete waste of everybody's time. I would take a talking point over a boring piece of art any day". A group of local church leaders condemned the sculpture in a letter to St Austell Town Council, describing the statue as “idolatrous” and calling for its renaming or removal.Brown said that she had not experienced such criticism before and compared the negative reception of the piece to the criticism received by Anthony Gormley's Angel of the North sculpture and works by Barbara Hepworth. Brown said that " ... they were all hugely criticised at the start. It took quite a while. I think that can happen and in time people grow to love it". Brown said of Earth Goddess that "I think she looks amazing, I'm really pleased with her".
Angel of the North Anthony Gormley St Austell Steve Double Barbara Hepworth idolatrous