TheConcrete Cows inMilton Keynes, England are an iconic work of sculpture, created in 1978 by the American artist Liz Leyh.[1][2] There are three cows and threecalves, approximately half life size.
TheCows are constructed from scrap, skinned withfibre glass reinforced concrete donated by a local builder.[3]
The artist was an "artist-in-residence" in the early days of Milton Keynes and part of her role was to lead community participation in art. TheCows was one of a number of pieces created during her stay.[3] Other examples of her work here includeThe Owl and The Pussy Cat atNetherfield and a concrete mural near the leisure centre atStantonbury. They were originally constructed at Stacey Hill Farm nearWolverton, where she had set up her studio. The basearmatures were metal, with chicken wire used to create the general shape, then stuffed with newspaper. The original colouring of the cows was achieved using dyes. Some cows were brown. It is only throughthe council painting the cows that the uniform black and white has appeared. The artist also ensured that each cow had a heart shape used as part of the pattern on the cow skin.
Later commentators have interpreted it as an example ofconceptual art: the artist poking fun at the preconceived notion of thenew city, held by commentators who had never seen the place, that it would consist entirely of concrete pavements where once there were fields, and where its deprived children would need models to know how real cows once looked.[4] The reality of course was different:Milton Keynes Development Corporation was building "a city in the forest", with substantially more open green space than found in traditional cities. Furthermore, there are real farms with real cows within 2 miles (3 km) of the site, and the cows are currently located in a real field.
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On their site in a public park, theCows have been vandalised and modified. Sometimes they have simply been damaged,[5] while at other times they have been painted pink, becomezebras,[6] becomeskeletal,[7] had pyjama bottoms added,[8] have been beheaded[8] in the style ofDamien Hirst, have acquiredBSE (mad cow disease)graffiti,[8] had one of the calves kidnapped (with ransom notes to the local papers).[6] One of theCows briefly enjoyed the services of apapier-mâché bull.[citation needed] When UK Culture MinisterKim Howells referred to modern art trends as "conceptual bullshit",[9] theCows acquired concretecow-pats.[citation needed]
In a programme,The Sculpture 100, made forSky Television in December 2005, theConcrete Cows were included in a list of the 100 most influential works of twentieth-century open-air sculpture in England.[4] The list also includes another piece in Milton Keynes:Triple Starhead byPaul Neagu (inFurzton).[4]
Two of theCows featured at theBritish pavilion at theVenice Biennale of Architecture (2014).[10]
The home supporters stand atMilton Keynes Dons F.C. is known as "The Cowshed", whileits home stadium was briefly nicknamed 'The Moo Camp'[11] (afterFC Barcelona'sNou Camp). The team mascots are twopantomime-style cows named "Donny" and "Mooie".
Actor Russell Crowe joked about the cows in 2007 while promoting the movie3:10 to Yuma.[12] The cows appear inCharles Stross' storyThe Concrete Jungle, and inMark Wallington'sDestination Lapland, where he marked seeing them as a highlight of his passing visit.
TheCows were made at Stacey Hill Farm, now the site of theMilton Keynes Museum.[6] and originally located at a parkland site inBancroft. They have subsequently resided at theNational Hockey StadiumandMidsummer Place, beside theCentral Milton Keynes Shopping Centre.[13] In spring 2016 they were moved to MK Museum – which is where they originally started out as a temporary exhibit.[6][13]
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However the replicas (made by Bill Billings) in Bancroft are perhaps better known and are sited next to theA422 (Monks Way) between V5 Great Monks St. and V6 Grafton St.) where it passes under theWest Coast Main Line, near its junction with theA5. Direct access on foot or by bike is possible byredway. The nearest rail stations for Bancroft or the MK Museum areMilton Keynes Central andWolverton. Buses for Bancroft includeArriva buses 5 and 6 betweenBletchley,Central Milton Keynes andWolverton which call at near-by bus stops on each side of Monks Way near the junction with H3's northern carriageway and Octavian Drive. If approaching on foot or by bike from these stops, a stream separates the cows from the eastern (Octavian Rd) side of H3. There is a bridge over the stream next to the southern carriageway of H3, and an underpass links this bridge to the cows' field.
Liz Leyh is an artist, maker and community arts activist currently active in the UK. She was born and raised inUtica, a city located between New York and the Canadian border, to parents who were factory workers of Polish immigrant stock.
Visitors to the British Pavilion are greeted by a pair of concrete cows on loan from Milton Keynes. The cows were originally produced by the artist Liz Leyh shortly after the post-war town was created in the late-seventies.
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