The Angel of the North: Your comments

The Angel of the North, Britain's largest sculpture, is celebrating ten years since it spread its wings on a hill top near the A1.

Antony Gormley, its creator, believes his statue has set the agenda for accessible art and raised the profile of Gateshead.

"The fact that the Angel is very rarely alone suggests that it has become part of everyday life for the people of Gateshead and the North East", said the artist.

"The old idea of art only belonging in museums or being for rich people gets completely overturned by this", he added.

But the Angel was criticised when it was first erected by those who thought it would cause accidents by distracting the motorist driving on the busy A1.

To start a year of celebrations, the Gateshead council will launch a competition for ten couples to renew their wedding vows at the foot of the monument.

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Read a selection of your comments on the Angel:

SEND US YOUR PICTURES Al Johnston sent us this picture of a visitor to the Angel of the North. You can send pictures to: [e-mail] More on sending pictures Your pictures: The Angel of the North.

Ten years ago I fell in love
with a working class hero.
His feet are firmly
planted in Northern soil
where town meets country.
No nonsense. No romance.
No waxing lyrical.
Proudly brooding, boldly rusting,
he spans art and industry,
defies time and space.
Angela Stephenson, Gateshead

We followed the lorries taking the angel up the motorway when we were on our way to Scotland. On our way back, it had already been installed, so we stopped to take a look. We were the only people there - it had not generated the much interest then. Antony Gormley has since gone from strength to strength
Sue, London

I love the Angel, I think it is a superb statue and very connected with the North East...a birthplace of technology thus the idea of iron/man/airplane wings = through technology and industry we soar! I wish the environment around it was not so bleak though... needs landscaping a little better.
Lee Brown, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire UK

To be honest, the statue doesn't do much for me. It was fun driving past it the first time but after closer looks and seeing it more than once, it's just a mis-figured hunk of steel, it's a good example of what we can do with recycling maybe. Its a good representation that we are a industrial area maybe. But I'm still waiting for a giant to come along, pick it up and use it as a paper-aeroplane.
Ashley, Stockton-on-Tees

The Angel was erected when I was just 13, and I didn't really appreciate its significance until I moved away from the north-east. Travelling back up north to visit my parents now, I see the Angel and I know I'm home. It brings tears to my eyes, and I couldn't imagine the Angel not being there.
Claire Williams, Oxford, UK

I love it, I love it, I love it... every time I drive back home to Newcastle I look out for it - it signals that I am almost home and reminds me to call my parents to tell them to get the kettle on!!
Emma , London, England

I love it and find it has a lot of beauty. I visited on Oct 5th last year, exactly one year to my diagnosis with breast cancer. I had finished chemo and it had been a long hard year. I had also just uncovered my head after 9 months of baldness. Touching the angel gave me an immense sense of inner peace and allowed me and my husband to go some way towards drawing a line in the sand and pushing on with our lives. It is no blot on the landscape.
Linda, Kirkcaldy

I saw the Angel for the first time three years' ago. It is fabulous and a wonderful symbol to welcome you to the North. It is awesome to stand at the Angel's feet and look up. Her wing span is unbelievable. I understand that her foundations go down into the earth as far as she reaches up to the sky, I do believe that the Angel has contributed to the rebirth of the area. I thought the Sage and the Baltic were fabulous too and I cannot wait to visit the Newcastle-upon-Tyne area again and I would encourage my fellow "soft" Southerners to come up North and explore. It is a beautiful area with so much to see and do. (I also liked the Gateshead car park of "Get Carter" fame too!!).
Diane, Oxford, UK

It says all that used to be (and still is sometimes) bad about Tyneside - rusty and ugly. Replace it with a wind farm, which will at least be of some use.
Steve Brereton, York, UK

I adore the angel of the North, living on the south coast i don't get to see it very often so instead have a post card of it on my desk so I can see it everyday. The angel is a brave piece of art, it has passion and belief in itself. I could never imagine the south coast getting planning permission for something as bold and daring and that in itself is a triumph and something to be proud of.
Kerry, West Sussex

All it causes are tailbacks on the road and accidents on a daily basis. It's a dangerous icon.
Paul/C., Whitley Bay, UK

When I first saw the Angel of the North on TV I thought what a complete waste of time and money, then I drove past it. Wow! Even now I can't wait to see it when I am up that end of the country. It is the only monument I've actually made a detour to take a closer look at. Even more impressive when you are stood underneath it.
Andrew Beverley, Shipley

When I first saw this structure, I remember thinking 'That is really ugly'. Now, after seeing it again from all sort of angles and over a longer time, I think 'Yes, it is still really ugly'.
Jon Taylor, Devon

As an exiled Geordie living 150 miles away, I love to see the Angel on the skyline as it signals to me that I am almost "home" again.
Janet, Belper

I love it! It is stunning, and exciting to sit under and drink a cup of coffee. We need more of this sort of sculpture, especially along the very boring flat bits of the M1, A1, M6.
Betsy Barker, Berwick

It's a blot. I cringe at it every time I drive past it. It's an ugly rusting statue. Can't see what else it could represent!?
Paul, Nottingham

We love looking out for the Angel when we drive North. As a family we think it is great - and let's face it more pleasant to look at than an unmade bed or a pickled cow. One point to note though is, every time we drive past - without fail - there is someone at the base of the Angel having a closer look - now that is meaningful art.
Di Wright, Castleton

I love the Angel. She is a glorious sight on one of the nastier bits of the A1. She gives the kids a great landmark to look out for and they love vying to be the first to spot her on the long journey to Grandma's in Norfolk. I hope she lasts the next 90 years as intended and well beyond that too. A masterpiece.
Juliet, Edinburgh

The Angel of the North is worth more in scrap value if you ask me.
P. Hewitt, Borehamwood

The Angel of the North (or the Gateshead Flasher as it is also known) does the North of England no favours. It is a monstrosity which reinforces the false image that others from outside the area have that we are covered in pitheads, shipyards and smoke-belching chimneys. Many organisations are trying hard to promote the North East as a good place to live, work and visit, but this vile rusty piece of scrap gives the completely opposite impression.
Brian Archer, Newcastle upon Tyne

I think it's great. It's not just the sculpture, but the scenery it's set in. It just looks so majestic looking over the surrounding area. As for being a blot on the landscape, I think it goes well with its duller colour. What do you think people first said about dry stone walls or stone cottages etc when they were first made? Some man-made creations are now parts of the landscape and loved as such.
Jamie Guthrie, Halifax, West Yorkshire

I love the Angel of the North. This magnificent monument to vision and endeavour brightened many work journeys by train from London to Edinburgh, and was truly inspiring and a sight to behold. One of my favourite works of art in the UK, without a doubt.
Mercedes Rosello, London

It's ugly and it has caused traffic problems on the A1 since it was first put there. It doesn't look like an angel, it looks like a plane that has dived nose-first into the ground. It isn't art - Gormley evidently just thought "What can I make that's BIG?" That isn't art, it's an overgrown schoolboy playing with his play-dough substitute.
Christy Andersen, Newcastle, UK

My sister, who lived in Newcastle, died from cancer at about the time the Angel was unveiled, and the sculpture became for us a tribute to her courage and undying spirit. Long may it stand.
Douglas Lee, London