Tuesday 26 August 2008

Peeled off

Mocksim presumes that it is okay to consider 'manufactured objects' in more depth. It should be perhaps demanded that this be the case, if the nascent manifesto of the doomsbury set be adhered to. Mocksim also points out that we are free to choose our taste. For this is a democracy after all. The point still remains however that some opinions or judgements are more informed than others. The doomsbury set wish to examine artistic judgement, seriously.

What then makes an informed judgement when looking at 'John Peel Memorial'? It probably starts with the recognition of who John Peel was. It goes without saying that the artist has wanted to commemorate the life of a DJ, but at no place on the memorial does his name appear. It features as phantom, a form of cultural currency that cannot be denied. It is the stregth then of this currency that informs the artist. A semblance of representation is all that is needed, for 'all those who knew of John, will recognise of John'. This apparent ellusive touch is categorically undermined by the fact that it is by nature a commemorative mural - for whom?

The mural lauds over a perfectly respectable wall. In a town where religion and worship are seen as suitably uncool, this mural takes on a strong messianic tone. A God for the unsaintly hipsters, the independents who know music from musak... An expression of cool remembrance for a humble human being that treats art not as symphony but as jingle.

No comments: