Paint Layers
Description
Multiple layers of paint (visibly layered)
Materials
Curator's Notes
At the time of collection the image on the wall was of cartoon ducks; the mural changes regularly and the paint flakes represent all the art that has been and gone. This is a microcosm of the "city as a palimpsest" concept, an example of the constant changes that happen around us, sometimes noticed, sometimes unnoticed. But beyond exemplifying everyday flux, this paint highlights some interesting debates about the nature of public art, and street art in particular. Especially: does preserving street art defeat the purpose of street art? We naturally associate art with permenance: once created, art should be preserved. We have galleries full of paintings and sculptures from all time periods, with various . But street art is defined in part by being emphemeral. In the Northern Quarter no one has a claim to permenance in painted spaces; individual murals are not turned into cultural commodities, but instead the whole of the Northern Quarter is a cultural venue with an atmosphere in part created by its street art. Contrast this with the work of more famous street artists, which are can be kept in situ but placed under perspex by councils, or even taken away for indoor preservation or auctioned off.