I did a job at the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green yesterday, once a town hall, now a swanky hotel all done up with a fair dollop of idiosyncratic art. Now I like idiosyncratic art, and I like seeing it in hotels, rather than having it languishing in private collections, because anybody can go and see it there. Of course the hotel won't tell you much, they aren't there to elucidate, unlike museums, they are only interested in decoration, interest, or whatever aura a work of art can lend, but at least you can see the stuff. And it's quite interesting to see it out of a museum or gallery context; this is art being used.
Anyway, I found this:
Just hidden around the corner from the main stairwell. This, to me, says everything about art in hotels and is particularly relevant to this one. Combining Wilton carpet and stag's head, both high status objects, conveying pretension to status, situated in a building transformed from municipal function into a commercial enterprise. The hotel is trying to attract high status clients, (blue-chip companies, et al.) and this object gently pokes fun at its pretension.
I found another connotation though, and I wonder if this is more what the artist originally meant. Perhaps you'll think it pretty tenuous, but I'll play with it anyway.
There is, in the London National Gallery, a famous and rare work of 14th century art, in the gothic style, called the Wilton Diptych. You can find more information about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilton_Diptych
It was made for the unpopular English King, Richard II, on the outside is a picture of a white stag (or hart) which was his emblem. The artist is unknown, and is popularly called the Wilton master. His nationality is also unknown, and is quoted to be from 'every possible nation'. Perhaps it is possible that it was worked on in a studio by several artists, that being commonplace; the importance of individual artistic vision not being so relevant then, as it is today. Perhaps, this is a sort of elegy to that person, or people. A note that things are so very different now.
Is this okay? Yes, I think so. It is perfectly valid for a work of art to have more than one interpretation, they exist in the world as objects of their own volition, quite apart from the artist's intention, their meaning subtly changed by situation, and subsequent ownership.
If by any chance you know who made it the Wilton Stag, please don't hesitate to let me know.
