Advent 2009

Monument to an Advertising Man

Executed in 1974, but rediscovered in the artist’s archives in 2006, Ted Dutch’s 'Monument to an Advertising Man' is something of a presentiment work. The handmade screenprint deals with the idea of humanity’s increasing reliance on technology and the power of advertising in this period. The piece focuses on a large colourful contraption full of confusion and muddle which clearly demonstrates Dutch’s unique themes of technical whimsy. As the viewer, we are not given to understand the purpose or workings of the machine drawing a parallel with Dutch’s impressions of the experiences of the observer of a world increasingly reliant on advancing technology, which the artist views with a mix of wonder and relative bewilderment.