Peter Daniels

I said I would come back to Peter Daniels, but first I wanted to let his wife Elizabeth know and ask her if it was ok to use the video even though it was in the public domain. I emailed her and received a lovely email back which made my day, so here we go.

Firstly, as far as I’m aware there is no family connection with Peter’s family. He was born in 1937 in Salford, I went to college there for a brief period. He studied firstly at Manchester Junior Art School followed by Manchester College of Art and Design.

I discovered the following video because I wanted to double check my memory of his first name being Peter. I had looked him up probably in 2012 and there was quite a bit online, but it seems to have melted into the ether. There are a couple of passing references elsewhere, but little else, but other than auction and gallery sales of his work the video was all I could find.

The video centres around Peter’s final commission.

The story leaves a lasting impression of Peter through his journey, using his words and those of others close to the project. Right at the beginning we witness his adoption of the emerging digital technology, which now seems archaic in the light of the increased power and memory in computing and even onto our phones. Today, be it David Hockney or Grayson Perry, across the artistic spectrum it is taken for granted, a tool to aid the creative process. It was these digital advances that enabled his work to be completed and as he say “As long as people are there to look at it and are interested in looking at it, then this work is going to get its own energy its own vitality which is totally separate from my intention in the first place. It carries on, it’s a continuation that’s marvellous, in a sense this is the magic in the sense of good art isn’t it? We all hope at some time in our lives we may do a painting or two, if we are lucky, can do that.”

Peter died in 1998 and the commission was completed by Elizabeth in collaboration with the print maker David Hughes.

This layered consideration of art having three potential stages or conversations sets us firmly as participants. Firstly there is the conversation between the artist and their work as they develop and refine ideas in its journey toward completion. Then perhaps, though not always, there is the potential for the artist to engage directly with those who view the finished piece . Lastly there are the conversations he eloquently speaks of in the life and energy of the work and with those who meet it in the future, who will find meanings not envisaged by the artist. This is the legacy which enriches us all.

I never met Peter or even knew of him till our short time in his studio tree house, but he has enriched my life and I am thankful.