Memorial Hunt-Jenna

When I first read about this assignment, I have to say that I chose my object before reading our texts. I did this largely because the object that I chose is one that I walk by every weekday on my way to class-this statue of a man playing the piano.I suppose I should be ashamed to admit that I had absolutely no idea who the man was until my parents were visiting one day and told me that it was supposed to be Hoagy Carmichael.

If you are a jazz lover, Hoagy might be more easily recognizable from this second photo. I still couldn't identify him, but perhaps he was known for wearing that particular hat? Clearly I know very little about Hoagy Carmichael. I have learned that he composed several songs with which I am familiar-"Stardust", "Georgia on my Mind", and the omnipresent "Heart and Soul." I also know that he was born in Bloomington and attended Indiana University. (Could this be why so many places in town sell hoagie sandwiches?) 

After learning those facts, I was surprised that the commemorative sculpture did not make its subject immediately evident. (Some of you may be remembering that there is a historical marker for Hoagy Carmichael in town, but it is not near this sculpture. Rather, it is on Indiana Street, kitty-corner from the Sample Gates.) Although, upon closer examination, I did discover that Hoagy's name is listed in on the "Stardust" sheet of music underneath the hand holding the pink flowers. Without a name, I always interpreted the statute as an honored soloist playing an inaudible song for a hoard of students making their trek across campus. Now that I've learned the statue is of Hoagy Carmichael, I interpret it as spectacle. 

I "read" the Hoagy Carmichael memorial as such because it transforms someone that lived (Hoagy) and the product of his activity (his famous songs) into a representation of institutional pride. As Debord writes on page 19, "By means of spectacle, the ruling order discourses endlessly upon itself in an uninterrupted monologue of self-praise." Hoagy's statue is placed in an area of high student traffic to comment on the fact that Bloomington, Indiana, and more particularly, Indiana University is capable of producing students that transform the world. After all, nearly every child who learns to play the piano in this country learns "Heart and Soul" and for most of those students, "Heart and Soul" is the only song they can play from memory. 

The statue is rather insidious. Even stripped of its identity,  as it probably is for most students who have never heard of Hoagy Carmichael, the sculpture exudes its propaganda through the flowers placed in Hoagy's hand. As they are replaced at regular intervals, it is likely that the statue flowers are maintained by Indiana University gardeners. The flowers, which are always brightly colored and draw focus through contrast, transform the sculpture into a shrine. Even if no one ever realizes the identity of Hoagy Carmichael, the flowers, so like funerary adornments, indicate that this pianist is a notable one honored by the university for his success.