Mr. Peanut

Identity area

Type of entity

Person

Authorized form of name

Mr. Peanut

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        History

        Between 1969 and 1974 the artist Vincent Trasov (b. 1947) appropriated the persona (and appearance) of the iconic advertising mascot, Mr. Peanut. As Mr. Peanut, Trasov, with the assistance of artist John Mitchell, orchestrated a performance art event running for mayor in the Vancouver mayoralty campaign of 1974. During the twenty day race, Mr. Peanut appeared at candidates meetings and similar events with the other mayoral hopefuls. During these events, Mitchell spoke for Mr. Peanut who remained silent, but managed to shake up the usually staid election process and also brought increased media attention to the city. Mr. Peanut ran on a platform of P for performance, E for elegance, A for Art, N for nonsense, U for uniqueness and T for talent and served as a symbol for artists and their aspirations. Mr. Peanut lost the race, but won 3.4% of the vote. After 1974, Trasov retired the Mr. Peanut costume, but Mr. Peanut imagery and the “Mr. Peanut for Mayor” campaign continued to inform his artistic practice.

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        Related entity

        Trasov, Vincent

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        Category of relationship

        associative

        Dates of relationship

        Description of relationship

        Mr. Peanut is a pseudonym used by the artist Vincent Trasov between 1969-1974.

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        Status

        Final

        Level of detail

        Partial

        Dates of creation, revision and deletion

        Created December 18, 2010.

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