The humble art of Hegnauer

Popping out to get milk

Yes, someone lives round that corner.

My kind of Conceptual Art: 2

Bill Drummond took on the role of tour manager for Echo and the Bunneymen's European Tour in the nineties. The band found themselves on some nights playing to a small club in the middle of nowhere. They went far north into Scotland at one point. When they returned they asked Bill what was going on. He'd taken a map of Europe and drawn two bunny ears onto it. That became the tour route.

My kind of Conceptual Art: 1

The some time conceptual artist, Bill Drummond, has done a couple of great... what... stunts? "Pieces" would be too serious.
Part 1: the story of his purchase and sale of "A smell of Sulphur" by Richard Long:
In 1970, at the age of 17, Bill Drummond tried to walk across Iceland and failed.
In 1994 Richard Long walked across Iceland, from top to bottom. On this walk he made art.
In 1995 Bill Drummond bought a work of art by his favourite living artist, Richard Long, for $20,000. It was a photography and text work called A Smell Of Sulphur In The Wind. This work of art documented a stone circle made by the artist on his walk across Iceland. Bill Drummond hung the work on his bedroom wall and was very pleased.
In 1998, Drummond realized he no longer had an ongoing relationship with the work. In response to this realization he decided to sell it for the original $20,000; take the money in one dollar bills to Iceland; start walking from the top of the island to the bottom; stop off at what remained of the stone circle made by Richard Long; bury the $20,000 at the center of the circle; take a photograph of the enriched circle; complete the walk across Iceland leaving behind the 20,000 dollars to their destiny.
Back in Britain, he would develop and print his photograph; mount and frame it identically to the Richard Long; title it A Smell of Money Underground; hang it on his bedroom wall and then hope that his relationship with the art work would be restored.
In 2001, he had not as yet sold the work but decided to grid it up into 20,000 equal size rectangles and sell them off at a dollar a throw.
The process of selling it off began in May 2002. It will take some years before all the fractions have been sold and he is able to return to Iceland with the $20,000; have A Smell Of Money Underground hanging on his bedroom wall and his relationship with the art restored.

I have one segment of Richard Long's photograph, which became Bill Drummond's conceptual art: Grid reference 71. Down 16.

Jaco Pastorius

I was reminded today of a Joni Mitchell gig I saw over 20 years ago. The amazing bass player, Jaco Pastorius, finished an exceptional solo, and then ran toward the back of the stage. He jumped high in the air and, as he did so, the glaring narrow spotlight extinguished. It had the effect of making him disappear, midair. Not long after that, and echoing his jump, his life support was switched off. He'd run into a brutal attack from a bouncer in a club, and died. The memory of that night's playing, and his exit, is still vivid.

This virtual Book of Sand

Seeing a parallel between the 'infinite' book in Borges' "Book of Sand" and the infinity of the internet, here's an amusing link:
http://www.shibumi.org/eoti.htm

The Iso Grifo

This is one of my all time favourite automobiles, designed by Bertone in '63. I saw one in the UK last week, tucked in a Mews in South Kensington. Only 504 were made. This one has a 7 litre engine.

Banksy

Some time graffiti artist Bansky has a new book out. The back cover reads:

"There's no way you will ever get a quote from us for your book cover." Metropolitan Police Spokesperson.
The doctored insect , above, lasted on a wall in the Natural History Museum for 12 days.
"I wasn't famous until nobody knew who I was."