Money to Burn
BROOK, Chris. K Foundation Burn a Million Quid. London: Ellipsis. 1997.
Square 8vo. Photographic wraparound wrappers; pp. 249; fine.
Presentation copy from one of the artists, Scottish musician Bill Drummond. Signed and inscribed on the half-title: "Dear Mark and Francoise/Spend it wisely/Bill D".
This is a record of the ritual and controversial burning of 20,000 five-pound notes on the back of an abandoned boathouse on the Scottish island of Jura. The money originated from the assets of a previous project by the artists Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty (under the name KLF). Their performance act was recorded on film by the artist Gimpo, to whom the images (stills from the original movie) are attributed. The book consists of not only accounts of the event itself, but also the reactions of its universal audience. Was it a publicity stunt or a statement against the commercialisation of the music industry? The two announced a 23-year moratorium on all art projects from November 1995. They stated they would not speak about the burning of the million pounds during this period.
KLF was a British electronic band during the late 1980s, also the genre's most prevalent pop provocateurs. In 1992, the band performed at the annual Brit Awards which caused sensation; Drummond and Cauty had intended on disembowling a dead sheep onstage but were prevented by BBC opposition. In an act of retaliation, they proceeded to fire blanks from an automatic weapon into the crowd whilst proclaiming, "The KLF have now left the music business". True to their word, they then deleted their entire back catalogue; one of the most historic acts of 'suicide' in the history of pop retirement. In a most fitting manner, The KLF's BRIT award for "Best British Group" of 1992 was eventually found buried near Stonehenge. Subsequently, they continued to engage in an eclectic variety of art projects through their organisation the K Foundation.
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