Little Bruiser

Little Bruiser

FlailingGirl loves t-shirts. She’s considering getting married in one. T-shirts are close to my heart as well.

I designed a one-of-a-kind t-shirt for a performance I do. I put an iron-on transfer of Rene Magritte’s famous “This is a not pipe” painting on the front of a white t-shirt. The image of the pipe’s bowl is also really a sewed-on little pocket. A big red lettered word is added at the end of the French phrase.

Ceci n’est pas une pipeBOMB

The firecracker in the pocket (pipe bowl) has an extended fuse. The end of the fuse is an imaginary cigarette. I hold the make-believe cigarette between two forefingers in V-sign (Peace sign or Victory sign?). I alternately hold the fuse/cigarette in a grotesque lip grip.

I go out among the audience like that, somewhat aggressively asking each and everyone “You got a light?” There is a definite sense of apprehension in their chuckles and smiles. Eventually I get a light.

The fuse on the firecracker, my dance, lasts about three minutes. The explosion “ruins” the t-shirt just enough to make it art. The “innocent” audience survives the experience unscathed. Their ticket stub directs them to the Ebay listing where they can bid on the ruined t-shirt, no reserve.

As the old carnie saying goes, “It’s a hard way to make an easy living.”

this is not a pipe
Self-portrait with Temporary Tattoo & Fading Bruise Near Pipe Bowl
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