October 15, 2011 – Sheet Music

This week San Francisco saw the passing of Bob Grimes. I only learned about Mr. Grimes when I read his obituary. It’s often interesting reading obituaries of prominent people I knew little about and may not have known of at all. Bob Grimes collected sheet music for 75 years (he was 89 years old). It seems he was a bit on the obsessive side, and that’s a good thing as his comprehensive collection included over 35,000 pieces of sheet music. The collection is now with the Michael Feinstein Foundation in Indiana. To be sure, there are plenty of obscure and rare pieces being archived for future generations.

I was not really surprised that Bob Grimes could not read music, play an instrument and did not sing. Yet he still had a fascination for sheet music. I kind of get it, I have no musical talent, but there is something cool about old sheet music. Like the one used for today’s piece. I decided to sacrifice a copy of Everything I Have is Yours from the 1933 film Dancing Lady starring Clark Gable and Joan Crawford.

August 2, 2011 – Sliced Bach

During the course of the 2011 Project I’ve been experimenting with new media to deconstruct and reconfigure. I’ve basically been looking to do what I do with maps to some new material. Some of the things I have used include vintage postcards, MUNI Fast Passes, junk food wrappers and origami paper. To that end, I’ve had this little book of Bach sonatas waiting for me to get at them with the scissors and exacto knife. I can’t read music, but every time I see old sheet music I just think cut and reconfigure and glue, then repeat. For the first run I’ve added the theatre at Versailles for a framework. And now, for some reason, I feel the need to wear a well-powdered wig today.