Elsewhere Art . . . Leo Ferre

When I wrote a column Five French Albums I'm Surprised I Own I could just have easily made it 10, 20 or 30 albums.

Or a few dozen singles, 10'' or EPs.

As I mentioned, the School of Music library at the University of Auckland was downsizing and putting out boxes, literally dozens of albums at a time, of records it no longer needed.

Free to a good home.

My home as it turned out for scores of records and even more jazz CDs.

I think all the French albums, singles etc (some of poets reading their own work or in interviews) had been gifted by the consulate or some-such and  -- to me at least -- they just seemed to valuable and rare to be taken to a tip.

Although, if you saw my office you might conclude that in fact that's exactly where they ended up.

Among the albums were a few by the great Leo Ferre whose image I adapted for the artwork at the head of the article.

Not a collage this time but a multiple photo-copy exercise wherein an old street map of Paris was overlaid.

It took ages to get it just right with a boulevard running directly down the bridge of his nose, the old bohemian area of Montmartre on his forehead/brain and a tangle of streets in his woolly hair.

I hope I did that genius some kind of justice from a distance.

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For other Art by Elsewhere go here.