Peanut Brittle
I
perform the character named Peanut Brittle,
a stylish old codger who inhabits the installation
that represents his world. He is the
amalgamation of every old man I've ever seen
ambling down the street with a sense of style,
the ones I lovingly refer to as 'geriatric
dandies'. Peanut is a man who hangs on to
his memories of saw dust covered dance floors,
5 cent root beer, and heavy petting with hair
oiled hands in the back of a jalopy, while
the modern world carries on at ludicrous speed
outside his window. He takes refuge
in his small apartment, the walls adorned
with faded pictures and his paintings, horse
track tickets, third place medals; the corners
of the room littered with abandoned hobbies.
Peanut is an affable recluse who loves
to entertain, inviting friends and strangers
into his fantasy world, so he doesn't have
to go out into their real one.
In the first realization of Peanut Brittle
(2004, Katharine Mulherin Art Projects), I
transformed the gallery space into his living
room, bed room, shop and bathroom. Using
props and materials gleaned from estate sales
and my own collection, I created an apartment
that looked as though he'd inhabited it for
years. Dressed as Peanut Brittle,
I invited visitors in for a look-see, telling
tall tales, and selling off hand-made trinkets
and paintings I'd made depicting other old
men of the same ilk. In his shop, one
could deduce from looking at his work bench,
that Peanut liked stamp collecting, woodwork,
and electrical repair. Peanut busied
himself with eating T.V. dinners while watching
soap operas, smoking Lucky Strikes, and sleeping.
In the next metamorphosis of Peanut Brittle,
2 years later, I created a more elaborate
environment, conducive to a larger scale of
performance and interaction, entitled WEZY
(2006 Katharine Mulherin Art Projects).
W-E-Z-Y are the call letters of Peanut Brittle's
ham radio station that sits snug inside his
one room apartment that looks out onto a busy
pedestrian street. The quarters are
complete with a spartan kitchen and bedroom,
giving way to the mighty handmade radio console
which boasts antennas, mixers and microphones.
There are two sets of speakers, one
pair turned inside and one pair directed onto
the street for 'broadcasting' purposes, which
is merely the amplification of his voice and
music. WEZY has no real hours of operation.
Whenever he feels the urge, Peanut grabs the
microphone, prattling on about rubbing elbows
with jazz legends, playing some scratchy 78's
and hurling friendly insults out the window
at passerby. Visitors can enjoy a radio
show or conversation with Peanut, and are
free to stroll around his apartment to admire
decorations, peruse items for sale, or have
a boiled turnip cooked up on the hot plate.
In past performances, some visitors have stayed
for more than 4 hours, a testament to people's
desire to immerse themselves in fantasy, a
safe nostalgia, and with a tour guide to boot.
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