[strong]Iron Monkey[/strong], do I have to pick one or do all your accusations apply to me ? Please advise whether I lack "the capacity to understand or appreciate what it is, what it meant to the person who created it or what it's trying to communicate to others"?
What is it with this stupid (and I dare say: very American) attitude that there's "no need to comment negatively on something". But nevertheless, I'll give you an answer to all three points (What it is, What it meant to the creator and what it is trying to communicate)
I have dozens of originally plain-sleeved 12 inch singles in my collection which have been adorned by a teenage Yemsky with collages, scribbles, reviews etc. I am sure many people did that and there is nothing special to it, per se. Though all these covers are unique (and some of mine mean a lot to me) doesn't mean that every DIY cover is a piece worth collecting in my opinion.
The fact that Mindering Mike presumably did this in the 1970s and hence long before me and even before [strong]Christian Marclay[/strong] got into galleries with it, might make him an innovator or originator (though I even doubt that) but again: I still don't think it's any big of a deal.
I can appreciate that there is a personal story in and behind MM's work. Yes, I wouldn't mind hearing it. But I do not expect to hear much of interest from a music-lover's point of view though Mike and I might even share a similar taste in music. But look at MM's output as pictures. Think of finding these drawings of imaginary bands, Blaxploitation posters, Kung Fu scenes and parties-in-the park on an old notepad or on canvas for example. Would the same enthusiasm occur? Would [strong]pacman[/strong] seriously be "framing those jawns and puttin them up on [his] wall"?
I think what we have here is partly a case of format-fetish. If they were not 12x12 or 7x7 half of the enthusiastic posts above would be missing.
I don't think that my problem is that I am German (though of course we are all the same, oder etwa nicht?) or the fact that I am too cerebral and not enough emotional. But allow me to point to the emperor's new cloths, please: These "things" are not even record sleeves. At best they contain [em]cardboard[/em] records inside, for jawn's sake.
In essence: I probably would have spent some time at the flea market, looking, reading, talking about it, but I don't think that I would have picked them up. Interestingly, neither [strong]Secret Chimp[/strong] nor [strong]Fatback[/strong] told us how much they paid for their finds. But since most people here seem to be sooooo keen (ritmo69: "i just made my first I WANT LIST!" let's put a common denominator on it and start an auction:
[strong]How much would you bid for "The Complete Mingering Mike collection: Forty unique 12inch "covers"?[/strong]
$0 - Yo, give me a Break - but not these dust collectors!
$10 - Hey, that's cheaper than buying plain sleeves
$20 - Hey, that's still cheaper than buying plain sleeves
$40 - It's a dollar bin find !
$100 - I want to get it, but I think I can sell it for more on eBay
$200 - Dude, this is a serious find.
$400 - A bargain for an artists complete (known) oeuvre
$1000 - You sissys, let's talk business!
$2000 - I never find records like Dante, Egon and Keb, but I want to have a "only-one-known-copy-in-the-world" item - and here I get 40 in one pop!
Your bids are appreciated but not legally binding. We accept Paypal but you will have to pay 4% extra. Secret bids outside the auction are welcome but won't stay secret...
