They did a series of public debates after the money burning, and one gets the impression that of all the genuinely ground-breaking stuff they did that this stunt is the one that actually backfired and that they came to, if not completely regret, then certainly question (source: Sky documentary aired last night)
The KLF: Chaos, magic and the band who burned £1M
61–70 of 127 posts
Re: The KLF: Chaos, magic and the band who burned £1M
#62I used to work for Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond's record label. This book looks interesting ... but I really wish the focus was on the art and the music, and not the "the guys who burnt 1 million quid" incident. One thing that the media have a tough time recognizing is the fact that Bill and Jimmy are legit experimental artists, and still love making art of all kinds. And they also happened to have some amazing musi…
Maybe read the book first? All the things you mentioned (and many more) are in it :)
Yes, that complaint just tells me they’d probably enjoy the book! I especially liked the section on Discordianism.
Re: The KLF: Chaos, magic and the band who burned £1M
#63I used to work for Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond's record label. This book looks interesting ... but I really wish the focus was on the art and the music, and not the "the guys who burnt 1 million quid" incident. One thing that the media have a tough time recognizing is the fact that Bill and Jimmy are legit experimental artists, and still love making art of all kinds. And they also happened to have some amazing musi…
>More often than not, it's the one-off act of Burning a Million Quid in 1994. Their ground-breaking music, the books, the anti-establishment statements and art ... it's almost an afterthought. The pain of not having enough is a fundamental human experience, and to see someone who had more than most will ever see in their lifetime literally burn it away hurts. I thought it was deeply selfish stunt then, and still do n…
The problem with this logic is who gave them their money,
and why are those people not scorned as well?
For me, the answer is that, ultimately, everyone is responsible for the plight of anyone else. Society, run by The State — an entity whose powers including being able to raise revenue, make decisions, and then spend it to fix things. Demand more from the state (and every citizen who can vote — Society and State go hand in hand) if you haven’t given up hope that we can do better.
Another alternative is we end up with Chan/Zuckerberg deciding who gets a hospital and who does not, Mackenzie Scott deciding which cities get schools and which do not, and Bill and Melinda Gates deciding which countries get more nurses and which do not.
Re: The KLF: Chaos, magic and the band who burned £1M
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
> instead they made a statement What does that mean? I mean really mean? Follow-up question: did they achieve anything .. other than (even more) notoriety?
They achieved that some 30 years later we are having this discussion about their art. I hope that we all are able to be that creative - that we achieve something that humankind speaks of 30 years later.
I feel this thread is evidence that the question provoked by the performance is actually quite important, certainly more so than the average “but is this art” meta-debate.
Someone in this thread was upset that the artists burned more money than the average person sees in their lifetime. Another commenter questioned why this would be more unfair than all the “regular rich” who we know spend many times that amount of money on a yacht or another property that they don’t need.
Why are there two moral categories for wealth? Someone who is understood to not have money by default — like an artist — and then gets a sudden windfall is expected to use it responsibly. But someone who is simply rich has no such obligations and doesn’t answer to society. And yet the former category is a rounding error but the latter control the majority of resources on this planet.
Re: The KLF: Chaos, magic and the band who burned £1M
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
Deeply selfish? There are literally millions and millions of extremely wealthy people who would spend that amount doing nothing, buying a yacht, their 20th property, or do actual terrible things. I don’t resent them for burning their money. They could have bought toys, instead they made a statement. We live in a world where many of us (myself included) have to live with the pain of not having enough. I’m reminded of…
> Do you think it has anything to do with why they burned a million quid? Absolutely not. It was all tied up with their distaste for the art industry, not inequality. The burning was the last attempt to create art with the money (after Nailed to the Wall, the failed Money: A Major Body of Cash exhibition, and the K Foundation art award).
The true absurdity should have been the message but it got lost in the outcome. From what I remember they tried to sell Nailed to the wall for £300k explicitly stating it was £1 million in legal tender, but the gallery refused to buy it because they couldn't get it insured.
Re: The KLF: Chaos, magic and the band who burned £1M
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
They achieved that some 30 years later we are having this discussion about their art. I hope that we all are able to be that creative - that we achieve something that humankind speaks of 30 years later.
I feel this thread is evidence that the question provoked by the performance is actually quite important, certainly more so than the average “but is this art” meta-debate. Someone in this thread was upset that the artists burned more money than the average person sees in their lifetime. Another commenter questioned why this would be more unfair than all the “regular rich” who we know spend many times that amount of m…
Those that have everything change nothing, those that have nothing change everything or at least they try.
Re: The KLF: Chaos, magic and the band who burned £1M
#67I was hoping for some content. Turns out to be a collection of jacket blurbs.
Re: The KLF: Chaos, magic and the band who burned £1M
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did they piss it away though? That single statement was so powerful it's still causing emotional arguments about it 20 years later. Can you say that about other things people spent £1m on in 1994?
> That single statement was so powerful it's still causing emotional arguments about it 20 years later. I hate this argument, because it's worse than vacuous: It makes out that art is about as meaningful as a gunshot in a crowded room. Is that art? It'll damn well get a reaction, especially from the person who was just shot. Shouldn't we demand more from art? Like actual meaning and maybe, just maybe, a positive impa…
> It makes out that art is about as meaningful as a gunshot in a crowded room. Is that art?
Chris Burden thought so!
Re: The KLF: Chaos, magic and the band who burned £1M
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
>More often than not, it's the one-off act of Burning a Million Quid in 1994. Their ground-breaking music, the books, the anti-establishment statements and art ... it's almost an afterthought. The pain of not having enough is a fundamental human experience, and to see someone who had more than most will ever see in their lifetime literally burn it away hurts. I thought it was deeply selfish stunt then, and still do n…
Deeply selfish? There are literally millions and millions of extremely wealthy people who would spend that amount doing nothing, buying a yacht, their 20th property, or do actual terrible things. I don’t resent them for burning their money. They could have bought toys, instead they made a statement. We live in a world where many of us (myself included) have to live with the pain of not having enough. I’m reminded of…
If you buy a yacht or a supercar you give the money to a number of people. If you actually burn the money you destroy it and it is lost for everyone.
So while people do what they want with their money, actually burning it like is rightly seen as a dick move by most people. It is also illegal in many countries.
Re: The KLF: Chaos, magic and the band who burned £1M
#70Very glad to see this book ranking on HN, it’s absolutely worth reading even if you don’t know or care about the KLF in the slightest. But you should though ’cos they’re amazing.
I first read it when I was (quite by chance) 33 and 1/3rd, the same age Drummond was when he decided to form the KLF. This was a direct inspiration to me to take creative risks, say yes to things, cause mischief and generally have fun.
I’d also recommend Higgs’ latest book, looking at the last century through the prism of The Beatles and James Bond.
https://bookshop.org/p/books/love-and-let-die-the-beatles-ja...