Found2
Peter & Davy Rothbart
Dear Ice Cream Man,
How are you doing!? How many ice cream cones have you sold? I wanted to remind you to stop by my house and lower your prices.
Only give me bubble gum ice cream.
Your friend,
David.
This is a letter that was found blowing around on the sidewalk in Burlington, Vermont, and mailed to FOUND Magazine. (No word on whether David lost his nerve and discarded the letter, or if it blew out of the ice cream man's pocket.) If you don't know FOUND Magazine -- that's a tragedy! Go to their website and see what you've been missing. (Who knew that lost grocery lists could describe the drama and tragedy of human existence in the 21st century?)
FOUND was is the invention of Ann Arborite Davy Rothbart, who isn't just a genius at finding grocery lists and lost love letters; he's also a writer of fiction, filmmaker and radio producer. (And by the by, NOT the author of the bubble gum ice cream missive.) Once a year, he and his musician brother, Peter, get into their van and make a circuit around the country. Lucky us, they hit it off bigtime with Mad Art, so St. Louis is usually on the itinerary. The Bros. Rothbart always have something new and fun and tricky up their sleeve, from wheels and wheels of found slides to exhbits of found artifacts to collaborations with projects like PostSecret.
For '09, it's the "Denim & Diamonds Tour," toasting the release of Requiem for a Paper Bag, an anthology of writing from "celebrities and civilians" who relay their experiences with found notes and objects. The table of contents is amazing, and includes the likes of Miranda July, Chuck D, Andy Samberg, Susan Orlean, Patton Oswalt, Jonathan Lethem, Chuck Klosterman, David Simon (The Wire), Jenji Kohan (Weeds), Katherine Dunn, Jim Carroll, Jesse Thorn (The Sound of Young America), Andrew Bird, Kori Gardner (Mates of State), Mike Schank (American Movie), Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Steve Almond, Paulo Coelho, Billy Bragg, Kimya Dawson, Damian Kulash (OK Go), and Devendra Banhart.
Of course, the book is brilliant; but if you only read the book, you won't get to see the found stuff that the Bros. Rothbart bring with them on tour (trust us, the impact of a love note like this one is much more powerful in person), or hear Peter Rothbart's songs, with lyrics based on found notes.
So here's the skinny:
FOUND Magazine Denim & Diamonds Tour
Wed May 20, 7-11 pm
Mad Art Gallery, 2727 S. 12th Street
$5 at the door; show begins at 8pm
And if I remember right, the last time I was at a FOUND event at Mad Art, it was totally cool to bring your own found notes for show and tell. A few weeks ago, I found a beautiful one, a science workbook page dropped by a student at the magnet school down the block from me (it that explained white rabbits avoid being eaten by foxes because they "bland in with snow.") Wish I woulda kept it. But as FOUND has demonstrated, there's always something interesting underfoot, if you take the time to look. --Stefene Russell
