Posted By: bftd Date: 5/31/2005
So why cut up ukuleles? I understand the "art" side to it, but considering how many people in the world don't have an ukulele of their own, not to mention the child....

Posted By: ToeBone Date: 5/31/2005
I have to give Peter the benefit of the the doubt that the ukes he uses are getting their best use converted into art. I don't think he'll be rolling out his 5K line of uke books any time soon!
Maybe there's a ukulele sect that believes no uke deserves to die, but as someone who gave up guitar playing as a youth because I had the most god awful instrument to play, I would dissent :-)

Posted By: manny Date: 5/31/2005
as both a bibliophile and a ukaholic, i'm not sure what to make of it...although i guess it could lead to Great Expectations for one's playing...and might just lead to a Dickens of a good time.

Posted By: Carl-vB Date: 5/31/2005
I think these ukulele books are amazingly creative -- from a guy who evidently loves ukuleles and books. Like the work of Andy Warhol and lots of contemporary artists, this project plays with the boundary between kitsch and high art. Worth a look for those with an interest in art.
(Not that I would want this treatment for my Gibson or Martin...)

Posted By: bftd Date: 5/31/2005
I suppose one of the functions of art is to inspire discussion, and in that regard, He succeeds in this without a doubt. I just have a problem with this line: "This ukulele belonged to a friend's child and they gave it to me to stop her incessant playing"
If the kid was playing, why stop her? Sooner or later she will advance to another level (as he is aware), so did he get her another ukulele?
I also have the feeling that not all of the ukes used were "basket cases", that they were merely "cheap" ukuleles. Ukuleles that could have served as functional instruments a few more years, after all, not everyone can afford even $50.00 for an ukulele. In that I find the problem. Like I said, in inviting discussion, this art succeeds. There are those that see beauty in destruction, in the inherent chaos that erupts and lives within. It has been said that an atomic explosion is beautiful, as long as you don't know what it is. And then, there are those who feel the wide eyed dogs playing poker is art, so, go figure.

Posted By: manny Date: 5/31/2005
de gustibus non est disputandum, eh what? i myself wasn't lucky enough to have picked up the ukulele as a child, although my incessant clarinet playing in the seventh grade did drive my father nuts...which was one of the perks, actually :)