More by Mustill: Smokin’ Victorian and an ‘EVENT’

Finding lost and uncollected artworks by the late Norman O. Mustill has been a continuing project here. An old friend of his, Kurt Wold, recently turned up two more pieces. One is an undated, untitled collage (probably from the early 1980s), which he’s calling “Victorian Smoker.” Mustill gave it to Kurt’s father, who knew Mustill from the early days. It’s “a surprise image that I hadn’t seen before,” Kurt writes. The other is a “rare piece that I remember with pleasure … much more ephemeral.” A bit of “text genre,” it was “more akin to performance art. …”

… It came in the mail in a small envelope, with a small set of instructions, and a strip of paper that read: EVENT. The instructions told the recipient to fill up a glass 3/4 full and gently place the printed piece of paper, type side up, to witness the “event.” The printed strip of paper was water soluble. When the paper dissolved, only the inked word was left, floating on top of the water.