Artist Julian Montague and strange book titles

I couldn't help but notice in today's news a mention of my favorite purchase for all of 2006, artist Julian Montague's "The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification."


It currently is in first place on www.thebookseller.com 's annual competition for "oddest title of the year."
(go ahead and vote, why don't ya?)


Even though some might find it a bit disturbing to put forth so much effort into the classification of these anthropomorphic scions of Americana and post-industrialization, I found Montague's book and exhibition last fall at Chelsea's Black and White Gallery to be some of the freshest, most hilarious work I've ever seen.

Who hasn't walked by a sad and lonely damaged cart at the edge of a giant superstore's parking lot and thought, "Not much longer til he's a goner. It gave its all, and now it's to the scrapheap."

(this little guy at left has it a bit better than other leftovers-- being in Hawaii)

Interestingly enough, it seemed ingrained into much of the Boston University undergraduate community in the early 1990s-- especially those of the Allston-Brighton student slums-- to... ahem... how shall we say... "borrow" the carts of the Purity Supreme on Harvard Avenue.

Technically the Allston-Brighton contingent were crossing over into tony Brookline, Mass., taxpayer territory, but these little metal warriors would end up collecting many a love seat, good-old Mac II, or Fender bass amp and lovingly transport it to a new home.

Perhaps the student body was just too cheap to pay for vans or movers-- but many a time if a shopping cart was not involved, it would instead be the T Green Line trolley that would benefit from the September 1st move-in crowd.

(Carts were always a step up from the T.)

Either way, Montague has come up with an ingenius classification system; a Class A-- "False Strays," and a Class B- "True Strays."

Within each subclass are a multitude of possibilities ranging from-- (here's just a quick sampling):

1. complex vandalism (much higher dedication needed to pull off-- usually a far distance from the cart's original site);
(see image at top of blog-- cart is upside down in frozen residential pool)


2. naturalization (the cart is becoming one with nature-- a natural reef, for instance);


3. plow crush at source (using Buffalo, New York, as a prime example-- many carts get buried under in the winter);








4. bus stop discard (the transportee has used the cart to get to his next means of transport, and thus is left at a transit hub.)

5. personal property (the bandit has made off with the cart and now uses it for his own personal benefit.)














6. or my personal favorite, just random "simple vandalism"; Kudos to the crew who did the one below.






All in all, I hope Montague continues to track down more carts; maybe eventually moving into the "abandoned stove"; "refrigerator with no doors on random Bushwick sidewalk"; or "tire left in retention pond" uncharted realm.

I leave you with the lyrics of one of my all-time favorite songs celebrating the love of inanimate objects-- Evan Dando's "Stove."

See you soon.

The gasman came

took out our electric stove

I helped him carry her

He told me he had been a prize-fighter once

Shuffled her through and out the door
We walked back in talked about his boy at U.V.M.

And we began to put the new stove in
But I miss my stove

She's all alone

Call it love

She's been replaced

I miss my stove

She's all alone

She's right out front

And looks a mess

Unwanted guest

We lied to her

I miss my stove

Feel sad I guess

I know I shouldn't think about it anymore

What's the point?" you say

But I'm reminded each time I walk out my door

My stove is gone to stay

He walked back in talked 'bout his boy at U.V.M.

And we began to put the new stove in
But I miss my stove

She's all alone

Call it love

She's been replaced

I miss my stove

She's all alone
She's right out front

And looks a mess

Unwanted guest

We lied to her

I miss my stove

Feel sad I guess