The Idiocy of Idears
2007
Book, 19.6 x 12.8 cm, 294 p., language : English, publisher : L-13 Press. (Aquarium), London, ISBN : 978-1-8718-9418-9.
Materials: Ink, paper
Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. B 2026/135).
Literary synopsis
Apparently written by the backward schoolboy Gustov Claudius, it is a brilliant expose of an education system geared solely to churning out illiterate fodder for the declining dockyards and factories.
Relation of the novel to the artist’s practice
"This spring, after 10 or so years in the writing, I published a novel called The Idiocy of Ideas. Virgin books offered me $4,000 advance on the novel plus the right to dictate the contents and cover and talk to me like I am an idiot. Instead, I opted to print 500 copies and released the book without an author, barcode or ISBN. The books were then hidden in the travel, philosophy and fiction sections of bookshops 'round the U.K., to be rescued by the public or binned by the sales team."
- Billy Chyldish
Authorship: Artist Author.
Creative Strategy: No Link to Artworks.
Genre: Autobiography.
Publishing: Non-profit Art Organization.
Theme: Education System, Socio-Political Critic.
