In 1965, thousands of sealed Coca-Cola bottles containing "subversive bulletins" were found floating off the coast of the Northern Celebes.
Miami Herald - July 30, 1965
I can't find any information about who was responsible for this strange act of subversion. But it recalls a later subversive use of Coca-Cola bottles by the Brazilian artist Cildo Meireles.
It was during the 1970s when used glass bottles would be returned and refilled. Meireles would modify the bottles before returning them by adding white text on the side showing messages such as "Yankees Go Home" or instructions for turning the bottle into a Molotov cocktail.
As the bottle progressively empties of dark brown liquid, the statement printed in white letters on a transparent label adhering to its side becomes increasingly invisible, only to reappear when the bottle is refilled for recirculation.
Whilst still students, Gilbert & George made The Singing Sculpture, which was performed at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in 1969 and at the Nigel Greenwood Gallery in 1970. For this performance they covered their heads and hands in multi-coloured metalised powders, stood on a table, and sang along and moved to a recording of Flanagan and Allen's song "Underneath the Arches", sometimes for a day at a time. The suits they wore for this became a uniform for them. They rarely appear in public without wearing them.
It is also unusual for one of the pair to be seen without the other. The pair regard themselves as "living sculptures". They refuse to dissociate their art from their everyday lives, insisting that everything they do is art. They were listed as among the fifty best-dressed over-50s by The Guardian in March 2013.
It's now become common to see street performers painted in metallic paint. They pretend to be unmoving statues until someone gives them some money, and then they may move abruptly. You can find them in the downtown areas of many big cities, wherever there are a lot of tourists.
I wonder if Gilbert & George's Singing Sculpture was the original inspiration for this form of performance art? I haven't been able to find any direct confirmation of this, but nor have I been able to find any examples of 'Bronze Man' performers before 1969.
Look at Bambi lying in a field. Bambi will be dead soon.
Sports Illustrated - July 1970
Coincidentally, this ad appeared within a year of the release of the classic animated short "Bambi Meets Godzilla." Perhaps the ad men had seen Marv Newland's film. Newland went into advertising after making his film, so it's at least possible.
Paul Di Filippo
Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1.