Along the Line, and Prophet Jones' mink coat - from Svenja Wahl

[Marie Wintzer]

Sometimes you can take it or leave it, says Svenja's envelope. In this case no hesitation, of course, take it and open eagerly :-))
Inside, a fantastic Kunststuck, an inchie to be filled out and an interesting newspaper article.

For the Kunststuck I believe Svenja has used an authentic print of an old family photo. Maybe grandma and granddad with their grandchildren. The printed text is from a book that is probably from the same period. She made great use of the transparency of the last layer. Circles flirting with lines, random numbers that are never completely random. Just enough to give a blur to the picture, just enough to keep the mystery of it.

Now the article. I don't know where she found it, but she did a great job doing so. Just hilariously spot on. So that Prophet, Prophet Jones, has a little bit of a taste for luxury items and happily walks around with diamond bracelets worth 17.000$. His female followers are very eager to show their gratitude to the Prophet with "tiny little" presents. Their latest idea was... a mink coat. A "full length let-out white mink coat with a raglan flare-back, shawl collar, scarlet silk lining and deep flap pockets lined with velvet". The girls worked very hard on it, under the supervision of a New York furrier. Hands were washed every half an hour to keep the white immaculate! And doesn't he look dashing!! While they presented him with the coat, kneeling down, tears came to his eyes. God's will was done, he said.
I am allowed an OMG?? O.M.G! :-)) Svenja you really made me laugh. Great story, and all true! I can see MinXus has a LOT to learn from Prophet Jones. I'll put Dw to work right now!

And the inchie... I'll be sending you a few of those, Svenja. Thank you for this great and fun envelope, I really enjoyed all of it.

[De Villo Sloan]

Yes, the otherwise very clear narrative of MinXus is unclear about the location of the Maison Aux Visons. Of course, we will never know the location of Central Command either.

[Marie Wintzer]

All of this on an imaginary island, of course (except for the Prophet). From the Early Adventures of Dark wall, Dw and nanny Nancy approaching the island:

[De Villo Sloan]

Hi Svenja, your discovery of Prophet Jones is marvelous, as is the art. I researched him and found more pictures, including his elegant home. He is definitely a pre-MinXus figure. Great find!

[Marie Wintzer]

Svenja, you know I live in an old Manor called Le Manoir aux Visons? This one:

And the Prophet lives in a French Castle looking like this:

It's clearly a Manoir aux Visons! :-))))

[Svenja Wahl]

ooh, I don't get it, why is he living in a "manoir aux visons"???

[Marie Wintzer]

Oh, I AM fully appreciating Svenja's finding. I am. There is a LOT of material in there ;-)) Svenja was already totally enrolled before, now she is even more. I also like the fact that the master furrier was from NY.

I reckon the official Manoir should still be that old one, the one Dw used. I think it's a good picture.

[De Villo Sloan]

CB, you're probably not able to fully appreciate what Svenja dug up with all this - probably Svenja doesn't event realize - this French chatueau in Detroit - you'd have to understand Detroit - you tend to find copies of Italian architecture in the neighborhoods, but why Rev. Jones made the choice he did is difficult to discern. Well, this certainly broadens and deppens MinXus. Three cheers for Svenja. BTW, one of the great Fluxus collections, now at MOMA in NY, was originally amassed in Detroit.

[De Villo Sloan]

I am so glad you found it. We need an official photo of the Maison Aux Visons, along with the earlier one you posted & Dark wall used. Or maybe another. Yet we must have an image for it.

[Marie Wintzer]

O...MG it's a Manoir aux Visons indeed!!!! falling off my chair right now

[De Villo Sloan]

Yes, for real - there is a pic of the "54-room French chateau-style mansion"  in the Detroit News article - he had Maison Aux Visons (?) before you. At first I thought it was Rev. Jim Jones - the guy who made all the people drink the cool aid, but not the same.