Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program

Pierre Brassau

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“Pierre Brassau,” at the time known as Peter, was a four- year-old common chimpanzee from Sweden’s Borås Djurpark. Axelsson persuaded his keeper to give him a brush and paint and, after Peter had created several paintings, he chose the best four and arranged to have them exhibited at the Gallerie Christinae in Göteborg, Sweden, under the pretence that they were the work of a previously unknown French artist named “Pierre Brassau” in order to test whether critics could tell the difference between true avant-garde modern art and the work of a non-human primate.

While one critic observed that “only an ape could have done this”, most praised the works. Journalist Rolf Anderberg of the Göteborgs-Posten wrote, “Brassau paints with powerful strokes, but also with clear determination. His brush strokes twist with furious fastidio- usness. Pierre is an artist who performs with the delicacy of a ballet dancer.” After the hoax was revealed, Anderberg insisted that Peter’s work was “still the best in the exhibition”. A private collector even bought one of the paintings for US$90 (equivalent to $786 in 2021).

Pierre Brassau - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
Hyperbolic Paraboloid - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
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Hyperbolic Paraboloid
Zona - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
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Zona
Wound Man - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
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Wound Man
Titanosauria - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
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Titanosauria
Sarco pod - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
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Sarco pod
Ventolin - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
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Ventolin
Anthony Braxton's Composition 113 - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
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Anthony Braxton's Composition 113
Vantablack - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
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Vantablack
On The Art Of The Cinema - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
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On The Art Of The Cinema
Snakebot - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
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Snakebot
33 Thomas Street - © Attention Deficit Disorder Prosthetic Memory Program
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33 Thomas Street

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