found art

Jeff Fleischer

Jeff Fleischer is a Chicago-based author, journalist and editor. His fiction has appeared in more than sixty publications including the Chicago Tribune’s Printers Row Journal, Shenandoah, the Saturday Evening Post, and So It Goes by the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.

He is also the author of non-fiction books including Votes of Confidence: A Young Person’s Guide to American Elections, Rockin’ the Boat: 50 Iconic Revolutionaries, The Latest Craze: A Short History of Mass Hysterias, and the upcoming A Hot Mess: How the Climate Crisis is Changing Our World (2021).

Visit his website: jefffleischer.com.

Fiction

Found Art, Lost Art

written by Jeff Fleischer

Art and business collide in Found Art, Lost Art, a tale of a hapless artist and a very shrewd, if not entirely scrupulous, marketing executive. Davis Javits, a struggling creator of sculptures made entirely from pieces he’s foraged from dumpsters, is just barely getting by when he receives a mind-boggling offer that he can neither believe nor refuse. Will he or won’t he accept it? Art “gets the business” in a story that begs the question: What makes a piece of art worth anything?

Originally published in Chicago Tribune Printers Row Journal.
© 2014 Jeff Fleischer | Recording © 2020 Rivercliff Books & Media. All rights reserved.

“How much did you say again?” Davis Javits had heard the amount perfectly clearly. He didn’t doubt his hearing; it was his imagination that he mistrusted.

The ability to stock up with virtually no overhead was one of the advantages of practicing found-object art, so the parts of the building not visible to the public looked like a cross between a city dump and the aftermath of a small hurricane.

 

After a while, a faint terror struck Davis Javits. This man was actually looking to buy something from him. And for all his experience and all his work, Davis had absolutely no idea what to charge.

A chill struck Davis. He stared at the marketing executive’s right hand and noticed that it was in his suit pocket.
found art lost art

Jeff Fleischer is a Chicago-based author, journalist and editor. His fiction has appeared in more than sixty publications including the Chicago Tribune’s Printers Row Journal, Shenandoah, the Saturday Evening Post, and So It Goes by the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.

He is also the author of non-fiction books including Votes of Confidence: A Young Person’s Guide to American Elections, Rockin’ the Boat: 50 Iconic Revolutionaries, The Latest Craze: A Short History of Mass Hysterias, and the upcoming A Hot Mess: How the Climate Crisis is Changing Our World (2021).

Visit his website: jefffleischer.com.

Watch Our Interviews with Jeff

Q&A with Jeff

Tell us about your story...

It concerns a found-object artist who has never sold one of his pieces suddenly receiving what could be a life-changing offer.

What was the inspiration for this story?
It was loosely inspired by a discussion I had with a friend about some particularly ridiculous contemporary art pieces that sold for astronomical sums.
What is your favorite word?

Inevitable.

What are you most looking forward to, post pandemic?
International travel. Luckily I took a short trip to Mexico City not too long before lockdown, but looking forward to travel opening up.
Coffee or tea? Whiskey or Wine?

I like all four, but usually go with coffee. Whiskey or wine is situational.

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