LENTZ, Daniel. California Package: A Do-It-Yourself Conceptual Concert.

(No place): Daniel Lentz, 1970. First edition. Plastic box containing fifteen elements. Lentz is one of the most significant composers of ‘Art Music’, in 1970 he founded and directed the California Time Machine (CTM), a “conceptual music” ensemble based in Santa Barbara. AS CTM Lentz created this ‘In Absentia’ performance piece. Booking a concert in the city (there was also a ‘Paris Package’ and ‘Oklahoma Package’) and instead of attending to perform would leave a plexi-glass box containing (five or six) smaller plastic boxes inside. Each box contained a piece, or a set of instructions to perform said piece (à la AUS DEN SIEBEN TAGEN) on the stage. This box, the $25 version (supposedly there were also $50 and $100 versions available for purchase) contains an: 1. Offer (to purchase the $50 and $100 version) typed on pink paper and signed by Lenz housed in a small brown envelope with title on orange sticker. 2. Receipt filled out for $12 but not addressed signed by the artist housed in handmade envelope. 3. A baton for the ‘orchestra piece’ housed in plastic envelope with title label. 4. Card roll covered with silver paper. 5. Plastic container labelled “Enclosed: one pair of ear plugs for singing piece” (the container is empty and it being a conceptual piece may never have contained said ear plugs). 6. One black plexiglass cube with smaller cube inside. 7. One white plexiglass cube with smaller cube inside. 8. Eight coloured plastic containers each containing, on various coloured papers, instructions for a performance. Each sheet titled ‘A Piece for the concert package’ and signed by the artist. Sheets are heavily creased where folded to fit into containers, some signatures faded. All elements housed in a larger plastic container with dynamo tape labels. Small loss to one top corner of bottom half of box, otherwise in very good condition. Rare no examples located in WorldCat and no example in the artist’s archive.