About the Artist/Ensemble

Glenn Richardson is Ziggy Sawdust, a born-again Snakeoil Salesman who “resurrects” chainsaw carved portraits. He has performed this ritual at Burning Man, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Art All Night Washington DC, Art All Night Trenton, Love Burn and some classy joints as well.

Concert/Performance Description

Ziggy welcomes kind and gentle persons into the Sawdust containment chamber to sit on the Chair of Death for 17 minutes.

Now I know what you’re thinking but this is no ordinary Chair of Death.  It is our Chair of Death Mk IV.  It’s 32% more comfortable than our previous model the Chair of Death Mk III.  If you can find a more comfortable Chair of Death I would recommend you buy it, but if you have room for only one Chair of Death in your life I would recommend this one.

I digress. While you are sitting in the Chair of Death for 17 minutes I shall reduce a 2″ by 14″ by 24″ plank of pine imported from the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. I shall reduce said plank of pine into your visage.  That is correct your portrait with a chainsaw in 17 minutes! But wait, there’s more!

Next we remove your freshly hacked wooden doppelganger from the jawhorse inside the sawdust containment chamber and place it outside the sawdust containment chamber onto the Altar of Altering where you, kind person, stand on my right hand side because I am left handed.  In my left hand I posess a propane roofing torch.  Under the vast infinite night, in front of the assembled multitudes we subject your image to a bath of purifying flame emanating from the torch such that your image glows with embers in the night sky. You might say this is the image of your spark in the dark,  the essence of your very being for all of these kind people to celebrate! But wait, there’s more!

If you’re in appropriate condition and only appropriate condition is appropriate, I will place said propane torch in your hands because you are on this planet to burn your face, yes? But wait, there’s more!

Then we remove this charred burnt out husk from the Altar of Altering and place it back inside the sawdust containment chamber onto the jawhorse where with a wirebrush I remove the excess char. Your image is reborn, you are resurrected in beautiful wood grain with charcoal shadows for you to take home as an artifact of your experience.

Technical Requirements

This can only occur outdoors, preferably from twilight hours into darkness. We require a flat level (preferably grass) area 20’×40′ with room for audience on one side. We also need access to plug in our extension cord for 110v house current.  We practice leave no trace and leave the performance space as we found it.  The saw I use is gasoline power. It is rated less than 110 decibles at the source but that drops to approximately 85 decibels at the edge of the sawdust containment chamber.

Fees

$800/evening of carvings and audience interactions.  4-6 portraits per evening.