“It’s about trying to frame something. And draw attention to it and say, “Here’s the beauty in this. I’m going to put a frame around it, and I think this is beautiful.” That’s what artists do. It’s really a pointing activity.”
– Chris Burden
Artist Chris Burden prepares his homemade paper plane to fly 2 cannabis joints into Mexico 1978
Coals to Newcastle
With a witty title ode to the 14th century, (not unlike the modern “don’t bring sand to the beach”) artist Chris Burden wanted to do something different with his new artistic piece…
He wanted to smuggle cannabis across a international border… In a reverse of situation he chose to smuggle the cannabis into Mexico…
In the early hours of December 17, 1978, along the border of Calexico, California and Mexicali, Mexico, Chris Burden makes final preparations to his homemade rubber band powered paper plane with 2 joints hung like bombs of the “finest seedless marijuana, ‘sinsemilla’ grown in California”.
His plan? To fly the joints over the border and into Mexico…
Chris sums up his piece:
“Calexico, California and Mexicali, Mexico are actually the same city separated by a tall steel and barbed wire fence demarcating the international border between the U.S.A. and Mexico. On the morning of December 17, standing on the American side of the border, I flew a small rubber band powered model airplane over the fence into Mexicali, Mexico. From each wing of the plane, like a miniature bomb, hung a cigarette of the finest seedless marijuana, ‘sinsemilla’ grown in California.The plane bore the following inscriptions: Hecho en U.S.A. (‘Made in U.S.A.’), Fumenlos Muchachos (‘Smoke it, kids’) and Topanga Typica (‘typical Topanga’).”
One of Chris Burdens “Coals to Newcastle” planes rigged with 2 joints as bombs 1978