Leslie Roscoe

Lesley Roscoe (October 2, 1946 - November 28, 2014) was a British performance artist based in the United Kingdom, a performance artist who began his career in the mid-1960s. Although most notable for his Fruit Pieces, he has been a relatively undiscovered performance artist until after his recent death. Although very little of his work has been documented, British contemporary theatre makers are currently trying to re-enact his work. Roscoe's work can be assumed as highly based on a instructional dramaturgy, however its autobiographical element, namely the constant repetition and fetishisation of fruit suggests a longing to reveal and at the same time disguise a multifaceted yet finite metaphor not only for Roscoe's past, present and future but one that suggests that there is an intrinsic link beyond his corporeal flesh to that of pulp, within this metaphor Lesley places himself as a site of divergence.
Early life and education
He was born on October 2, 1946 in Nailsworth, United Kingdom from Urkell Cohen, a Parisian delicatessen store manager and Julie Cohen (née Batarde), both French Jewish refugees. After the war, Urkell changed the family name to Roscoe, inspired by Roscoe Arbuckle.
Roscoe attended Archway Secondary school in the near by town of Stroud from age 11 to 17, although not much is known from this time. By 1966, Roscoe had left home and unsuccessfully applied to into get to the Slade School of Fine Art. He would never get on to the course despite applying yearly for the rest of his life.
Career
Fruit Pieces
Fruit Piece 1 was performed at a happening called "instantaneous everything now 3.5", in a Working Men's Club in East London and was met with a modicum of praise. Both Allen Kaprow and Joseph Beuys are said to be attendees of this event. Having been in the proximity with some of his hero's had a galvanising effect on Roscoe. He began producing performance after performance as well as 67 highly contradictory Artistic Manifestos. He travelled to as many events as he could afford, living on a subsistence income from his job packing fruit at Borough Market. It was after his divorce from his first wife, Felicia Brownstone, in 1971 that his work began to suffer.
Greengrocer
After his father's death, he returned home for a short while and took on the family business as a greengrocer. He was able to drive down prices radically through tapping into unusual and potentially illegal distribution networks. He also mastered local marketing, and was in the local newspaper practically every week with his shameless publicity stunts. Soon queues began to form on a daily basis. Roscoe became less melancholic but simply more distant. Roscoe was somewhat of a success but never had he been less satisfied, so he departed the family business and his mother with a large chunk of money to further pursue his art.
Roscoe later commented upon this experience: "I greengrocered myself into oblivion. At night I would have terrifying nightmares about caves made of reeking wet bread and in the day time I was barely there at all. This was my whole world as a greengrocer and all I remember."
Amsterdam Interlude
After his elopement, Roscoe spent a few weeks taking a Situationist dérive around Belgium's blandest towns and villages until eventually making his way north to settle in Amsterdam. Living in a series of squats, communes and doss houses Roscoe began creating again. In Amsterdam Roscoe occupied some of the warehouses on the North of the eye canal with lavish productions. These events were poorly attended and further diminished his savings. He returned to his Fruit Pieces with a new energy and a slightly bigger budget.
Back to the Fruit Pieces
It was during this period that Roscoe developed the Fruit Pieces that are still re-enacted today. Roscoe's work can be assumed as highly based on a instructional dramaturgy, however it's autobiographical element, namely the constant repetition and fetishisation of fruit suggests a long-ing to reveal and at the same time disguise a multifaceted yet finite metaphor not only for Roscoe's past, present and future but one that suggests that there is an intrinsic link beyond his corporeal flesh to that of pulp, within this metaphor Roscoe places himself as a site of divergence between the biochemical differences between his DNA and that of a Banana.
Personal life
Not much is known about Roscoe's personal history. In their re-enactment projects, many contemporary British (and some Dutch) theatre artists are attempting to trace his first wife, Felicia Brownstone, but have been unable to retrieve any information about her except for their wedding certificate. It is believed that she remarried shortly after her divorce with Roscoe in 1971.
Art world
Although it is believed that he was well-known among artists during his Fruit Piece period, too much information has been lost to correctly describe his influence on the art world. His work was dependent on a lack of performance documentation, from a belief that no work should life for longer than its presentation. Even possessions that would have a reasonable shelf life, under Roscoe's dominion seemed to perish quickly. Books thick with blue green mould, records that appear to have been got at by power tools and photographs that seem to have gone through the wash more frequently than Roscoe's clothes; found among his personal effects are all evidence that he was intentionally catalysing decay.

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