The Austrian Expressionist artist Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) was a real eccentric. When his girlfriend Alma Mahler dumped him, he decided to continue the relationship with a life-size replica made by the celebrated Munich doll-maker Hermine Moos. Kokoschka dressed his doll in the finest fashions and wheeled her round town to be his constant escort at the opera, the theatre and the best restaurants. Polite society was, of course, outraged.
Sadly, the relationship cooled in time and Kokoschka's doll was ceremonially beheaded after a riotous all-night party at his gaff. But her memory lives on as the name of a local Durham electro-acoustic project, the brainchild of composer Bob Wieck of Brancepeth Castle. I used to be in band with Bob back in the 90's and though Britpop (or Goth-Psych in our case) is now but a memory, Bob's synthesizer frenzies are still going from strength to strength. You can check out his gear at http://soundcloud.com/kokoschkas-doll
