99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

6' x 20' bronze, glass, ceramic, and steel available

The initial installation of 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall was in late 2016 at [Artspace] at Untitled.

Four-H Camp for Phelps was held at a campground on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Singing the old song 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall was one way of passing the time on the long bus ride to and from camp. Most of Phelps' works are rooted in his youth on the farm. 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall is no exception. Grandfather Lloyd L Phelps Sr. (1911-1994) bought property throughout his life as a farmer. He bought unleveled acreages which could only be dry-farmed. As he was able to, he leveled parcels of land so that it could be irrigated. Eventually, all the property was level and irrigated. An abandoned privy site was uncovered during one of the levelings. In the 1800's it was common to toss all sorts of trash in the hole when a privy had to be relocated. This particular site contained a pristine salt-fired Amsterdam gin bottle that his grandparents displayed in their home. Inspired by the Amsterdam gin bottle, Phelps began collecting glass and salt-fired bottles from the 1800s. A skull also played a prominent role in the mystery of farm history. The skull was on the farmyard when grandfather Phelps bought the homestead in the 1940s. One of Phelps’ earliest memories was the skull and an old bakelite radio on top of a cabinet in the shop, sometimes sporting a cigar and fedora. All these early memories from the farm played a major role in the creation of 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.