pile of bricks

As the dawn broke, revealing a pile of bricks, the local outcry led to rage as far away as Australia and the US, as supporters called for the iconic watering hole to be rebuilt, exactly as it had been.

Outrage and debate raged in the press for days, with many seeing Andre's humble "pile of bricks" as irrefutable proof of the con of modern art.

Carl Andre was a highly influential artist, but his death this week has revived memories of two of art's most controversial episodes - one involving his "pile of bricks" sculptures, and the other surrounding the mysterious death of his wife.

She could hear the pounding of jackhammers; an excavator was crawling over a pile of bricks at the rear of the house while workers in hard hats swept the soil.

"Here we had a fireplace, where our family gathered," says the 52-year-old, pointing to a pile of bricks and chimney debris.