Submitted by Andrew Boyd of Agit-Pop.com:

In January, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations can spend unlimited $$ in our elections. In July, Target gave $150,000 to the anti-gay, anti-worker candidate for Gov. of MN. Last week, a quarter million people pledged to boycott Target.

Yesterday . . .

Learn more — Take Action — Sign the Petition at www.targetboycott.org

Street artists step it up with 3D
by Leslie Katz
CNET
July 26, 2010

You don’t need special glasses to view the 3D street art in the gallery below, but you do need to approach it from just the right vantage point to see or photograph the full effect.

The mind-bending images are inspired by anamorphism, a centuries-old technique used in frescoes and other drawings to create the illusion of height and width (as such, 3D street painting is sometimes called anamorphic or illusionistic).

Scroll through the pictures to view vivid imagery that turns 2D asphalt into amazing 3D art. (more…)

July 19, 2010 Updates:

Twitter Communiques From Fake French Foreign Ministry on Haiti Hoax
by Robert Mackey
The Lede Blog, NY Times
July 16, 2010

A group calling itself The Committee for the Immediate Reimbursement of Funds Taken From Haiti took credit on Friday for an elaborate hoax carried out this week in which an actor pretending to be a spokesperson for the French government announced that France would reimburse Haiti money it was forced to pay in exchange for its independence in the nineteenth century.

As The Lede explained on Thursday, the fake announcement was posted on a near replica of the French foreign ministry’s Web site on Wednesday in both video and text form.

In an update posted on a Twitter feed established this week, in the guise of France’s foreign ministry, the group, using the French form of its name, announced:

(more…)

What Women Want: Mel Gibson’s Recut Trailer
Slate
July 14, 2010

Following the release of Mel Gibson’s profane rants against his ex-girlfriend, Slate V conjures a new NSFW version of the trailer for “What Women Want.”

New from Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere:

Star Wars Subway Car

For our latest mission, we staged a reenactment of the first Princess Leia / Darth Vader scene from Star Wars on a New York City subway car. The white walls and sliding doors on the train reminded us of the rebel ship from the movie, and we thought it would be fun to see how people would react to a surprise appearance by the iconic characters. We spread out the actors along the train line, staging it so they would enter the right car at the right time. Enjoy the video first and then go behind-the-scenes for photos and more information.

edited by Matt Adams, music by Gustav Holst, arranged by Tyler Walker

More related links for Improv Everywhere here.

Here’s an amazing new wall-painted animation from Blu:

Directed and animated by BLU
Produced and distributed by ARTSH.it
Soundtrack by Andrea Martignoni

For more from Blu:

Bach and Beyond: New Yorkers Plunk on Public Pianos
by Al Jones
1010WINS
June 21, 2010

New York (AP/ 1010 WINS) — Amid an urban orchestra of honking cabs, sirens and jackhammers, piano lovers plinked out tunes from Bach’s “Minuet in G” to Elton John’s “Rocket Man” on the first day dozens of public pianos were placed at New York City landmarks and parks for a public art project.

In bustling Times Square, on a traffic triangle in the East Village and at a park with the Statue of Liberty in the background, players flocked to the 60 pianos Monday as audiences applauded from taxicabs and sidewalks.

“This is the first time I’ve ever touched a piano,” said Lynette Morris, a 52-year-old hospital maintenance worker from the Bronx. She had just sat down at one of the instruments in the East Village, situated at the top of subway stairs.

“I can’t play but I’m going to try,” Morris said.

Moments later, as construction trucks beeped and traffic roared by, a more experienced player got his chance on the bench. New Yorkers, who don’t stop for much, halted in their tracks to listen as he ran through classics like Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer” and Vince Guaraldi’s “Linus and Lucy,” otherwise known as the “Peanuts” theme.

During his final number, “Let It Be” by the Beatles, a guy manning a nearby coffee cart stuck his head out and belted out part of the chorus. (more…)

Czech art guerrillas face police investigation over new project
Earth Times News
German Press Agency (DPA)
June 18, 2010

Prague – Czech art pranksters, whose Ztohoven art collective gained international notoriety for implanting images of a fictional atomic blast on live television, face legal action for their latest prank.

Police on Friday launched an investigation into the group’s latest project, during which 12 guerrilla artists lived for months under each other’s identity.

The action aimed to draw the attention to the omnipresent Big-Brother-like control of the public by authorities.

The artists applied for new identity cards with computer-altered photographs that combined features of two members of the group – the man who would use the card and the man in whose name it was issued. (more…)

This project is derivative of Banksy’s Fat Lane, which created a walking lane for obese people, which was itself derivative of Joey Skaggs’ 1984 Walk Right! project, in which a group of street vigilantes enforced 66 rules of street etiquette for New Yorkers, but New Yorkers apparently still don’t know how to walk right…

From Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere:

The Tourist Lane

For our latest mission, we created separate walking lanes for tourists and New Yorkers on a Fifth Avenue sidewalk. Department of Transportation “employees” were on hand to enforce the new rules and ask pedestrians for their feedback on the initiative.

For video and more photos, visit Improv Everywhere.

Idea by: Jeff Greenspan
Shot by: Matt Adams, Jason Eppink, and Keith Haskel
Photography: Katie Sokoler and Scott Beale
DOT Workers: Dan Black, Don Fanelli, Jeff Greenspan, Cody Lindquist

Submitted by Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere:

For our latest mission, we brought the movie Ghostbusters to life in the reading room of The New York Public Library at 42 Street. The 1984 movie begins with a scene in the very same room, so we figured it was time for the Ghostbusters to make an encore appearance.

The New York Public Library approached us about a month ago and asked if we would want to stage an Improv Everywhere mission on their property. The library is facing serious budget cuts, and they thought having us do something awesome there might serve to remind people of how great the NYPL is. We couldn’t say no to the opportunity to do something in their gorgeous, 100 year-old Rose Main Reading Room.

Shot by: Matt Adams, Brian Fountain, Erik Martin, Caleb Heller, Kristopher Knight, and Ariane West
Photography: Katie Sokoler and Brian Fountain
Ghostbusters: Kevin Hines, Rob Lathan, Justin Purnell, Alex Scordelis
Ghosts: Ben Rodgers, Amos Vernon, Tyler Walker

For more info and photos, visit Improv Everywhere

Submitted by Larry Croft:

As seen on urbanvelo.org:

Mimosa Pale, an artist from Finland, invites her fellow citizens to climb into her vagina-themed bike taxi. Her intention is to protest the world’s fascination with phallic objects, and so three times a week she hits the streets of Helsinki.

Read the whole story at www.jalopnik.com

Submitted by Deborah Thomas of Seque Foundation:

“Rob’s Word Shop”, a storefront shop where individual letters and words can be purchased, is open for business at 308 Bowery (the south window at the Bowery Poetry Club) in New York City.

From Rob’s blog, where you’ll find a daily diary about his word shop:

Single letters are 50 cents and single words are 1 dollar. As the sole proprietor of the store, I invite you personally to stop by for a chat and buy a letter or a word. These chats will be recorded and, with your permission, collected in a book form at the end of the month.

Shop hours are Tuesday through Thursday 11-2PM from May 5-May 27.

From Melbourne Art & Culture Critic, May 2, 2010:

Pranksters struck at one of Melbourne’s train stations again. This time they altered a ticket machine’s instructions to dispense university degrees. The alterations used stickers of the same color and typeface, cut to fit over the existing information, it was so subtle that staff at the station didn’t notice them until informed by a confused customer. (Thanks to Jane for the photos.)

Close-up view:

From Franco & Eva Mattes, aka 0100101110101101.ORG, May 1, 2010:

Artist Commits Suicide Online as a Work of Art (well, sort of)

Thousand of people watched powerless while a person was hanging from the ceiling, slowly swinging, for hours and hours. It happened yesterday, in the popular website Chatroulette, where people from all over the world can anonymously and randomly see each other through their webcams and chat with perfect strangers.

The hanging man was in fact Brooklyn based artist Franco Mattes, and the whole scene a set up. The artist recorded all the performance and than posted it online. In the video, titled “No Fun”, one can see all possible reactions, from the most predictable to the most unthinkable: some laugh, believing it’s a joke, some seem to be completely unmoved, some insult the supposed-corpse and some, more cynical, take pictures with their phones. Apparently, out of several thousand people, only one called the police. Watching the video can be a strange experience, at times exhilarating as well as disturbing.

(more…)

Internet prankster takes on Costco
By QMI Agency
Toronto Sun
April 28, 2010

If you’re shopping at Costco and you come across a price tag for “Goat Balls,” “Human infant skull replicas,” or “The Gift of the Magi,” your eyes aren’t deceiving you.

They’re the handiwork of Rob Cockerham, a tech support worker in Sacramento, Calif., who has a website and a propensity for pranking.

“I am a Costco member, specializing in purchases of bananas and milk. On a recent visit in search of a quality, yet low-priced tequila, I realized that their on-shelf price tags are rather generic,” wrote Cockerham on his website, Cockeyed.com.

“They are printed without decoration, black on white paper measuring four by seven inches, with a straightforward layout using common fonts. And if I can make it, I can prank it.” So he made a list of all the products he thinks Costco should have, such as a “Vinyl dungeon restraint system,” “Canine/feline pacemaker kits,” and “Bottled vodka in water bottles.” He then set about making and printing the fake price tags, laminating them, and affixing them with magnetic strips. (more…)