All About Pranks - The Art of the Prank

April 18, 2007January 15, 2019

Verizon, AT&T and the manipulation of public opinion

Commentary:

by Bruce Kushnick
for Nieman Watchdog,
Nieman Foundation for Journalism
at Harvard University

April 4, 2007

Needed: Blacks, Hispanics, disabled, deaf, low-income and the elderly to support the telecoms” positions on anti-consumer FCC rulings and legislation.

DEFINITIONS:

Astroturf””An organization set up by a large corporation or corporations to put forward the corporate agenda but to look like an authentic ‘grass-roots’ group.

Co-opted””An authentic group that is given funding by a large corporation or corporations, where the group lobbies for corporate initiatives even if they are contrary to the needs of its members.

Skunkworks””A well coordinated campaign funded by large corporations (or industries) that incorporates Astroturf and co-opted groups, research think tanks, PR firms, lobbying firms, state and federal politicians to put forward the corporate agenda on a specific topic.

Over the last few weeks numerous groups have been lobbying and hyping the corporate position of AT&T and Verizon for relaxed cable franchise requirements or to stop any net neutrality legislation.

Some of these groups are working together to supply a message that blacks, Hispanics, seniors, low income, deaf or disabled persons care about these issues – and that they back the AT&T and Verizon positions. Continue reading “Verizon, AT&T and the manipulation of public opinion”

April 18, 2007January 15, 2019

Allan Kaprow – still “happening”

Allan Kaprow (1927-2006) died a year ago, but his inspiration and influence lives on…

“The trail-blazer of Environments and Happenings, Allan influenced Claes Oldenburg and Jim Dine, among others in the late 1950s. He was also a formative influence on subsequent Installation Art and Performance Art” – Irving Sandler

Three Eulogies by: Robert C. Morgan, Wolf Kahn, and Irving Sandler, from: The Brooklyn Rail

A biography compiled from Phaidon Dictionary of Twentieth Century Art; Claude Marks’ World Artists 1950-1980 via: UBUWEB

Interview from: The Journal of Contemporary Art

April 14, 2007January 15, 2019

Coyle & Sharpe: The Imposters Podcasts, Episodes 1, 2 & 3

Here are the first 3 episodes of a series of podcasts of historic Coyle & Sharpe satire presented by Jesse Thorn of The Sound of Young America.

Each podcast is 5 to 7 minutes long. We’ll put up new episodes every Wednesday as they are released.

Here’s a little history from Jesse’s blog at maximumfun.org:

In the early 1960s, James P. Coyle and Mal Sharpe roamed the streets of San Francisco, microphone in hand, roping strangers into bizarre schemes and surreal stunts. Today, their humor is a cultural touchstone for artists as varied as Henry Rollins and The Upright Citizens Brigade.

These recordings are from the Sharpe family archive, which is tended by Mal’s daughter, Jennifer Sharpe. You can learn more about Coyle & Sharpe on their Website or on MySpace.

You can also listen to these podcasts at The Sound of Young America or you can subscribe to them in iTunes.

April 13, 2007January 15, 2019

Alfred Jarry, the father of ‘pataphysics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Alfred Jarry (September 8, 1873 – November 1, 1907) was a French writer born in Laval, Mayenne, France, not far from the border of Brittany; he was of Breton descent on his mother’s side.

Best known for his play Ubu Roi (1896), which is often cited as a forerunner to the theatre of the absurd, Jarry wrote in a variety of genres and styles. He wrote plays, novels, poetry, essays and speculative journalism. His texts present some pioneering work in the field of absurdist literature. Sometimes grotesque or misunderstood (i.e. the opening line in his play Ubu Roi, “Merdre!”, has been translated into English as “Shittr!”, “Shikt!”, and “Pschitt!”), he invented a science called ‘pataphysics.

Biography and works

A precociously brilliant student, Jarry enthralled his classmates with a gift for pranks and troublemaking.

At the lycée in Rennes when he was 15, he led of a group of boys who devoted much time and energy to poking fun at their well-meaning, obese and incompetent physics teacher, a man named Hébert. Jarry and classmate Charles Morin wrote a play they called Les Polonais and performed it with marionettes in the home of one of their friends. The main character, Père Heb, was a blunderer with a huge belly; three teeth (one of stone, one of iron, and one of wood); a single, retractable ear; and a misshapen body. In Jarry’s later work Ubu Roi, Père Heb would develop into Ubu, one of the most monstrous and astonishing characters in French literature.

April 13, 2007January 15, 2019

“Pataphysics, the science of imaginary solutions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

‘Pataphysics, a term coined by the French writer Alfred Jarry, is a philosophy dedicated to studying what lies beyond the realm of metaphysics. It is a parody of the theory and methods of modern science and is often expressed in nonsensical language. A practitioner of ‘pataphysics is a ‘pataphysician or a ‘pataphysicist.

The term first appeared in print in Alfred Jarry’s play text “Guignol” in the 28 April 1893 issue of L’à‰cho de Paris littéraire illustré. Jarry later defined it as “the science of imaginary solutions, which symbolically attributes the properties of objects, described by their virtuality, to their lineaments” (Gestes et opinions du Docteur Faustroll, II, viii). Raymond Queneau has described ‘pataphysics as resting “on the truth of contradictions and exceptions.”

Jarry mandated the inclusion of the apostrophe in the orthography “to avoid a simple pun,” the pun possibly being patte à physique (leg of physics), as interpreted by Jarry scholars Keith Beaumont and Roger Shattuck, or possibly pas ta physique (not your physics), or maybe “Pâte à physique” (physics dough).