The Art of the Prank is one year old today!
Many, many thanks to all the supporters, contributors, readers, and friends who have made it such a great success!
images: party balloons, zombies
Duchamp, Man Ray, Picabia at the Tate Modern
Duchamp, Man Ray, Picabia
The Moment Art Changed Forever
At the Tate Modern, London
Now through May 26, 2008
From the Tate Modern Web site:
Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray and Francis Picabia were at the cutting edge of art in the first half of the twentieth century, and made a lasting impression on modern and contemporary art. Duchamp invented the concept of the “˜readymade”: presenting an everyday object as an artwork, Man Ray pioneered avant-garde photographic and film techniques and Picabia”s use of kitsch, popular or low-brow imagery in his paintings undermined artistic conventions.
Their shared outlook on life and art, with a taste for jokes, irony and the erotic, forged a friendship that provided support and inspiration. At the heart of the Dada movement and moving in the same artistic circles, they discussed ideas and collaborated, echoing and responding to each other”s works. Duchamp, Man Ray, Picabia explores their affinities and parallels, uncovering a shared approach to questioning the nature of art.
via artdaily.org
The Passion of Andy Kaufman
This is a 2 hour and 27 minute documentary produced by Alan Graham and edited by Don Alex Hixx as a tribute to the legendary Andy Kaufman:
You can also view it on Google or on Best Free Documentaries.
Pranks, Pranksters, Trickster & Tricks: Class is in Session!
Editor’s note: Artist and ArtofthePrank.com editor Joey Skaggs will be joining the online class the week of February 18. Check it out!
Tricksters and Pranks with R.U. Sirius – February 11 – March 23, 2008
Pranks and Pranksters, Tricksters & Tricks — the brilliant ones open up a space in the world for magic(k), ambiguity, and novelty. They encourage us to Question Authority and better still, they cause us to Question Reality.
In this course, we will discuss the history of pranks and pranksterism in the contemporary world. We will examine mythical and world historic tricksters like Coyote, Bugs Bunny, Crowley, Puck, Heyoka, Papa Legba, Lucifer, and more. And we’ll explore and discuss the role pranksters and tricksters play in cultures. I will also discuss some of my own pranks and tricks and legendary pranksters Mark Hosler of Negativland and Joey Skaggs will be dropping in on the course to answer questions.
Finally, we will plan pranks, make pranks, and maybe even leave the course with a dedicated prankster cabal. No fooling.
For more information visit the Maybe Logic Institute. If that link doesn’t work, go here.
Related links:
Destiny Interviews RU Sirius
Writer, Destiny interviews RU Sirius about the online Pranks course he’ll soon be teaching:
On February 11 (Note new date), countercultural writer and historian RU Sirius is teaching an online course on Pranks, Pranksters, Tricksters, & Tricks for the Maybe Logic Institute, an online academy started by friends and supporters of the late Discordian legend Robert Anton Wilson. Sirius promises to teach trickster mythology and prankster history and to lead the class in planning and making pranks. Prankster legend/ArtofthePrank.com Editor Joey Skaggs, and Mark Hosler of Negativland, will both be dropping in on the course. I asked him a few questions about the upcoming class.
Destiny: Your course covers Pranksters and Tricksters. Is there a difference between them?
RU Sirius: There’s a lot of crossover, but yeah, they’re different. For starters, obviously the trickster is a mythological concept — or a series of mythological figures — and a prankster is a real flesh and blood mortal. Trickster activities generally take place among the gods. Tricksters prank powerful, otherworldly beings while pranksters prank schmucks who think they’re in control. Continue reading “Destiny Interviews RU Sirius”