This film excerpt of Joey Skaggs as Santa Claus pedaling his “Santa’s Missile Tow” mobile rocket launcher to the United Nations in New York City is from Art of the Prank, Andrea Marini’s feature documentary about artist Joey Skaggs. The film is available on Amazon Prime, Peacock, YouTube and other streaming services.
Hyperallergic Revisits Joey Skaggs “Vietnamese Christmas Nativity Burning” (1968)
Peace on Earth? Not everywhere. 56 years later, and there’s still no merry Christmas in war.
Emma Cieslik covers artists’ renditions of the Nativity throughout history for Hyperallergic in “Nativity Scenes Have Never Been Neutral,” including Joey Skaggs’ “Vietnamese Christmas Nativity Burning” in 1968.
The Great White Hoax, by Philip Kadish
Heads up! The Great White Hoax, Frauds, Forgeries, and 200 Years of Selling Racism in America, a new book by Philip Kadish, is available for pre-order and will be out in June here, here, and more.
Blurb:
“Fake news, outright political lies, a shamelessly partisan press, and the collapse of truth, civility, and shared facts, Philip Kadish argues, are nothing new. The Great White Hoax, a masterpiece of history and literary sleuthing, reveals that the era of Fox News and Donald Trump is simply a return to form. We have been here before.”
Flashback: Operation Fortitude
The heroism, courage and outrageous deception that helped the allies win WWII.
D-Day deception Operation Fortitude: The World War Two army that didn’t exist, by Taylor Downing, BBC, June 1, 2024
“When it came to planning for D-Day, the biggest amphibious operation ever launched, the need for a detailed deception plan was even greater. When discussing the invasion with Joseph Stalin at Tehran, Winston Churchill used the phrase, ‘In wartime truth is so precious that it should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.’ This perfectly summed up the Allied view of deception.” Read more here.
The Army That Never Was, Taylor Downing’s new book, is available now.
“Joey Skaggs: The Solomon Project” Wins Best TV/Web Episode
29 years ago, Joey Skaggs created The Solomon Project, a series of super computers utilizing AI to replace the entire American judicial system… What could possibly go wrong?
Last month (September 2024), Joey Skaggs’ oral history documentary, “Joey Skaggs: The Solomon Project,” an episode in the oral history series, “Joey Skaggs Satire and Art Activism, 1960s to the Present and Beyond,” was awarded Best TV/Web Episode by the Williamsburg International Film and Music Competition (WilliFest).
Next month (November, 2024), it will be featured in the NewsFest Film and Writers’ Festival and the South Carolina Underground Film Festival!