…Exploring the role of the prankster as artist, activist and social observer and the significance of the prank in society.
The artist as social provocateur and activist incorporates humor, satire, irony, political commentary and/or direct action to provoke critical thinking. Pranks challenge convention and the status quo and expose prejudices and biases.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The New York April Fools’ Committee Is Proud to Announce:
NEW YORK CITY’S 22nd ANNUAL APRIL FOOLS’ DAY PARADE
THE CIRCUS IS COMING! THE CIRCUS IS COMING!
The 22nd Annual April Fools’ Day Parade will march down Fifth Avenue, from 59th Street to Washington Square Park, beginning at 12 noon, Sunday, April 1, 2007. Continue reading “The 22nd Annual April Fools’ Day Parade”
Greenpeace activists performed an amusing and savvy intervention on a Kleenex commercial shoot in Times Square, effectively hijacking their ad campaign, and shutting down the shoot for the rest of the day (March 24th 2007). Kleenex, responsible for vast old-growth forest destruction in Northern Canada’s Boreal Forest, opened the door for this one.
Friends of mine at notanalternative.net put together this neat little video of the jam:
And check out the main campaign against Kleenex’s criminal timber practices at: http://kleercut.net (a good culture jam in its own right).
With additional coverage here at gothamist.com.
…or so numerous people believed before it was revealed to be a deftly executed hoax. Havidol (the brand name of generic drug avafynetyme) is an entirely nonexistent anti-depressant, the brainchild of artist Justine Cooper, but that hasn’t stopped it from being featured on numerous community-run websites that purport to inform the miserable masses about their options for psychopharmaceutical salvation. Cooper set out to skewer drug companies and their advertising that masquerades as unbiased consumer information. It’s just a bonus that she also shed light on how easy it is for well-meaning individuals to disseminate plausible but completely incorrect information in the name of providing a public service. – RF
HAVIDOL is for the treatment of Dysphoric Social Attention Consumption Deficit Anxiety Disorder (DSACDAD). It is the only known medication available for this newly recognized disorder.
Reuters video about the hoax campaign
Pranks for Everything
Tech Space: Daily Notes on Science and Silicon
USA Today
by Angela Gunn
April 2, 2007
Joey Skaggs Launches Art of the Prank
boingboing.net
by David Pescovitz
April 1, 2007
Joey Skaggs Launches Pranks.com ArtofthePrank.com, The Art of the Prank
laughingsquid.com
by Scott Beale
April 1, 2007
The Art of the Prank
April Fools’ Is Always More Fun When The Joke’s Not on You
Washington Post
by Dan Zak
April 1, 2007
The Art of the Prank
About: Urban Legends and Folklore
by David Emery
March 31, 2007
The Wilson Show
Joey Skaggs Radio Interview (5:19) about Pranks.com ArtofthePrank.com [mp3, 1.2 MB]
WIBC, Indianapolis, Indiana
March 30, 2007
PRWEB Podcast
Joey Skaggs Interview (5:22) about Pranks.com ArtofthePrank.com [mp3, 5.0 MB]
March 29, 2007
The Billboard:
Most billboards are wheat-pasted posters, coming in two standard sizes, the most common being 12 x 22 feet. These are the billboards you see atop taller buildings and along the highway. The freestanding billboard of this size can be accessed with a 12 foot ladder. To access the ones atop buildings, you need Continue reading “Instructions for Billboard Liberation”