…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.
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”
This has been around, but for those who haven’t seen it or want to see it again, it’s certainly worth sharing! Created by Jamal N. Qutub, who is a director, designer and animator (see http://nimpsy.com) and written by James Huber (see http://www.jhuger.com/kisshank.php). -JS
In 1993, Mark Dery wrote this seminal discourse coining the phrase Culture Jamming. I think it’s a must read for anyone interested in the subject. This is an open source document and is available on Mark Dery’s Web site. JS
“Culture jamming,” a term I have popularized by articles in The New York Times and Adbusters, might best be defined as media hacking, information warfare, terror-art, and guerrilla semiotics, all in one. Billboard bandits, pirate TV and radio broadcasters, media hoaxers, and other vernacular media wrenchers who intrude on the intruders, investing ads, newscasts, and other media artifacts with subversive meanings are all culture jammers. Continue reading “Culture Jamming: Hacking, Slashing and Sniping in the Empire of Signs by Mark Dery”
Here’s a definition of “reality hacking” from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia -JS
Reality hacking is an artistic practice that emerges from the intersection of hacking and hacker culture, contemporary art, activism, and net culture. Reality hacking takes as its basis a broad, phenomenological point of view of the world, and considers (often unorthodox) investigations into everyday objects and situations a meaningful way of probing into the working of varied social contexts.
Reality Hacking as Political Activism
“Reality hacking” is a form of activism that relies on tweaking the every-day communications most easily available to individuals with the purpose of awakening the political and community conscience of the larger population. The term first came into use among New York and San Francisco artists, but has since been adopted by a school of political activists centered around Social Redemption. Continue reading “Reality Hacking Defined”
This story is from Wireless Flash News, March 27, 2007. -DM
SAN DIEGO (Wireless Flash) — Champagne is the drink for New Years’ Eve and the margarita is made for Cinco De Mayo, and now one mixologist hopes to make the “Cement Mixer,” the No.1 cocktail for April Fools’ Day. Continue reading “Celebrate April Fools’ Day With a Cement Mixer”