…Exploring the role of the prankster as artist, activist and social observer and the significance of the prank in society.
JOEY SKAGGS SATIRE AND ART ACTIVISM,
1960s TO THE PRESENT AND BEYOND
A new series of short oral history films,
produced and directed by Judy Drosd and Joey Skaggs
ART OF THE PRANK, THE MOVIE:
Andrea Marini’s award winning feature documentary about
New York artist and activist Joey Skaggs
This “sticky” post will be here for a while. Scroll down for other posts.
“Joey Skaggs: The Solomon Project” (16:22) will screen at Miami Web Fest
In 1995, Dr. Joseph Bonuso, Ph.D. (a.k.a. Joey Skaggs), announced that he, along with 150 computer scientists and attorneys specializing in artificial intelligence, had developed a solution to the crisis of American jurisprudence, They were poised to radically revamp the entire judicial system using a distributed program running on a set of super computers that could deliberate on evidence and render swift, unassailable equal justice for all, putting judges in the back seat and relegating juries to history.
This is the tenth film in the oral history series “Joey Skaggs Satire and Art Activism oral history series“.
Hyperallergic.com’s report on the state of the art world in 2024.
Says Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor, “As the Venice Biennale approaches, Israel’s air force flattens all neighboring pavilions at the international exhibition, claiming that Hamas fighters are hiding underneath. The Biden administration has already pledged $225 million for the repairs. Get all the details on this developing story in our report today.
Meanwhile, Germany’s National Gallery in Berlin removes all artwork depicting rivers or seas from view to avoid any possible allusion to the chant “From the River to Sea, Palestine Will Be Free.”
Back here in New York, the Whitney Biennial puts out an open call for “controversial” work in light of disappointing admission numbers this year. At the same time, we’re seeing fatigue of art-world activists as hundreds sign an open letter against open letters.
In other news, art handlers are elected the art world’s “best lovers” in a new survey, while another research finds that 93% of people use art catalogues primarily as coasters. There’s more, including exciting news about the discovery of history’s first thumbs-up “like” symbol in France’s Lascaux cave and a new phone app that allows you to date AI versions of dead artists. Welcome to April!” See the whole report here, probably today only though.
Droplifting–adding objects or messages to store shelves to make a political statement–is treated as a minor irritant in the United States. Placing 5 labels protesting Russia’s war against Ukraine on grocery store items has yielded 7 years in a penal colony for artist Aleksandra Skochilenko.
If we take our freedoms for granted, we might lose them.
Russian artist jailed for seven years over Ukraine war price tag protest, by Andrew Roth, The Guardian, November 16, 2023
Aleksandra Skochilenko replaced five supermarket price tags with pieces of paper urging shoppers to stop the war
…“How fragile must the prosecutor’s belief in our state and society be, if he thinks that our statehood and public safety can be brought down by five small pieces of paper?” said Skochilenko, 33, in a final statement in court on Thursday.
“Despite being behind bars, I am freer than you,” she said. “I’m not afraid to be different from others. Perhaps that’s why my state is so afraid of me and others like me and keeps me caged like a dangerous animal.” Read the whole article here.
The Museu de l’Art Prohibit opened to the public on October 26, 2023.
Barcelona Museum Gives Censored Art a Permanent Home, by Maya Pontone, Hyperallergic.com, October 10, 2023
The new Museu de l’Art Prohibit will house a collection of more than 200 artworks that have been removed, banned, or denounced.
Where does art deemed controversial go after it’s been removed, banned, or denounced? One possible destination: the Museu de l’Art Prohibit, opening later this month in Barcelona to house a wide assortment of censored artworks.
Spanning two floors with over 200 paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, and more by mostly modern and contemporary artists including Gustav Klimt, Ai Wei Wei, Tania Bruguera, and Banksy, the museum’s diverse collection explores the censorship of art due to “political, social or religious reasons.” Read more here.