Blog Posts

Mirage Men: Smoke, Mirrors & Government Disinformation

posted by
Filed under: Conspiracy Theories, Fact or Fiction?, Urban Legends

AOTP contributor John Lundberg’s movie Mirage Men, co-produced with Mark Pilkington, Roland Denning & Kypros Kyprianou, is now available for rent and on DVD. The book, Mirage Men: A Journey into Disinformation, Paranoia and UFOs: The Weird Truth Behind UFOs, written by Mark Pilkington and published in 2010 by Constable, documents the making of the film.

Watch the trailer:

The Guardian in the UK covered the movie:

The real Men in Black, Hollywood and the great UFO cover-up

In a new documentary, US government agents claim they spent decades giving fake evidence of extraterrestrials to gullible ufologists. But why? And how can we trust them now?

Read the whole article here.


Banksy’s Antics Roadshow Ads

by
Filed under: Culture Jamming and Reality Hacking, Pranksters

Updated and corrected August 19, 2011:


From John Lundberg of circlemakers.org:


Banksy also played around during The Antics Roadshow ad breaks. Here’s a compilation of his handy-work.

Here too is a recent piece he put up outside Bristol on the M32, which is featured in one of the ad breaks. In our earlier post, we suggested it might be part of the ‘See No Evil’ street art project that starts on August 20, 2011 in Bristol. But, apparently it’s not… Funny, none-the-less.



Related link:

  • Banksy’s Prank TV Special
  • Banksy Takes On IKEA Croydon

    by
    Filed under: Art Pranks, Culture Jamming and Reality Hacking

    ‘Large Graffiti Slogan’ by Banksy
    by John Lundberg of circlemakers.org
    September 21, 2009

    banksy_ikea-200Banksy has created a new street piece, this time somewhat off the beaten track in Croydon, Surrey, on the outskirts of London.

    The piece depicts a punk struggling to assemble a flat pack graffiti slogan – purchased from IEAK – on the wall behind him. The piece obviously references the home furnishing store IKEA. The placement of the piece is well thought out, as is usual for Banksy. Over the wall you can see the distinctive twin towers of IKEA, Croydon, with their yellow and blue branding. Also, the piece is situated between two billboards.

    The text on the box reads ‘LARGE GRAFFITI SLOGAN (some assembly required)’, a witty reference to off the peg anarchy. The punk character with his distinctive five pointed Mohican haircut was previously featured in a painting on display at the Banksy Versus Bristol Museum Summer Show called ‘Don’t Forget Your Scarf’.

    More photos: (more…)

    Banksy’s Westway Highwayman

    by
    Filed under: Art Pranks, Culture Jamming and Reality Hacking

    Banksy’s Westway Highwayman, by John Lundberg of circlemakers.org:


    Coinciding with the last week of his show at the Bristol City Museum which has seen crowds queuing for up to 6 hours to view the exhibition, Banksy has created a new piece on the streets – or should that be roofs – of London.

    banksy_highwayman_2-425

    The ‘Highwayman’ as it’s been dubbed has been painted on one of 2 towers that sit on the roof of ‘Great Western Studios’, a building that up until recently housed 140 artists and creative businesses. The building was previously a railway warehouse. The ‘Highwayman’ is situated next to the A40(M) Westway, a major highway that runs through West London.

    The image which is over 20ft tall depicts a rearing horse with a capped rider holding a paint roller aloft. He’s also wearing a hat and scarf that are the trademarks of the infamous English rogue and highwayman Dick Turpin. On the back of the tower the words ‘LIVE FAST DRIVE SLOW” have been written and the 2 towers have been daubed with pink paint including a love heart with an arrow piercing it, most likely applied by filling a fire extinguisher with paint. The best view of the artwork is from the Westway.

    banksy_highwayman_heart
    (more…)