Billboard Liberation Front at Steven Wolf Fine Art

http://www.stevenwolffinearts.com/dynamic/exhibit_artist.asp?ExhibitID=152

This show is not a retrospective, rather a small selection by Steven of two memorable BLF “Improvements” with beautiful photos by A. Leo Nash and Nicole Rosenthal. We’ll be sharing the gallery with  Anthony Discenza, Jacqueline Gordon, Victor Moscoso and psychedelic poster artist Robert Fried. The opening is this Saturday the 12th of July, 2014. I won’t be there – I’m off on a UE trip to the Midwest. Other BLF Ops may be in attendance. Steven is planning a closing party for August 16th which I will be attending – I’ll be missing Lynyrd Skynyrd to be at this closing party, a sacrifice I had to make, so I hope you will drop what you’re doing and stop on by too.

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The BLF finally retired a few years ago after a 35 year run. It had been a lot of fun, but the thrill was gone. Addressing later generations in a book foreword, Shepard Fairey said (to paraphrase a bit):  “Check out the BLF, they’ve been hacking billboards since before you were born!” And that was  years ago.

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Then, a few years later, I was inadvertently outed by my pal, rocker Anton Newcomb and, unlike Banksy, no one seemed to notice or much care. Ow! Then I outed long time copywriting partner and retired BLF propagandist Stuart Mangrum “_____ DeCoverly”. Bruised egos crave company….  Well, I had to remind myself, it was a heckadventure and, after any number of close calls, we remained unscathed, un-injured (35 years and not one single work place accident!) and with the exception of the initialSuicide Club improvement in 1977, un-captured. We had stayed incognito, using silly nom de guerres, sporting masks, dyed hair, funny glasses and the like, for decades. We kidnapped journalists, shocking and amusing them enough that they wrote about our exploits with humor and energy without being too critical. 2299339442_3cb655b744_o

By the end of the new millenniums first decade, the new generation of BLF Ops had moved on to the serious pursuits of middle age. Many passed thru the organization over the years, most were fellow pranksters in Cacophony and the earlier Suicide Club. Co-founder Irving Glikk (David T. Warren, co-founder of the Suicide Club and early ignitor of the silly wooden figure now worshipped on the Black Rock Desert each year) passed away in 2010 at seventy-one. Dave was one of the great inspirations in my life. He was the “Spirit of Chaos” in the Suicide Club. Once in the late 70′s as I was just embarking on a lengthy solo cross-country hitch-hiking adventure, Dave with somber mien, gave me a giant rubber thumb declaring: “Here kid, you’ll need this on the road!”

2299346658_472e38004a_oThe BLF was a primary creative outlet for me for many years, but all things come to pass. I’ve settled into other pursuits in recent times, becoming more interested in and energized by slipping back into small group UE adventures, restoring the ridiculous and sublime giant DogHeads that I somehow have become responsible for, and knocking off the occasional book event for our history of the Cacophony Society with co-author (and past BLF Art Director) Carrie Galbraith “Ethyl Ketone”.

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Former BLF operative Conrad Hoc “Scott Beale” our first webmaster, got us online initially, and way back in the 90′s convinced me of the importance of the digital realm as a means of archiving and preserving work done in meat space. Milton will probably link this blog post to the official BLF website<billboardliberation.com> and we’ll call it a day with the exception of any future gallery, academic, historical or law enforcement interest (the statute of limitations is closing fast, fellas..)

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Santaarchy ak Santa Con The San Francisco Cacophony event now gone world wide

The original site to connect with the Red Plague is at http://santarchy.com/ as hosted by Scott Beale and Laughing Squid – the webhost that supports subculture and the arts directly – as should you by supporting LS!

Note that the founder / creator of the Santa Rampage really believes you should go do something else today, as best said in the article above.

krampus-oakland
Other ideas include Krampuslauf , as recently organized in part by Rev Al Ridenhour and Al Guerrero in LA. In Oakland you could find Kimric Smythe and
Jon Sarriugarte at Art Murmur and elsewhere as seen in the image.

John Law another key creator on all things good for subculture and exploring the underground and exploring the new and your personal social boundaries, expresses in this article “What the F*** should we do with Santa?”

http://santacon.info/

Read the Tales of San Francisco Cacophony Society Book to get with the program, know your facts and the history, or get it for a friend for the holidays, or their teenager kids, your local library, as the best inspirational gift possible. Order and Buy the book local at your bookstore while at it!

For those stay at home types watch the movie in comfort at home – while plotting the new better things with pals, friends, and friends you have not met yet.

Watch the movie “You Better Watch Out” at home of how the O.G. Santas did it, now go out and create your own event and concept.
http://santarchy.com/youd-better-watch-out-portland-santacon-96/

The 40 minute documentary video by Scott Beale chronicling the Portland Santacon 1996.

 
Produced, Directed & Edited by
Scott Beale

Written by
Scott Beale & Stuart Mangrum

Narrated by
Christopher Nissley
 

A bit on the history of Santarchy from elsewhere:

SantaCon: From Anarchist Mob to Bro Holiday, A Case Study in Countercultural Erasure

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Chaos, Cacophony and the Commonwealth Club of California

Please join Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society co-authors Carrie Galbraith and John Law in conversation with Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk moderated by Business Week (!) Executive Editor Brad Wieners.

Monday the 23rd of September, doors 7PM
Castro Theater, Market at Castro Streets, San Francisco

R. Hubbard, Rich Perry, Jerry James & John Law, Cacophony event, 1990

Robert Hubbard, Jerry James, Rich Perry, & John Law: typical Cacophony event, 1990.                                     photo courtesy Robert Hubbard

Chuck Palahniuk’s pivotal novel Fight Club was partially inspired by Cacophony, which served as a model for the novels dangerous prankster cabal Project Mayhem. Ask Chuck what the heck he was thinking!

Santa "Chuck" at Cacophony SantaCon (Santarchy, Kringle Klot, Santa Rampage, etc., ad nauseum) Portland 1996. photo by Bob Gelman

Santa “Chuck” at Cacophony SantaCon (Santarchy, Kringle Klot, Santa Rampage, etc., ad nauseum) Portland 1996. photo by Bob Gelman John Law has been causing trouble since his pre-teen years. If anyone’s curious, now could be the time to find out why he threw away a potential career as a welder in the mid-West or maybe a retail clerk in exchange for 35 years of Suicide Club and Cacophony Society involvement. photograph by Robert Gelman 1996

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Carrie Galbraith (Ethyl Ketone) and Phil Bewely on their event the 1st Cacophony Zone Trip 1988.Carrie Galbraith created a thing called Zone Trip. This is your chance to see what this Cacophony birthed concept had to do (everything) with the genesis of The Burning Man Festival.

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(from top down) Brad Wieners, dunno, dunno, Mark Herbert, Kevin Mathieu, Dan Miller & John Law & a really cool Brooklyn Cat who’s name I cannot recall who climbed giant unused smoke stacks and planted trees atop them!                          Manhattan Bridge, 1996.                                                       photograph by A. Leo Nash

Heavy hitting and darn serious NYC journalist and editor Brad Wieners covered early period Cacophony (and BM) hi-jinx before he got serious! He knows the best tales and where the bodies are buried. Come and pick his brain….

The Commonwealth Club of California is hosting this event at the historic Castro Theater in SF.

Yes, the grown-ups are finally paying attention. Commonwealth couldn’t get George Shultz or Hillary Clinton again, so they invited us. We intend to make the best of it and get one of our books in each of their homes where their kids will find and use it.

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Sisters Kitty Catalyst and Dana Van Iquity of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at an early Cacophony outing expressing themselves demurely to all with in earshot! photograph by Rusty Blazenhoff

Sisters Dana Van Iquity, Kitty Catalyst and Reyna Terror of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have graciously agreed to bless our event.

Stuart (Blank DeCoverly) Mangrum BLF (ret.) will read from his Cacophony 12 Step program to close the stage presentation.

A book signing is the finale with Law and Galbraith and Palahniuk signing copies of Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society.

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Doc Anderson, Eric “Geekboy” Salmonson, Stuart Mangrum and Brody Culpepper at a Cacophony literary (drinking) event circa 1996

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John Law and Kevin Evans 1995

Co-author Kevin Evans will be in the house (possibly even signing books! And out front will be The famous Doggie Diner DogHeads.

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The Meat Parade 1997. Elizabeth, Vanessa and Abernathy provide the meat along with the Doggie Diner Dog Heads.

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Emily Duffy with her Mondrian Mobile.             photograph by Harrod Blank

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Kal Spellitich at the 1st annual Meat Parade, How Berkeley Can You Be Parade, October 1996. photo by Rusty Blazenhoff

Machine artist and Cacophonist Kal Spellitechwill be in the house as willRoboGames and Cacophony 2.0 organizers Simone Davalos and David Calkins.

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The Brides of March. David Calkins in the lower left hand image. Photos by Jillian Northrup

The Bay Area Art Car community will be represented by Emily Duffy and friends.

Please join us at the Castro Theater this coming Monday evening the 23rd night of September. We can only guarantee that you will leave knowing stuff you probably cannot find out anywhere else! Whether you need this type of input or not and what you might do with it is entirely up to you.

The authors, presenters, attending artists, The Castro Theater and The Commonwealth Club accept no responsibility for your future actions.

cheers, JL, CG and the remaining members of the Cacophony Society.

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Cacophony Society Book Website

A new site dedicated to the bookTales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society is now live — features lots of additional video footage and other materials that didn’t make it into this already bountiful book.

 

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Cacophony Book Tour

Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society is finally out, and the book tour has begun.

For the uninitiated, here’s a little background from the publishers Last Gasp.

Rising from the ashes of the mysterious and legendary Suicide Club, the Cacophony Society influenced a surprising and impressive range of subversive trends in pop culture over the past 20 years. Fight Club, Burning Man, flash mobs, urban exploration, and culture jamming are among the wild and playful phenomenon whose beginnings were sown within the radical exploits of the Cacophony Society. At its zenith, the group hosted chapters in over a dozen major cities, and influenced much of the 1980s and ‘90s underground. More than a simple history of a revolutionary subculture, Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society serves as a “How-To” manual for pranksters, artists, adventurers, and anyone interested in rampant creativity.

Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society is a large-format, full-color, hardbound homage to this protean group. It’s packed with full-color illustration, previously unpublished photographs, original documents, incredulous news accounts, and personal essays from some of the shadowy members of this fun-loving, anti-authoritarian cabal. The book includes a foreword by author Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club, Choke) with an afterword by Charlie Todd, founder of Improv Everywhere.

Below is a schedule of publishing party dates.  Each event will be suitably unpredictable, but you might expect readings from the book’s authors and long-time Cacophonists Kevin Evans, Carrie Galbraith, and John Law, as well performances, pranks, or other foolish stunts.

DATE CITY VENUE
May 16,2013 San Francisco, CA Book Premiere City Lights
May 18, 2013 San Mateo, CA Makers Faire.

May 19, 2013 San Francisco, CA Green Apple Books
May 31, 2013 San Francisco, CA Castro Theater “unauthorized”
June 6, 2013 Berkeley, CA Pegasus Books
June 14, 2013 Portland, OR Powell’s Bookstore
June 22, 2013 Los Angeles, CA Le Luz de Jesus
August TBA, 2013 San Francisco, CA Varnish Gallery
September, 2013 NYC, NY To Be Announced
September, 2013 Pittsburgh, PA To Be Announced

 

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Cacophony Society Documentary Screens in Europe

The documentary Into the Zone: The Story of the Cacophony Society by Jon Alloway will be shown October 29th as part of TinaB – The Prague Contemporary Art Festival

The film will also screen 10/31 in Hamburg, as part of the Radar Hamburg International Independent Film Festival.

Additional 2013 screening engagements TBA.

Into the Zone documents Cacophony’s roots in The San Francisco Suicide Club, the Society’s role in creating the Burning Man Festival,  the irreverent pranks of the Los Angeles Cacophony, Santacon, and more. ITZ features Fight Club author and Cacophonista Chuck Palahniuk and a cast of miscreants whose pursuit of “experiences beyond the mainstream” has helped shape underground culture in the US and beyond.

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Exhibition Photography: GCAC Cacophony Society Show

Below are photos documenting the exhibition “The Cacophony Society Zone Show,” held at  Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana, CA, February 4 – April 15.

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Canadian Cacophonists Take Heed!

A new online gathering site has been established for those of you in the snowy north: Cacophony.ca  (and/or anyone in the general Vancouver, Washington, Oregon area).

Talk to Bhak, AKA Napalm Dragon for more info, or visit any of these affiliated sites for a little context:

– The Non Profit Arts Cooperative
Http://BurnBC.org (more formal, but definitely a supporter of the Cacophony Society)

– Vancouver Cacophony Society
Http://Cacophony.ca

– Vancouver BunnArchy
Http://BunnArchy.ca

– Vancouver SantArchy
Http://SantArchy.ca

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SF Cacophony Book Coming Fall 2012!

This fall Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society will be published by Last Gasp early underground comics and pioneer and publisher of works by Robert Crumb, Ron English, Bill Griffith, Mark Ryden, Robert Williams, and S. Clay Wilson.

Edited by early SFCS movers and shakers, Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society  is a largely pictorial collection of imagery, flyers, newsletters and ephemera from the period interspersed with contemporaneous writings by Society members.

 

 

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Photos from Museum Opening & Screening

Here are some shots by Lee Joseph taken at the opening of the Grand Central Art Center’s “The Cacophony Society Zone Show” and preview screening of Cacophony Society documentary “Into the Zone, The Story of the Cacophony Society.”

Please enjoy responsibly.

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