Wikipedia

Joey Skaggs

Joey Skaggs (born 1945) is an American multi-media artist, activist, satirist, educator and prankster.[1][2][3] Skaggs is one of the originators of the phenomenon known as culture jamming.[4] In a career spanning six decades, he has produced paintings, sculptures, guerrilla theater,[5] performance art, socially revealing hoaxes, media pranks,[6] and films.

Joey Skaggs
Born1945 (age 78–79)
United States
Other namesKim Yung Soo, Joe Bones, Joseph Bonuso, Giuseppe Scaggoli, Peppe Scaggolini, Dr. Josef Gregor, Joseph Virgil Skaggs, Dr. Richard J. Long, Dr. Joseph Schlafer, Dr. Joseph Chenango, Baba Wa Simba, Joseph Bucks, Jojo the Gypsy, Joseph Howard, Joseph Adore, Joseph Sullivan, and the Rev. Anthony Joseph.
EducationHigh School of Art and Design
School of Visual Arts (BFA)
Occupation(s)Artist, writer, lecturer
Websitehttps://joeyskaggs.com/

"Art of the Prank"

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In 2017, "Art of the Prank", Andrea Marini's award-winning feature documentary about artist Joey Skaggs, was released internationally on television and streaming platforms, after having screened at multiple film festivals.[7][8][9]

Partial works

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1960s and 1970s

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Crucifixion

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Joey Skaggs, to protest the hypocrisy of the Church, carried a life-size sculpture of a decayed Jesus Christ to Tompkins Square Park, where it was attacked by onlookers. He continued to exhibit the piece at protests and events, including a 1967 New York University exhibition and two Central Park Be-ins. In 1969, he brought a duplicate to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where church officials denied him entry, and he was removed by police.[10][11][12][13]

Hippie Bus Tour to Queens

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Skaggs took 60 East Village “freaks” on a bus tour through suburban Queens. This event mocked the tour buses that came to gawk at the hippies in Greenwich Village. Included on the bus was publisher Paul Krassner, and artist Yayoi Kusama, who painted polka dots on naked dancers. Skaggs was interviewed for the Today Show and the story made the front page of the Daily News. Articles about the Bus Tour also appeared in the New York Times and in other news publications.[14]

Vietnamese Christmas Nativity Burning

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Joey Skaggs staged a protest against the Vietnam War by creating a life-size Vietnamese Nativity scene, which he planned to burn. On Christmas Day, he and friends dressed as American soldiers attempted to set it up in Central Park. The display included a manger, paper-mâché pigs in police hats, middle-class sheep with briefcases, a camel representing Hubert Humphrey, and three beheaded wise men symbolizing the slain Jack and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., with a Vietnamese baby Jesus surrounded by peasant sculptures of Mary and Joseph. Before they could ignite the scene, multiple arrests were made. The New York Times reported, “Yippie ‘Nativity Scene’ Leads to Tickets for Littering."[15][16]

Earlville Opera House

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Joey Skaggs saved the Earlville Opera House from demolition, launching a successful campaign to secure its preservation. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, the opera house thrives as a performance and exhibition center, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022. [17]

Cathouse for Dogs

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Joey Skaggs placed an ad in New York’s Village Voice announcing a fictitious "Cathouse for Dogs," where pet owners could pay $50 for their dogs to be sexually gratified. When the media expressed interest, he staged an evening at a doggie bordello with 25 volunteers and 15 dogs, leading to footage that was included in an Emmy-winning documentary on animal cruelty. After being subpoenaed for allegedly running a whorehouse for dogs, Skaggs revealed the hoax at a press conference. WABC TV News never acknowledged they had been duped.[18][19][20][21]

Celebrity Sperm Bank

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Joey Skaggs, using the alias Giuseppe Scaggoli, announced an auction of rock star sperm from celebrities like Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Paul McCartney in New York City. On the day of the event, he staged a scene outside a building on Waverly Place with volunteer actors there to bid on the sperm and others protesting the concept. Skaggs then claimed the sperm had been stolen and read a ransom note supposedly from Abbie Hoffman, leading to disappointment and outrage over the auction's cancellation. News of the event was published in print media and broadcast on television.[22][23][24]

1980s and 1990s

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Metamorphosis, Cockroach Miracle Cure

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Joey Skaggs, under the alias Dr. Josef Gregor, held a press conference where he claimed to have developed a miracle cure using hormones extracted from a strain of super-roaches immune to all toxins. Accompanied by friends and students from the School of Visual Arts, he asserted that his discovery could cure ailments like acne, anemia, and even nuclear radiation exposure, offering it for free to the world. The story gained traction, being reported by UPI and featured on WNBC TV’s Live at Five, while the references to "Metamorphosis" and Dr. Gregor went unnoticed as clues to the hoax.[25][26]

Fish Condos

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Joey Skaggs created “Fish Condos,” aquariums designed to satirize gentrification and the degradation of the environment. These aquatic sculptures were featured in New York Magazine and Life Magazine, appeared on television and were exhibited in museums and galleries around the world.[19][27][28]

Bad Guys Talent Management Agency

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To help his friend Verne Williams fulfill his fantasy to become an actor, Skaggs created the fictitious Bad Guys Talent Management Agency featuring bad guys, bad girls, bad kids, and bad dogs. Skaggs designed an FBI wanted poster for Verne and sent it to casting agents. This landed Verne a role in Berry Gordy’s feature film, The Last Dragon. As a result of media coverage from People Magazine and other outlets, Skaggs held casting calls and signed up more than 300 "bad" actors.[27]

The Fat Squad

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Joey Skaggs, under the alias Joe Bones, created the Fat Squad. This fictional organization offered clients strict enforcement of their diets by "Fat Squad Commandos" for $300 a day. Their motto was, “You can hire us but you cannot fire us. Our commandos take no bribes.” The hoax received media attention, including coverage on ABC's Good Morning America and international outlets.[29][30][31]

April Fool’s Day Parade

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Joey Skaggs' New York City Annual April Fools' Day Parade, marked by press release each year since 1986. The parade features satirical floats and performers mocking political figures and social issues. The route starts at 5th Avenue and 59th Street and concludes at Washington Square Park with the crowning of the King of Fools.[32][33][34]

Comacocoon

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Joey Skaggs, posing as Dr. Joseph Schlafer, launched Comacocoon, a service offering dream-state vacations where clients could quit smoking, get elective surgery, learn a foreign language and wake up with a tan—all without leaving home. When a reporter notified the police, officers arrived expecting to shut down a drug front. Instead, Skaggs revealed it was all a performance piece.[35][36]

Hair Today, Ltd.

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Joey Skaggs, under the alias Dr. Joseph Chenango, a Native American surgeon, introduced scalp transplants from cadavers as a cure for baldness. Claiming the procedure was safe and FDA-approved, he sought scalp donors with no male pattern baldness in high-risk jobs like electric linesmen and deep-sea divers.[37][38]

Portofess hoax

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Posing as a Catholic priest, Skaggs pedaled a confessional booth mounted on a tricycle to the 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York City.[39] The hoax fooled dozens of journalists who published articles nationwide about how "Portofess" offered "religion on the move for people on the go".[39][40]

SEXONIX

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Under the alias Dr. Joseph Skaggs, Joey launched SEXONIX, a sexual virtual reality company. SEXONIX planned to be debuted at the Metro Toronto Christmas Gift and Invention Show. Before it could be launched, Skaggs claimed Canadian customs had seized the equipment after declaring it morally offensive. He posted on electronic bulletin boards asking for help getting his equipment returned. Journalist Brock Meeks investigated but found no evidence of the confiscation. This performance is the first documented internet hoax.[41][42]

Maqdananda Psychic Attorney

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Joey Skaggs created a commercial featuring Maqdananda, a new-age psychic attorney who claimed he could predict outcomes for his clients. Offering services like psychic surgery malpractice and renegotiating past-life contracts, the ad aired on CNN Headline News across the Hawaiian Islands. Callers to 1-808-UCA-DADA were met with the message, “I knew you’d call.” [27]

Dog Meat Soup

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Joey Skaggs sparked outrage by posing as Kim Yung Soo, head of a company offering to buy unwanted dogs for $.10 a pound for human consumption. As a result of his hoax there was an increase in false accusations and rumors spread about disappearing dogs through the media.[43][44][45]

Baba Wa Simba

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Joey Skaggs, posing as "Baba Wa Simba," a New Age therapist who claimed to heal inner pain with lion-like "roarings." British media—including ITV and BBC—covered his therapy sessions. The hoax was revealed on Channel 4's The Word. Skaggs would later use the incident to challenge Brazil’s TV Globo involvement.[46][27][47]

The Solomon Project

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Joey Skaggs, posing as Dr. Joseph Bonuso, Ph.D., announced the creation of the "Solomon Project," an AI program claimed to eliminate bias in the U.S. judicial system. After CNN covered the story that Solomon had found O.J. Simpson guilty, Skaggs revealed the hoax.[48][49][50]

STOP BioPEEP

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Dr. Joseph Howard (a.k.a. Joey Skaggs) blew the whistle on BioPEEP, a covert research initiative designed to genetically modify humans into “consumer junkies” and weaponize their addiction for targeted “gene-ocide,” implying that entire genetic groups could be eliminated before they could retaliate.[35]

Doody Rudy

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Joey Skaggs led a protest in Washington Square Park against Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s efforts to limit creative expression and his “quality of life” campaign targeting the homeless. Skaggs and his team of co-conspirators erected a 10’ x 14’ painting of Giuliani as the Madonna, painted by artist Steve Powers (ESPO). Participants wore “Doody Rudy” hats and wheeled a trashcan filled with fake elephant dung, holding signs that read, “Doody Rudy with Dumbo’s Dung” and “Help Support the Homeless — $1.00 Contribution Per Throw Will be Donated to Housing Works, Inc.”. Hundreds threw dung at the portrait, mocking Giuliani’s outrage over Chris Ofili’s “Holy Virgin Mary” painting that utilized elephant dung (a Nigerian cultural practice) and was on display at the Brooklyn Museum. Skaggs donated the raised funds to Housing Works, a non-profit assisting homeless individuals with AIDS.[51][52][53]

2000 to present

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The Final Curtain

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Joey Skaggs launched "Investors Real Estate Development," a company promoting theme-park cemeteries with ads teasing, “Death got you down? At last, an alternative.” The hoax, featuring a Disney-like memorial park and mall, centered around life, death, and burial. Years later, after Michael Jackson's death, conspiracy theorists believed Skaggs and Jackson had collaborated to fake the pop star’s death. Fans of the musician asked Skaggs to reveal Jackson’s secret whereabouts.[54][55][56][57]

Bush!

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Joey Skaggs staged a faux pro-Bush parade in New York City's Washington Square Park to mock President George W. Bush’s leadership. The parade, with over 75 participants, included singers, cheerleaders, and actors portraying government officials. Uncle Sam (Skaggs) pedaled a replica White House on a tricycle, while "Bush," surrounded by weapons of war and a pen to rewrite the Constitution, sat inside on a bucket labeled "Presidential Fertilizer." Bush's Cabinet members and Saudi royals handed out fake $20 bills to the crowd to "buy" votes.[58]

Mobile Homeless Homes

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Joey Skaggs, also known as Recycle Man, unveiled Mobile Homeless Homes, a sculpture designed as a “Trojan house” consisting of live-in garbage cans connected on a trailer pulled by a tricycle. This mobile home aimed to blend into urban environments and evade detection by authorities. Skaggs organized a parade to Goldman Sachs, a key player in the housing scandal, featuring costumed “homeless Muppets” and a band performing “Mobile Homeless Blues,” referencing Goldman Sachs employees’ derogatory term for clients who lost their homes.[59]

Santa's Missile Tow

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Dressed as Santa Claus, Joey Skaggs pedaled a tricycle equipped with a nuclear missile on a slingshot launcher to the United Nations in New York City. Accompanied by six performance artists dressed as elves, he delivered a message to world leaders: “Peace on Earth – Or Else.” Skaggs and his “elves” sang a parody of “Jingle Bells” with lyrics highlighting the absurdity of the threat of nuclear war.[60]

Bigfoot and The Tiny Top Circus

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Joey Skaggs, as Peppe Scaggolini, introduced Bigfoot to the public at Washington Square Park, showcasing the creature towed by a tricycle pedaled by the world's strongest man. The event, part of the Tiny Top Circus—a whimsical pataphysical circus—featured a ringmaster, armed guards, jugglers, and the Coney Island Sideshow Band. However, the creature (Skaggs in a large hairy foot costume) made an escape into the West Fourth Street subway station, prompting the circus to offer a $10 million reward for its safe return.[61][62]

Political protests

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Joey Skaggs staged a series of theatrical protests against President Donald Trump as part of his Annual New York City April Fools’ Day Parade. In 2017, the 32nd Annual Parade featured “Trump’s Golden Throne,” a sculpture with a life-sized effigy of Trump tweeting while seated on a golden throne mounted on a dolly. The following year, for the 33rd Annual Parade, Skaggs created the “Trump Military Parade,” depicting Trump on a tricycle-mounted sling-shot launcher with a 10-foot-tall nuclear missile, accompanied by look-alikes of world leaders including Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin. Skaggs also exhibited an effigy of Trump in a witch’s hat with flaming pants in 2018, and took this “Trump’s Kool-Aid Stand” to Trump Tower in 2019. In 2021, he produced a customizable “Trump Presidential Pardon,” followed by a downloadable “Top Secret Cover Sheet for Classified Information” in 2022. That year, he distributed “Putin Protest Masks” during the 37th Annual Parade to protest the war in Ukraine. In 2024, during the 39th Annual Parade, giant images of Skaggs as the Grim Reaper with his “Democracy at the Guillotine” sculpture were displayed on a billboard truck that traversed New York City.[63][64][65]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Yapp, Nick (1995). Great hoaxes of the world : and the hoaxers behind them. London: Robson Books. pp. 42, 168, 218. ISBN 9780860519683.
  2. ^ Marzo, Jorge Luis (2002). En el lado de la televisión [On the TV side] (in Spanish). Espai d'Art Contemporani de Castelló. p. 27. ISBN 9788448232429.
  3. ^ Kitty, Alexandria (2005). Don't Believe It!: How Lies Become News. Disinformation. ISBN 9781932857061.
  4. ^ DeLaure, Marilyn (February 28, 2017). Culture Jamming and the Art of Cultural Resistance. NYU Press. ISBN 9781479806201.
  5. ^ Rudolf, Ake (2008). Urban Guerrilla Protest. Mark Batty Publisher. ISBN 9780979048692.
  6. ^ Gourley, Catherine (1999). Media Wizards: A Behind-the-scene Look at Media Manipulations. Twenty-First Century Press. ISBN 9780761309673.
  7. ^ Weisblum, Vida (June 8, 2016). "Watch Out, New York City: Hoax Master Joey Skaggs Is in Town". Observer.
  8. ^ Roth-Rose, Spencer (June 13, 2016). "If You're Reading This, You've Already Been Conned: Joey Skaggs Doc Premieres in LES". Observer.
  9. ^ Froelich, Brinley (January 24, 2016). "Slamdance Film Review: Art of the Prank". Slug Mag.
  10. ^ "Calvary Again". No. 10. The East Village Other. April 15, 1966.
  11. ^ Dwyer, Simon (2000). Rapid Eye Movement. Creation. ISBN 978-1-871592-69-6.
  12. ^ Dwyer, Simon (2013-07-21). Rapid Eye 2: The Plague Yard. SCB Distributors. ISBN 978-1-909923-22-5.
  13. ^ "Skaggs Brought To Justice". The East Village Other. May 1, 1966. p. 7.
  14. ^ "60 Hippies in a Bus See the Sights of Quaint Queens". The New York Times. September 23, 1968. p. 24.
  15. ^ "Yippie 'Nativity Scene' Leads to Tickets for Littering". New York Times. December 26, 1968. p. 66.
  16. ^ Five Yippies Arrested in Central Park. Reading Eagle. December 26, 1968. p. 39.
  17. ^ Maneshni, Autriya (November 20, 2023). "Earlville Opera House brings arts and culture to Chenango County for past 50 years". WBNG TV. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  18. ^ Wang, Wallace (2006). Steal This Computer Book 4.0: What They Won't Tell You About the Internet. No Starch Press. ISBN 1593273436.
  19. ^ a b Hoaxes and deceptions. Alexandria, Va: Time-Life Books. 1991. pp. 82–83. ISBN 9780809477159.
  20. ^ Gonçalves, Susana (March 2, 2021). Art in Diverse Social Settings. Emerald Publishing Limited. p. 104. ISBN 9781800438972.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  21. ^ Getz, Michael (November 2014). Bullshit! Amazing Lies and Unbelievable Truths from Around the Globe. Summersdale. ISBN 9781783722662.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  22. ^ Plotz, David (2006). The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank. Random House Trade Paperbacks. ISBN 9780812970524.
  23. ^ "Meet The Man Who Created The Celebrity Sperm Bank Hoax". HuffPost. 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  24. ^ Media Hoaxer Calls It An Art Form. Times-Union. May 4, 1982. pp. 5A.
  25. ^ Reed, John (2013-02-05). "The Golden Age of the Cockroach". VICE (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  26. ^ Schwarcz, Dr Joe (2019-10-08). A Grain of Salt: The Science and Pseudoscience of What We Eat. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77305-385-1.
  27. ^ a b c d Wood, H. P. (2018). Fakers: an insider's guide to cons, hoaxes, and scams. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge. ISBN 978-1-58089-743-3.
  28. ^ "Joey Skaggs: Fish Condos screens at the Spring 2022 New Jersey Film Festival on February 11". NewJerseyStage.com. 2022-02-10. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  29. ^ Boese, Alex (2003). The Museum of Hoaxes: A History of Outrageous Pranks and Deceptions. Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated. pp. 169–170. ISBN 9780452284654.
  30. ^ Pfeiffer, Robert (May 2, 1986). "Policing the Pounds". The Washington Post.
  31. ^ Booher, Dianna Daniels (1988). First thing Monday morning. Old Tappan, N.J: F.H. Revell. ISBN 978-0-8007-1595-3.
  32. ^ Levine, Alexandria (April 1, 2016). "New York Today: A Fools' Parade". The New York Times.
  33. ^ "New York April Fool's Day Parade". TimeOut. March 30, 2023.
  34. ^ Winterbottom, Julie (2013-01-01). Pranklopedia: The Funniest, Grossest, Craziest, Not-mean Pranks on the Planet!. Workman Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7611-6756-3.
  35. ^ a b Martínez, Demófila; Platypus, Luis (October 26, 2019). "Joey Skaggs: Fool is a fool, no matter what their political leaning is". Homo Velamine.
  36. ^ Dream Vacation Can't Cure Baldness. The Hour. January 5, 1991. p. 12.
  37. ^ Harper, Jennifer (December 25, 1997). "40 Million U.S. Men Deal with Baldness: Some Proud of the 'Chrome Domes'". The Washington Times.
  38. ^ Tye, Larry (December 10, 1990). Con-Artiste Uses Ruses To Teach Media To Dig For The Truth. Herald-Journal. pp. A1.
  39. ^ a b Laskow, Sarah (July 14, 2017). "The Story of the 'Portofess,' the Prank Confessional Booth at the 1992 Democratic Convention". Atlas Obscura.
  40. ^ "'Priest', 'portofess' fool media". Newspapers.com. The Miami Herald. July 15, 1992. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  41. ^ Strom, David (November 15, 1993). "Buyer be ware of on-line spout of true news and real fiction". Info World. p. 118.
  42. ^ Strom, David (February 9, 1994). "The Sexonix BUST". Wired. p. 31.
  43. ^ John Tierney, The Big City was: Falling For It, in The New York Times Magazine, July 17, 1994, p.16
  44. ^ Sterling, Christopher (September 23, 2009). Encyclopedia of Journalism. SAGE Publications. p. 82. ISBN 9781452261522.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  45. ^ Goldstein, Darra, ed. (2010). The Gastronomica reader. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-94575-3.
  46. ^ Todd, Charlie (2009). Causing a Scene: Extraordinary Pranks in Ordinary Places with Improv Everywhere. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780061876530.
  47. ^ Lowe, Josh (2013-03-18). "Joey Skaggs: novelty silliness and well-packaged rebellion". New Statesman. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  48. ^ St. John Warren, The talk of the town – Jury tampering, in The New Yorker, Feb.5, 1996, pp.24–5
  49. ^ Negroni, Christine (December 30, 1995). "Virtual juries use 'fuzzy logic' to render verdicts". CNN.
  50. ^ Landler, Mark (January 29, 1996). "MEDIA: PRESS;Joey Skaggs, who delights in practical jokes on the press, has got a million of them". The New York Times. pp. D5.
  51. ^ Anderson, Lincoln (December 8, 1999). "Weekend of protests over Mayor Giuliani's homeless policies". The Villager. pp. 1, 8.
  52. ^ Ingram, Sarah (August 24, 2018). "Chris Ofili Artist Overview and Analysis". The Art Story.
  53. ^ Snyder, Gregory J. (2011-04-15). Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York's Urban Underground. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-4046-0.
  54. ^ Stark, Jeff (May 31, 2000). "Stupid death tricks". Salon.
  55. ^ Eggers, David; Maliszewski, Paul (January 1, 2002). McSweeney's 8. McSweeney's. pp. 289–299. ISBN 978-0971904712.
  56. ^ Fraser, Catherine A. (2023). Love the Questions: Reclaiming Research with Curiosity and Passion. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-032-68153-5.
  57. ^ Himelfarb, Elizabeth J. (2001). "FORUM: Death Got You Down?". Archaeology. 54 (3): 84–84. ISSN 0003-8113.
  58. ^ amNY (July 13, 2004). "Bush whacking in Washington Sq. on the Fourth". amNY.
  59. ^ Beale, Scott (April 21, 2012). "Mobile Homeless Homes, A Trojan House & Outraged Homeless Muppets Are Planning To Converge on Goldman Sachs". Laughing Squid.
  60. ^ McLaughlin, Michael (November 14, 2012). "'Santa Claus' At United Nations: Prankster Joey Skaggs Demands Nuclear Disarmament". Huffpost.
  61. ^ Lee Speigel, Bigfoot Unveiling Turns Into Huge Toe Job, in Huffington Post, June 7, 2014
  62. ^ Dicker, Ron (December 6, 2017). "Definitely Real 'Captured Bigfoot' Exhibit Coming To NYC". Huffpost.
  63. ^ Danner, Chas (April 1, 2017). "New York City Has Been Free of Donald Trump for More Than 70 Days". Intelligencer. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024.
  64. ^ AFP (April 2, 2017). "April Fool's marchers in NY elect Trump as their 'king'". The Times of Israel.
  65. ^ Lincoln Anderson, Scoopy's Notebook, Week of April 6, in The Villager, April 6, 2017
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