• Source: Joey Skaggs

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




"Art of the Prank"


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.




Partial works






= 1960s and 1970s

=



Crucifixion

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.



Hippie Bus Tour to Queens

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.



Vietnamese Christmas Nativity Burning

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."



Earlville Opera House

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.



Cathouse for Dogs

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.



Celebrity Sperm Bank

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.




= 1980s and 1990s

=



Metamorphosis, Cockroach Miracle Cure

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.



Fish Condos

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.



Bad Guys Talent Management Agency

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.



The Fat Squad

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.



April Fool’s Day Parade

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.



Comacocoon

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.



Hair Today, Ltd.

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.



Portofess hoax

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



SEXONIX

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.



Maqdananda Psychic Attorney

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.”



Dog Meat Soup

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.



Baba Wa Simba

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.



The Solomon Project

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.



STOP BioPEEP

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.



Doody Rudy

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.




= 2000 to present

=



The Final Curtain

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.



Bush!

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.



Mobile Homeless Homes

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.



Santa's Missile Tow

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.



Bigfoot and The Tiny Top Circus

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.



Political protests

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.




See also


Alfred Jarry
Jonathan Swift, or A Modest Proposal
Mark Twain
H. L. Mencken
P. T. Barnum
Poor Richard's Almanack
Marcel Duchamp
Improvisation
Pataphysics




References






External links


Official website
RE/Search Interview with Joey Skaggs
Joey Skaggs at IMDb

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