Revolutionary Toys

Photo by Paul McLean

TOYS EXERCISE FIRST AMMENDMENT RIGHTS
REFUSING TO BE SILENT
#ToyProtest

MANHATTAN, NY- Toys unite - putting aside brand and color to take a stand in support of Occupy Wall Street, invoking their first amendment rights, to say "we will no longer remain silent: toys are people, too". The toys will continue their campaign throughout the month of April and ask that toys across the country and the world stand up to join the toy protest. A large yellow bird, an event organizer stated, asked to be referred to as "Big Bird" said: "After recent events, we realized that we could no longer in good conscience remain silent. Until now we have been afraid to protest. Our faces are highly visible making us recognizable worldwide, but as many activists are targeted for arrests and beaten, including most recently a sixteen year old girl brutally arrested and carried down the street exposed, we see that it is our duty to take a stand for what we believe in and to lend our popularity in support of that cause." A blue furry, self-described "cookie monster", said "I like cookies as much as the next toy. MORE, but what's happening in our economy? Ninety nine percent of the cookies being eaten by one percent of the toys is just wrong. Even to me." Adding, "Hey, do you have any cookies? Some toy already ate ALL the cookies."

When: 11am-1pm, Sunday, April 1st
Where: F.A.O. Schwarz: 767 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10153 @11am;
Lego store @ Rockefeller Ctr: 620 5th Avenue at 50th Street; American Girl Store: 609 Fifth Avenue at 49th Street @12pm;
Toys R Us:1514 Broadway at 44th South, New York, NY @1pm.

The toys will be meeting at each location to protest and engage in dialogue. A long nosed elephant, called "Dumbo" another organizer added, "We believe in free speech, the right to express dissent, and to assemble and we will exercise that right in the face of any oppressive and immoral government or regime. "When asked what their primary goals are, a big eared mouse who called himself "Mickey" said, "Our concerns are the same as everyone else's. Economic and social justice, but in addition, toys face challenges others are not aware of. For example, Lego has incredibly sexist policies, often our clothes are made of cotton produced by child labor, and American Girl has taken to phasing out 'aging dolls' in favor of 'newer, fresher faces.' Our goal? To create awareness of these issues, to start a dialogue, and to encourage others to have the courage to step out- that's all folks. "A green hairy animal, going by "Oscar" and claiming to live in garbage cans added, "Look, if we can do it, anyone can and should. It's a question of conscience. After all, who is more well known than us?"

Contact - Revolutionary Games

#J26: THE TAX DODGERS

[From Gan]

Hi guys, I wanted to invite you to join us in planning and executing a very cool creative action for Thursday, January 26.

BACKGROUND:
In conjunction with UnitedNY and other local unions (who were part of the N17 Day of Action) we will be targetting the most infamous, wealthiest corporations and CEO's that have succeeded in evading paying billions in taxes,  like GE and Verizon. At a time where America is going broke due to a lack of tax revenue, all these guys want to talk about is cuts to education, health care, social security to make up the difference. Their CEO's are compensated over $10-20 million a year and some pay less % in taxes than their secretaries.   These guys are the 1% of the 1%, and rather than throwing down with the rest of us, they have manipulated the laws to avoid paying their fair share.  What's more, these corporations also have horrible labor practices, and are guilty of outsourcing jobs to other countries or states where workers have fewer rights and lower wages. It's time to call them out, starting with Verizon on the 26th.

ACTION:
So, what does the .01% do with all that extra money? Buy a baseball team! We will be dressing up as a baseball team called THE TAX DODGERS and going right to the doorstep of Verizon. We are working on putting together a full team's worth of head-to-toe uniforms, as well as CEO Ivan Siedenberd and perhaps a referee or two. We want The People to show up with whistles and call 'foul' because these corporations are breaking the rules of fair play, and are showing they are not 'part of the team' we call a country.

PARTICIPATION:
We need people, costumers, choreographers, performers and creative brainstormers! You interested?

If so, we are starting a new list just for this. Just send me an email and I will add you. [ gangolan [at] gmail [dot] com ]

♫

Hope you can join us!

#J13 #OCCUPYMUSEUMS #OCCUPYWALLSTREET - MoMA BANNER DROP @ DIEGO RIVERA EXHIBIT

Uploaded by RhodesPictures on Jan 14, 2012

MoMA is exhibiting work from one of the most renowned Mexican painters of the twentieth century, Diego Rivera. Diego influenced by the Mexican Revolution and the Russian Revolution, believed that art should play a role in empowering working people to understand their own histories. Meanwhile MoMA buys and sells millions of dollars in art at Sotheby's auction house. Sotheby's has locked out 43 Local 814 union art handlers, claiming they are unable to negotiate a new contract with them. "The auctioneer proposed cutting the handlers' workweek to 36 1/4 hours from 38 3/4 hours and increasing the number of temporary laborers, according to both sides. The union said new work rules would decrease eligibility for overtime, resulting in take-home pay declining 5 percent to 15 percent. Temporary workers without medical or pension benefits would replace unionized art handlers as they retire or find other jobs. Chief Executive Officer William Ruprecht, yearly salary doubled in 2010 to $6 million dollars."

http://www.sothebysbadforart.com/content/

• See post at Ken Vallario's blog: "When Art is a luxury…Art is a lie!"

OWS Occupies OWS-replica movie set at Foley Square, Dec 8 2011

At 12am, OWS staged a peaceful protest in the ultimate irony, occupying fake Zuccotti Park set in Foley Square for early am shoot of Law & Order SVU. It was a replica tent city with the same signs "We are the 99%", a library and kitchen like the original demolished by Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD.

Photo by Antonio Serna (A&C Syndicate)

From the OccupyWallSt.org website (live late-nite updates, as events unfolded):

• 1:36: Cops breaking down mockupied Wall Street. NBC's speech rights clearly infringed.
• 1:25: NYPD occupying fake Liberty Square, fake demands unclear.
• 1:03: GA in progress. More mockupiers needed at Foley Square!
• 12:52: cops moving in
• 12:47: unconfirmed reports that "Law & Order's" permit has been revoked. What's a permit?
• 12:40: police threaten to arrest mockupiers after 1AM: "if you do not leave, you will be arrested."
• 12:19: GA in 20 minutes

Occupy Ninjas Take Manhattan!

OCCUPY MUSEUMS [2] TODAY!

This Thursday 10/27/11, Occupy Museums returns to MoMA!

Meet at 2:30 PM, Liberty Square, for an information-sharing assembly (under red sculpture) OR meet at 4:00 PM at MoMA.

We will be joined by the Art Handler’s Union, Teamsters Local 814, who have been locked out of their Sotheby’s union jobs for over three months now. Following Occupy Museums, we will march to the Teamsters’ picket line at the Sotheby’s evening auction, which starts at 6:00 PM on 1334 York Avenue.

Occupy Museums and the Teamsters Local 814 stand together in solidarity!

Please join us and to bring your own manifestos (BYOM), to read in the General Assembly at the doors of the museum! Please keep them short- 3 minutes max so that everyone can participate. For this action
we are moving away from the voice of a sole author to a collective voice. We welcome all to be part of our assembly and let your voices be heard!

What is Occupy Museums?

We are artists, art lovers, and art workers! We live and love art and are committed to its growth. However, we see many museums in their current manifestations as key elements of a larger system whose funding structure and relationship to the market, disempowers artists, and alienates art from the 99%. Value is manufactured by false scarcity, propped up by the cult of celebrity and the parlor game of speculation. This undermines the potential power of art to be a much greater force in our society.

We believe that to Occupy is to claim space for dialog and transparency through the physical presence of our bodies. It is to hold space that was previously inaccessible. As Occupiers, we bring the General Assembly to the doors of the museum, to engage in a dialog about the relationships between the arts and capitalism.
This is only the beginning.

At its core, the Occupy Movement is about imagining and building a just and democratic future. It is generative not destructive. We are shifting collective consciousness. We are here to envision what the museum can be, what art can be, and how we can create a society that works for the 100%.

Schedule:
2:30 -- Informational assembly at Liberty Square
3:15 -- Occupy 4 train to MoMA
4:00 -- General Assembly at MoMA!
5:00 – March or M31 Bus to Sotheby’s at 1334 York Avenue
5:30 -- Stand in Solidarity with Teamsters Local 814

twitter: #occupymuseums

CLICK THE OM LOGO AT THE TOP OF THE POST TO READ THE NEW ARTINFO ESSAY BY BEN DAVIS, "Why I Support the Occupy Museums Protesters, and Why You Should Too."

CLICK THE IMAGE TO GET MORE INFO AT THE OCCUPY MUSEUMS FACEBOOK PAGE.

Occupy Museums!

On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 1:15 PM, Noah Fischer <fischer.noah@gmail.com> wrote:

Occupy Museums!

Let’s dance in front of the Cannons

and tell the cultural pyramids:

You are NOT our MoMA!

I know that many people have been thinking in this direction and I’d like to add my voice.  It just might be time to band together And do some museum hopping! We'll state loud and clear and publically that the game is up: we see through the pyramid schemes that museums have set up whereby the 1% sit on boards and presume to speak with cultural authority while increasing the profit margins of their private collections. They have disempowering the hundreds of thousands of living artists - the 99% through rarified gatekeeping that has directly equated art with Wall Street capital- with all of the same shady business and BS hierarchy!!!  

As long as we accept the authority of these oppressive cannons, I’m not sure we can move forward with new aesthetics and movements:  art that is truly by and for everyone!  Art that isn’t rehashed and boring and pre-packaged and dead on arrival! Art that is alive! Art that is powerful! I think it would be wonderful to give the museums notice of the impending paradigm shift. Some serious truth to power, playfulness, and mockery is in order!

-Explaining Art to a Dead Museum.

-Reading the GA statement or A & C statement or autonomous statements in front of the Frick, using people’s mic.

-etc etc.

-etc. 

There are many museum nights in New York with long lines, which may be fruitful audiences. We can also go inside and play.

So I propose Occupy Museums next week- Thursday afternoon and evening. I’ll bring this up at an A & C meeting beforehand.

A couple Museums to Occupy:

-New Museum: Showcased Dakis Joannou’s personal collection, bumping up auction prices: use and abuse of the whole concept of “public” for personal profits. Dis-gusting!

-Frick Collection: dedicated to a long term PR campaign for the one of the “Worst American CEOs of All time.” Whose draconian policies included murdering workers striking against unhuman working conditions. We say- what the Frick is going on here! 

It’s easy to do research on these museums and who is standing behind them:

http://www.moma.org/about/trustees

Noah