A prank is a 'trick, a mischievous act, a ludicrous act.' Although not regarded as poetic or artistic acts, pranks constitute an art form and genre in themselves. Here pranksters and some of the most outrageous artists and personalities of the time such as Timothy Leary, Abbie Hoffman, Monte Cazazza, Jello Biafra, Earth First!, Joe Coleman, Karen Finley, John Giorno, Ed Hardy, John Waters and Henry Rollins (among others) challenge the sovereign authority of words, images and behavioural convention. This iconoclastic compendium will dazzle and delight all lovers of humour, satire and irony.
Full of beautiful illustrations and incredible black and white photos of the artists and writers featured it makes for an incredible document of the time, published in 1987 it marks the 11th release of RE/Search books which is possibly the ONLY surviving 70s punk publisher who never quit, V. Vale’s RE/Search continues to provide ‘Against-the-Status-Quo’ publications that stimulate the imagination and optimistic skepticism to this day.
Vale has been doing counterculture publishing since 1977, when he founded the Punk tabloid, Search & Destroy, San Francisco’s first. It was published at City Lights Bookstore, where V. Vale worked, and was funded by $100 each from Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg. Then in 1980, V. Vale launched RE/SEARCH, which is best known for its impact on the total world of underground culture.
And we've got plenty more RE/Search publications which we'll be sharing here on the site and on our instagram over the next few days.
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Art Director and Cover Design by Andrea Juno
Back Cover Photo / Artwork by Steve Thomsen
Book Design by Andrea Juno
Publishers / Editors: Andrea Juno & V. Vale
Published 1987
