Thursday, February 1

Boston, Not-Bombs, Moonities, Public Art, Marketing


Ignignot: You and your third dimension.
Frylock: What about it?
Ignignot: Oh nothing, it's cute. We have five.
Ur: Th-thousand.
Ignignot: Yes, five thousand.
Ur: Don't question it!
Frylock: Oh yeah? Well, I only see two.
Ignignot: Well that sounds like a personal problem.

As most of you have probably heard, the Boston police went a bit crazy yesterday. Someone noticed small devices with an LED figure giving the finger. As Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley told reporters, "It had a very sinister appearance. It had a battery behind it, and wires." Some of them were attached to the underside of bridges. Bomb squad was called, traffic disrupted, part ofthe river closed. General post-9/11 panic.

Well, it was just a guerilla marketing stunt for Adult Swim's cartoon "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." The picture was of Ignignot, a Mooninite.

Now the Boston police have arrested the two artists (yes, I said artists) responsible for the making and placement of the devices. Now Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens sit in jail. The police are charging them with "of placing a hoax device in a way that causes panic and disorderly conduct."

Hoax? Doesn't "hoax" mean they were trying to trick people. The "devices" weren't purposely designed to look like bombs. They didn't call in bomb threats. In fact, the devices were apparently put up in NYC two weeks ago and no one even noticed.

I'm not saying they were high art. I'm not even a big fan of guerilla marketing like this (since it could lead to crap loads of, well, crap all over our public spaces). But, in its small way, it was art. Just as the Idiotarod is art. At the worst it was littering.

Supporters are gathering outside of the Boston courthouse. Let us forget any feelings you may have about Agua Teen. This is an issue about public spaces and who owns them. To arrest these men under the guise of post-9/11 terror fears... Jeepers, people. Are we going let ourselves live with that much fear. I'm not saying that it was the best thought out stunt (again, not hoax), but I have certainly seen worse.

If I visit Boston, god forbid I forget my backpack somewhere.