Jeff Hull (artist)

Jeff Hull (born 1969) is an artist and producer from Oakland, California. He is known for creating the Oakland-based fashion line and street art campaign Oaklandish, the immersive experiences The Jejune Institute with Sara Thacher and Uriah Findley[2] and The Latitude Society. Hull's work was the topic of the documentaries The Institute and In Bright Axiom, and was the inspiration for the television show Dispatches from Elsewhere.

Jeff Hull
Born1969 (age 53–54)
Other namesBobby Peru[1]
Notable workOaklandish, The Jejune Institute
ParentBlair Hull

Oaklandish

Oaklandish began in 2000 as a street art and viral marketing campaign designed to raise awareness about local history and culture.[3][4]

Their first project was “An Oakland Love Retrospective” slide show of 130 images of the “Saints & Sinners of the Town” which was projected onto architectural landmarks downtown.[5] Other projects included a wheatpaste street poster series,[6] the Oakslander Lakeside Gazette independent zine,[7] and events including the Lake Merritt Radio Regatta,[8] the Liberation Drive-In [9] and games of urban capture the flag at Civic Center Plaza.[10]

From 2003 to 2005, Hull ran the Oaklandish Gallery in Oakland's produce district with artist Senay "Refa1" Dennis. It shut in 2005 after failing to obtain permits and meet city fire codes.[11] A split between Hull and Dennis brought the popular symbol of the "rooted" oak tree into an ownership dispute.[1]

In 2016, the store was named the 38th fastest growing inner city business in the United States by Fortune.[12]

The Jejune Institute

In 2008, Hull created The Jejune Institute with Sara Thacher and Uriah Findley, an alternate reality game, public art installation and immersive experience that ran in San Francisco, California from 2008 to 10 April 2011.[13] It funded by Hull with some of the proceeds from the sale of his father Blair Hull's financial company and had operating costs "in the low six figures" during its run, including salaries and office space.[14]

Over the course of three years, it enrolled more than 10,000 players who, responding to eccentric flyers plastered all over the city, started the game by receiving their "induction" at the fake headquarters of the Institute, located in an office building in San Francisco's Financial District.[15][16]

Dispatches from Elsewhere

Hull's project The Jejune Institute was the subject of the 2013 documentary film The Institute directed by Spencer McCall. The television show Dispatches from Elsewhere created by Jason Segel is based on the documentary and Segel's experience going through Hull's project The Latitude Society.[11][17][2]

References
  1. Miller, D. Scot (7 June 2006). "Oaklandish Uprooted, Replanted". East Bay Express. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  2. Miller, Liz Shannon (1 March 2020). "Jason Segel got wrapped up in a strange game. Then he made it a TV show". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  3. Marech, Rona (23 August 2002). "Oakland artists celebrate ignored beauty / Video festival, Web sites focus on city". SF Gate. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  4. "On sellouts, guerrilla spirit and Oakland as hella cool". Chat & Selfie. Los Angeles Times. 16 August 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  5. ""Best Public Art"". East Bay Express. 2002. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  6. Swan, Rachel (11 February 2004). ""Oakland Loves Outlaws"". East Bay Express. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  7. St. Clair, Katy (15 January 2003). ""There-There-There"". East Bay Express. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  8. Green, Matthew (22 August 2007). ""Lake Merritt merriment: Radio Regatta promises fun on the water"". SF Gate. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  9. Marech, Rona (23 August 2002). ""Oakland Artists Celebrate Ignored Beauty"". SF Gate. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  10. Tudor, Silke (16 July 2003). ""You, Too, Can Be in Movies!"". SF Weekly. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  11. Miller, D. Scot (4 March 2020). "Dispatches From Nowhere with Jeff Hull". East Bay Express. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  12. "Oaklandish". Fortune. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  13. Paulas, Rick (11 March 2011). "Last Chance: The Mysteries of San Francisco's Creepy Jejune Institute". The Awl. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  14. Woo, Stu (24 March 2011). "Urban Scavenger Hunt Finds Followers". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  15. Rothe, E. Nina (1 October 2013). "Down the Rabbit Hole with Spencer McCall's The Institute". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  16. Harmanci, Reyhan (21 April 2011). "Interested in the Jejune Institute? It's Too Late". New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 October 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  17. Phipps, Keith (February 10, 2020). "Dispatches from Elsewhere Review: Jason Segel Returns to TV With a Bold, Unpredictable Series". TV Guide. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
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