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about

The HHQ is an intellectual and social movement. Loosely based on several sources - including The Guerilla Art Kit by Keri Smith, The Wooster Collective, PostSecret and similar creations - the Himitsu HQ promotes the idea that every person is entitled to a life of peaceful creativity, one in which the human spirit is universally celebrated. We believe that, as stated by Mahatma Ghandi, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

Membership is open to anyone. Pick an assignment, old or new, and participate or observe - your choice. Send us the results of your efforts and we'll post them on the site as quick as a snicker.

Archives

post-it project part one. Thursday, November 8, 2007 |

Ingredients:

  • two maps
  • four post-it note packs
  • two pens, two pieces of string
  • tape and sticking putty
  • directions.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketPhoto Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketPhoto Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketPhoto Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketPhoto Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketPhoto Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketPhoto Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketPhoto Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketPhoto Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketPhoto Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket


Result: (see above. click pictures for a larger view.)


Someone in the hallway: "Look at all the love stories. I feel like I'm not the only one."

Write it: himitsuhq@gmail.com.

For the current assignment, see below.

1. Phrases. Wednesday, October 17, 2007 |

Assignment one: "Phrases."

Pick a quotation which inspires or has inspired you to make a change in your life, and present it publicly in some artistic manner.


UNLV staircase.
"The more you know who you are and what you want, the less you let things upset you."



Ideas:

- posters
- fliers
- sandwich boards
- chalk


As always, please be sure to use only biodegradable, non-permanent materials and to promote aspects of the human spirit.



When you have completed the assignment, or if you have seen examples of it in your surroundings, please send a picture of the artwork to himitsuhq@gmail.com, and it will appear in frequent updates to the site. Click on the pull tab at the top of the site to find contact information, or click the post title to leave a comment.

Have fun,

Agent K.

Urban Pacifism and Guerilla Art

A few years ago, several of my Japanese major friends and I, after reading Chuck Palanhiuk's novel Fight Club, created an organization which we jokingly called The Himitsu HQ. (Himitsu being the Japanese word for "secret.) Its sole purpose was to be a copy-cat version of Tyler Durden's "Project Mayhem," with a little bit less violence and a little bit more demonstrative guerillism. We were a little unorganized; there was a website but no real management of it, and our assignments kind of left their participants - we called them officers - without a sense of accomplishment. But by discussing the ideas of society's hold on, well, society, and how many of us had left our hopes and dreams of adventure behind, we started to realize maybe something like this project could be done, in the right way, and in a way which caused minimal damage but still got the message across. During the past years of disbandment, street art has begun to take on a more prevalent role in our immediate surroundings, with great influences from artists such as Banksy being documented on sites like woostercollective.com, streetsy.com, and others. Just the other day, in Urban Outfitters of all places, I happened to pick up a copy of "The Guerilla Art Kit," by Keri Smith. It's a little guide for the beginning guerilla artist, encouraging a peaceful dominance over one's surroundings - asking a person to contribute something to their ecosphere which changes it in a way beneficial to those who use it. To convert bare walls into ones of inspiration and co-habitation, to make and take notice of things we sometimes pass by. On the cover of this little book there are whimsical drawings of paintbrushes and a bucket of wheat paste, saying in play-handwriting, "Everything you need to put your message out into the world. For fun, non-profit, and world domination." It's not very much unlike "Project Mayhem" at all. In our original constitution (our Rules of Combat, we called them), there was this little blurb under "Purpose:"

And so - you're here, you're here, I'm talking to you, and for once you're really sort of listening. You probably clicked on a link somewhere or maybe somebody you only think you know said, hey, hey, I'm part of this group thing and it's cool and you should join. They weren't supposed to do that, but the point is that you're here, you're welcome if you're going to do something and I promise you, if you stay, we will do something for you. There is no neutral force in life. You either act positively or negatively. And yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, you've heard all this before but this time it is different because this time you're going to get it. All that bullshit psychology and self-esteem stuff they taught you in middle school when they gave you a travel-sized version of deodorant was just a fancy way of saying you have no control over things. The Himitsu HQ is here to teach you they were wrong. And they were so wrong. So wrong.
It's a little cheesy, maybe, but it still speaks to me, letting me know we got that bit of it right. We do have control over our surroundings. When you allow a child to enter your household you round the corners; you plug up sockets and put the poisons on a higher shelf. I think the guerilla art movement is, in a way, as much about prevention as it is stopping the cold imposition of urban life so many have already experienced. It's odd to think that making the world a little softer is going to have the hardest impact on those within it, but I think it's exactly what the world needs.