Everything Is Terrible! Amasses 14,000 VHS Copies Of Jerry Maguire For Exhibit To Fund Pyramid
Teaming w/iam8bit gallery in LA, the video art collective recreates a 90s video store dedicated to Jerry Maguire w/live performances by Daedelus & others
It’s a crazy world my friends and a good portion of the time, the only way to provide any sanity for oneself can be to acknowledge that reality — the simple decision to stop pretending that our day-to-day routines on this planet possess any real substantial logic or sense to them is often the most sensible thing you can do. One option is to follow the philosophy of “if you can’t join ’em, beat ’em.” Sure, relax into the greater absurdity, but only enough to spring back and out-absurd the whole charade altogether.
You see that photo above? That beautiful scene is constructed entirely from old Jerry Maguire VHS cassettes — only a mere fraction of the 14,000-plus copies donated to “this world’s only psychedelic found footage comedy website,” Everything Is Terrible! Over the past 9 years, EIT! has made a name for themselves by re-editing old VHS-based footage and posting tripped out, retro, and all around bizarre daily video clips on the internet. Pioneers in the game, they blazed a trail and set the standard for a very particular type of repurposed media, while becoming the source for more memes and viral content than you might realize, yet would definitely recognize. The collective has put on 6 festivals (Everything IS Festival!), released an equal number of feature films, and embarked on several interactive live tours. When they toured in 2015 with their Legends! show, which included a choose your own adventure element, the press release noticeably made a reference to Jerry Maguire — “It is time pack up your copies of Jerry Maguire and accept the fact that your life up until this moment has been pointless,” to be exact — but, it was somewhat of a throwaway line and I wasn’t sure of the significance, at the time. In 2014, EIT! created the channel Memory Hole to showcase comedic experimental horror shorts, and have even been involved in building large-scale installations, and creating work for such notable outlets as MTV, Team Coco, Adult Swim, but what they plan for these Jerry Maguire tapes will be, without a doubt, their biggest venture, yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVVSBh1MK5I
The big plan involves teaming with the iam8bit gallery in Los Angeles for a pop-up exhibit taking the form of a recreated 90s video store stocked exclusively with copies of Jerry Maguire. Running for a little over 2 weeks from Friday, January 13th to the 29th, and open 7 days a week, the exhibit will also feature live performances by such impressive contemporary musical talents as Daedelus, as well as a Burger Records showcase. One hyperbolic claim with this project is that “seeing thousands of Jerrys finally reunited will forever destroy the viewers’ previous perception of culture, waste, and existence as a whole,” but while that may indeed be true, it is still little more than a jumping off point for something even more ambitious. The purpose of the video store is ultimately intended to fund a massive pyramid in the desert which will operate as a tomb/time-capsule dedicated to the preservation of this massive collection paying tribute to the 5-time Academy Award-nominated 1996 dramatic rom-com on what is a steadily disappearing, although undeniably resilient, format. And yes, this is more than just a publicity stunt. They’re really set on building this fucking Maguiramid.
The following excerpt taken from the press release will help to elaborate further:
“At the Jerry Maguire Video Store, EIT! will be unveiling the plans for their enormous, permanent pyramid in the desert where all the world’s Jerrys will live until the end of time. Everything Is Terrible! has been working with a team of architects, engineers, and builders to design the epic monument to America’s consumption. Now they need your help to make this stupid dream a reality. All proceeds from the Jerry Maguire Video Store will go towards the land, materials, and labor that are needed to build the Jerry Maguire Pyramid. If you can’t come to Los Angeles, you can still help by making a financial donation at www.jerrymaguirepyramid.com and by mailing Jerrys to PO Box 50825, Los Angeles, CA 90050. This is the stupidest incarnation of the American dream and it must be realized.“
EIT! has clearly already accomplished an impressive feat, but they definitely still want your copies of JM, if you can bring yourself to part with them. The thousands of tapes currently in their possession were obtained solely through fan donations, with the top VHS donor providing over 1,300 copies and, as they explain, “each week there are piles of tapes arriving in the hands of very annoyed postal workers from fans around the world.” In other words, if you want this pyramid to happen… you complete it.
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Meanwhile, artists like Alex Pardee and Palm Treat Designs have created exclusive Jerry Maguire products to help raise money for the cause.
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As for the live performances, you’re going to want to RSVP to these before tickets run out. Here are the details:
“There will be free events (full list and RSVP links) on the opening and closing nights as well as ticketed events on the weekends of 1/14 and 1/21 featuring Chrome Canyon, Mike Diva, Daedelus, Caroline Goldfarb (OfficialSeanPenn), LA Takedown, Part Time, Kate Berlant, Wham City, DJ Douggpound, Versace Tamagotchi, Everything Is Terrible! Live, and more to come!“
