Black Mask & Up Against the Wall Motherfucker

The Incomplete Works of Ron Hahne, Ben Morea, and the Black Mask Group

Chronicling the history of two New York City provocateur groups-Black Mask and Up Against the Wall, Motherfucker-this account complies the complete 10 issues of the newspaper Black Mask; numerous leaflets, articles, and flyers generated by Black Mask; the Up Against the Wall Motherfucker Magazine; and Free Press and Rolling Stone reports on Up Against the Wall, Motherfucker. Founded in the mid-1960s, the Black Mask group melded the ideas and inspiration of Dada with the anarchism of the Spanish Revolution, and this volume demonstrates how they heavily influenced the art, politics, and culture of the decade as they briefly shut down the Museum of Modern Art, protested Wall Street, battled at Students for a Democratic Society conferences, and defended the shooting of Andy Warhol. This history then details how in 1968 Black Mask reorganized as Up Against the Wall, Motherfucker, which combined the confrontational theater and tactics of Black Mask with a much more aggressive approach in dealing with the police and authorities. A lengthy interview with founder Ben Morea provides context and color to this fascinating documentary legacy.