The Best of 2006: Art Hijack Begins Executive Director/Collaborator Search

by Art Fag City on March 17, 2006 Events

By far the funniest thing I have received in my inbox this year comes from the art collective Art Hijack, which until now has consisted of two members Trong G. Nguyen and Elana Rubinfeld. As some of you may remember, I recently gave a luke warm recommendation to another Nguyen project, New General Catalogue’s “The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, Her Lover, And Their Dinner Guests”. The post basically consists of me complaining about Nguyen coming off as egotistical, and begrudgingly granting him that though the project had not been defined, his work did tend to be interesting.

Proving that Nguyen comes up with good shit, cut to the receipt of an email this week from Art Hijack with the title “Art Hijack is Hiring” and an attachment titled “firetrong”. This letter informs me that Trong Nguyen has been fired from the collective citing artistic indecision of working medium as the source of irreconcilable difference. As a hoax firing, I might even find this more amusing than the original Art Hijack project, which involved the complicated construction of fake art heists, and resale of “the originals” at art fairs. But, the success of firetrong is up in the air because it depends on the response the call for applicants draws. The project is ripe with potential to turn into a giant joke at the expense of dim witted applicants, which sufficed to say, is considerably less interesting. I have provided below the call for employment and have posted the letter of dismissal. You may notice that the letter it is utterly unreadable on the blog, which is why I advise you to either click here, or right click on the image and go to “view image” to read it properly.

Art Hijack is hiring!

Have you ever wanted to become an established, famous artist, but only do HALF the work?

If you are looking for a challenging opportunity within a delightful organization that offers room for immense growth, then this could be what you’re looking for. This is a leadership position within a young and fast-growing art and curatorial collective with a roster of A+ clients.

Formed in October of 2004 by Trong G. Nguyen and Elana Rubinfeld, Art Hijack began as a public relations and consulting firm that targeted the national and international visual arts and cultural communities. As a side project to the PR wing, Art Hijack also proved to be a formidable art and curatorial collective that sought out alternative modes of producing art exhibitions, often through direct engagement and investigation of roles commonly segregated in the art world – artist, dealer, curator, critic, and collector.

Gradually, Art Hijack shifted focus from PR firm to full-time art collective, while retaining many of the previous business strategies. Art Hijack takes a complete D.I.Y. approach to manifesting the “art show,”” creating and attracting an audience, and encouraging a vital and critical dialogue between all the players.

In accordance with Art Hijack’s bi-gender structure, we are currently looking to hire the Male Collaborator.

The ideal candidate possesses:
– Strong leadership, organizational, communication, interpersonal, and writing skills
– Keen understanding of conceptual art practices in a historical and contemporary context
– Master’s degree in Art is preferred, but not 100% necessary. We are also open to individuals with backgrounds in other creative fields
– Uncanny ability to think beyond the box and creatively solve problems that would stunt lesser collectives
– Exceptional proficiency working with a range of media, including but not limited to painting, photography, sculpture, sound, performance, and new technologies
– Exceptional, outgoing (yet introspective) personality who is cool under pressure, to deal with deadlines and the occasional adverse situation
– Computer savvy with working knowledge of electronic communication and network hacking (this last bit is useful but also not absolutely necessary)
– Emotional availability and good sense of humor *(AFC’s favorite stated artist qualification yet)

Responsibilities include:
– Collaborate on all Art Hijack directives
– Research, develop, and execute creative projects relevant to the contemporary art scene, including exhibitions, art fairs, and other modes of visual representation
– Management, refinement, and expansion of the Art Hijack “brand” to maintain a competitive position within the art collective community and beyond
– Development, creation and management of all Marketing Materials, online and off
– Liaise, network, and negotiate with a diverse range of clients from all socio-economic, political, and cultural backgrounds

Salary and commission structure are commensurate with the potential of initiated projects to generate capital.

Please email a resume and cover letter detailing your qualifications and interest in being a member of Art Hijack to Elana Rubinfeld at elana@arthijack.com

Prospective collaborators will receive a call back on March 31, and interviews (to be filmed) will be conducted in early April at a location in New York City to be announced.

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