Fugazi
| Fugazi | |
|---|---|
| |
| Designer: | Ben Henley |
| Year: | unknown |
| Players: | 9-21 |
| Stuff required: | A non-representational artwork; a collection of craft materials and assorted random junk; screens; caption cards; pens; a box for each team; Monopoly money; gavel |
| Crew required: | One. |
| Preparation: | 20 minutes. |
| Time required: | An hour. |
| Place required: | Ideally somewhere with at least two separate rooms |
| Activities: | Art, bluffing, bidding |
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Teams of players make fake artworks. The fakes are then auctioned along with a genuine work of art. The aim of the game is to buy the real artwork.
Preparation
Buy a genuine work of art from a final-year art student's project or something similar. It should be non-representational and not beholden to outmoded ideas like "craft". It must be relatively easy to transport in a box - no huge installations. Have the student fill in an explanatory caption card, in the same prose style as the captions in the best galleries.
The Fakery
Divide the players into 3-7 teams of 3+ people.
Each team must create a fake work of modern art, keeping their work hidden from the other teams.
Give each team some basic craft materials like card, balsa wood, craft knives, pens, crayons, paint plus a load of random bric-a-brac which they can use as they wish to make their 'artwork'. Each team should have a different set of materials.
Provide screens or separate rooms so that other teams can't see their work.
When the artwork is completed, each team must then fill in a preprinted explanatory caption card giving a fake artist name, date, and a pretentious gloss on the meaning of their piece.
The Auction
Box up the works of art and take them to the auction room. While the works and captions are being set up, the players can mingle and drink wine and exchange art world gossip.
Let the teams examine all the artworks and captions for ten minutes or so.
Give each team the same sum of Monopoly money, and tell them that they must try to buy the genuine artwork.
Auction off all the lots in a random order.
The team that buys the real artwork wins. The prize is that they get to keep the artwork. All teams keep whichever artworks they bought.
