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The Man Behind the Institute: Jeff Hull by Doniphan Blair
Jeff Hull, creator of Nonchalance, Oaklandish and the Jejune Institute, the subject for the new doc, 'The Institute'. photo: D. Blair
JEFF HULL WAS A YOUNG, UP-AND
-coming graphic designer with a friendly demeanor and full head of hair when I met him in the hall of my building and started hanging out.
Now bald with a stately air, which he assumes when joking around and occasionally when not, Hull is one of the eminence gris of Oakland arts, having formed some of its seminal organizations, notably Nonchalance, an arts consulting service, Oaklandish, an apparel and accessories retailer which celebrates "local love and original Oakland charm" and supports Oakland endeavors like the Town Park skateboard park, and last but not least the Jejune Institute.
The subject of Spencer McCall's new documentary, "The Institute", the Jejune Institute has been called an alternative reality game, a fictional cult, a two-year multi-site performance piece, a Situationist street theater extravaganza or just one part of Hull's "decade long metaphysical street battle against banality and routine."
By 2002, the SF Chronicle was reporting that Hull gave up his "dot-coming and... cubicle lifestyle [and] returned to his hometown to be an artist." on that occasion creating a free outdoor video festival in Oakland (read more: here). Shortly thereafter, Oaklandish was going strong and by 2008 odd flyers announcing the Jejune Institute were appearing on telephone poles around Oakland.
Ultimately, almost ten thousand people went to the official looking office in San Francisco, attended a street performance piece, listened to a pirate radio broadcast, participated in a mystical treasure hunt, or followed it online. Talk about transmedia: considering the perforated phone numbers hanging off the original flyers, this is it personified. Last year, Nonchalance won an award at IndieCade, the International Festival of Independent Games held in Culver City, CA.
CineSource caught up with Hull after a crew screening of "The Institute" at Oakland's Grand Lake Theater.
Members of Nonchalance (lft-rt) Jeff Hull, Sean and Katie Aaberg, Refa 1, Geoff St. John and Kemrexx One. photo: Kat Wade
CineSource: It was an immense amount of work, the graphics and everything?
Jeff Hull: We had three people working full time, Sarah Thatcher [producer], Uriah Finley [sound and other tech], and myself and a whole consortium of talented designers, actors and producers role players—
Some of the graphics were great, like that map.
Lauren Purcell is the guy who did that; he spent two months. [laughs] He went way past deadline but is was so worth it
The Coleman guy [the mysterious 'cult leader']?
Off Craig's List, he answered a casting call. R. E. A. Bender, he's really good.
Quite a substantial budget?
Surprisingly, we ran the whole game for three years and the total was $250,000, not even comparable to a short film on a Hollywood budget. For an art project, it is large but for an entertainment property, totally miniscule.
But still substantial and you had to keep it sort of a secret.
For a long time we were totally behind the curtain, uber-discretion, but gradually we poked our heads out.
The vision originated, as you said in the documentary, when you met the actual Eva?
She is more of an amalgamation of characters and memories than a literal person.
So half of the film is a mockumentary and half real?
The purported head of the Jejune Institute, Octavio Coleman Esq, played by R. E. A. Bender. photo: courtesy J. Hull
It is not like 'Spinal Tap' which is a mockumentary with no elements of truth. It's not mocking anything, it is just taking liberties. I look at it as the godchild to 'Exit Through the Gift Shop' where you get to the end of the movie and you are not sure where the line is.
All of the interviews—well, 90%—are super-legitimate and things that you think are fantasy, like Organelle [the only figure in film with face obscured] with his whole twisted take, that is verbatim, word-for-word, real stuff.
He was actually injured in the course of the 'reality game'?
That's his story. It is hard to get any real detail on what happened.
But in the end, just as you did in the performance [of the reality game] you bring it down to a soft landing, as opposed to 'Exit Through the Gift Shop' which is still hanging [unverified whether it is doc or fiction]. There is a softness to your final 'seminar' and Coleman joking.
[laughs] I like that interpretation. It is not supposed to be mean-spirited at all.
When I first heard about it, I thought, 'OK documentary.' When I saw the trailer, I was like 'What? A cult thing?'
I didn't really like the trailer much, I thought it was pretty misleading. [The Jejune Institute] is definitely more about play and connecting with people then it is about freaking people out. It was more of an unintended consequence that people were terrified of the Institute from the flyers we were putting out and the voice messages that came.
Some of the superb graphics used in one of the Jejune Institute's mystical treasure hunt maps. illo: Courtesy J. Hull
It was so well organized!
I am not that well organized. Sarah Thatcher [one of the core three who produced the Jejune Institute] is very detail oriented. She was able to translate my wild-eyed vision into a production list, a calendar, and make sure things happen by the date. Beta-testing! I never thought to beta-test it. 'We have to test it, right?' And I was like, 'I guess so.' Have them walk through the episodes and find out which clues they were solving where they were getting lost.
And you actually rented a place at 580 California in San Francisco?
Yeah but just one room on the floor, that was like 800 bucks a month. Everyone thought we rented the entire floor. It was the power of perception. People perceived it to be way more then we actually had.
Since you are so Oakland, a cofounder of Oaklandish [a clothing and accessory retailer], it is interesting that you decided to go back into San Francisco, right into the heart of the financial district. That really solidified it.
I actually haven't been involved with Oaklandish over the last three or four years. Angela [Tsay] is the holder of the boulder there and runs the organization now. I am still involved as an advisor. I wanted a different venue to do this work and I was glad that I crossed the bridge to do it. San Francisco is just a different stage.
It really smacks of a religion but without all the religious bullshit, is that something you thought of?
It is more of an homage to the personal development stuff and new age and self-help things that happened in the Bay Area over the last bunch of decades, starting before the 60s, the experimental psychology, the group dynamics.
Jeff Hull in a spiral not unlike the poster for Hitchcock's 'Vertigo', and a comparison not unwarranted. photo: courtesy J. Hull
That legacy is sometimes tainted by Jim Jones, Werner Erhardt—
Absolutely, but there still must be something good about Jones—he got thousands of followers at his peak—and Werner Erhardt. There was something about it that was compelling enough that people would give their lives to that organization.
What we wanted to do was hint at the scarier things but offer all the great things about it. Or at least give that allure.
Art, poetry, music came before religion—I am very into religion, although I am an atheist. What you have done is good example of post-religion. It is a little like [Herman] Hesse's 'Magic Bead Game' where he never explains what it is but he evokes the mystery, amazement and beauty. That is kind of what you captured.
I like that too. Obviously there are things about religion that are great and things that are really oppressive. You don't need to throw out the baby with the bath water. Let's take a look at the things like: Where is ritual in our society? Where is initiation? Where are people finding meaning? Past generations would be in a church, or Masonic Lodge, or more recently some cult.
We consider ourselves so cynical and independent of those things but I want to bring it back. I would like to have ritual, initiation, the transfer of meaningful content to one another in some sort of formalized way, even if it is a self-knowing formalized way. That's something I would like to do.