PEARL HARBOR DAY is an annual event which has taken place every year since 1972.
As it happened, the 20th annual event in 1991 coincided with the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, so it was known as PHD XX-L. The first two PHDs were held at UC Santa Cruz; subsequent events were held in a variety of locations, including a country meadow, a San Francisco loft, a photographer's quonset hut, and several bars/clubs. In 1991 it was held at the Bay View Boat Club in San Francisco.
There is some question as to whether this laminate reads: NO MORE WAR or ONE MORE WAR. 1991 was the year of The Gulf War, but we prefer to think it reads NO MORE WAR.
From John Ammirati's 1988 book escapades: A Journal of Art Events: " Originally Pearl Harbor Day was a variety show of bizarre performances staged in a college theatre which otherwise offered a season of traditional plays and dance concerts. The formal space and complacent audiences were foils for the sneak attack antics of the rowdy Pearl Harbor Day performers. As the show's organizers, we had no screening process and allowed anyone who wanted to take the stage. This aesthetic, or antiaesthetic, produced some unexpected moments of real theatre and, of course, also some uncontrollable lapses into utter anarchy.
"Doves interpreted the theme as anti-war; hawks swelled their chests and belted out patriotic hymns; poets talked in tongues; musicians made their debuts; city artists came to the country; and country artists competed with their own vernacular sounds and shapes. Satire was the official genre, but there were some powerful dramatic moments and also events of sheer astract appeal."
--Reproduced by permission from John Ammirati / copyright 1988 Foxtail Press.