Foo Conner (born September 8, 1985) is an American activist, entrepreneur, and journalist. He is known for his work on
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a left-wing populist movement against economic inequality, capitalism, corporate greed, big finance, and the influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial ...
,
Randyland
Randyland is an art museum in the North Side section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is widely regarded as one of America's most colorful public art landmarks. Randy Gilson is the founder of this museum, which showcases found object art.
Randy ...
,
Social journalism, and as a
YouTube personality.
Personal life
Foo Conner was born in
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...
. He grew up on a small
subsistence farm right outside of the city in
Mink Shoals, West Virginia. His father was a photojournalist for
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
and taught Foo the craft at an early age.
Although he has been called ''Foo'' since childhood, Conner officially changed his name to Foo in 2018. Foo
squats
Squat, squatter or squatting may refer to:
Body position
* Squatting position, a sitting position where one's knees are folded with heels touching one's buttocks or back of the thighs
* Squat (exercise), a lower-body exercise in strength and co ...
an otherwise abandoned house to advocate for
housing rights.
Touring bands often play there. In February 2016, babies born in
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Allegheny County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the List of counties in Pennsylvania, state's second-most populous county, after Philadelp ...
were gifted prints of Foo's artwork. Conner is an
Entrepreneur-in-Residence at
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...
since 2020.
Career
Conner got his start producing free
punk rock
Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
festivals at
Skatopia. The
anti-authoritarian
Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism. Anti-authoritarians usually believe in full equality before the law and strong civil liberties. Sometimes the term is used interchangeably with anarchism, an ideology which entails opposing a ...
atmosphere of his events caught the attention of
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
. Upon hearing the call to protest, he became a core organizer for
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a left-wing populist movement against economic inequality, capitalism, corporate greed, big finance, and the influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial ...
movement speaking out against
Economic inequality.
On the weekends he co-hosts the G3AR YouTube channel, where they build super hero gadgets and test them similar to the
Mythbusters
''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television series created by Peter Rees (producer), Peter Rees and produced by Beyond International in Australia. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast in ...
. The channel has amassed over 600,000 subscribers.
In 2015, Conner became the co-director of
Randyland
Randyland is an art museum in the North Side section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is widely regarded as one of America's most colorful public art landmarks. Randy Gilson is the founder of this museum, which showcases found object art.
Randy ...
, an
outsider art
Outsider art is Fine art, art made by Autodidacticism, self-taught individuals who are untrained and untutored in the traditional arts with typically little or no contact with the Convention (norm), conventions of the art worlds.
The term ''ou ...
museum promoting happiness. Leaning on his skills as a photographer, he overhauled Randyland into a
Selfie Museum. His curation was wildly applauded. The New York Times described it as, "an expression of joy and an extraordinary piece of public art." Conner left the museum in February 2020.
Occupy Wall Street
In 2011, Foo helped plan the Occupy movement online. He would move to
Zucotti Park in the fall. Though a leaderless movement, Conner would be recognized as a core organizer
and speak on behalf of the movement. During his time at Occupy, Conner played rolls in the social media strategy and coordinate street protests.
Towards the end, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist
Chris Hedges
Christopher Lynn Hedges (born September 18, 1956) is an American journalist, author, commentator and Presbyterian minister.
In his early career, Hedges worked as a freelance war correspondent in Central America for ''The Christian Science Monit ...
told Conner, "a real activist would get into the news". Conner would use his experiences and that advice to go on to found
Jekko, a news website covering current events and
technology
Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...
news.
Journalism
Foo is a prolific journalist covering upwards of five hundred events a year through social media.
Conner's society photography is reminiscent of late American photographer
Bill Cunningham who took candid photos and traveled to events by bicycle. The uniqueness of the style has led other
society columns to occasionally mention if Conner attends an event. In 2016, he was nominated for Blogger of the Year at Style Week Pittsburgh. He is known for his
gonzo journalism
Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story using a first-person narrative. The word "gonzo" is believed to have been first used in 1970 to descri ...
"activistartist-journalist" style.
His work aims for a neutral point of view. This applies to his technology commentary too, which he has been doing for over a decade.
Awards
* Mayor's Public Art Award of 2019.
* April 1, 2022 was proclaimed April Foo's Day in
Allegheny County.
See also
*
Randyland
Randyland is an art museum in the North Side section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is widely regarded as one of America's most colorful public art landmarks. Randy Gilson is the founder of this museum, which showcases found object art.
Randy ...
*
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a left-wing populist movement against economic inequality, capitalism, corporate greed, big finance, and the influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial ...
References
External links
*
Muckrack profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conner, Foo
1985 births
21st-century American journalists
American activist journalists
American bloggers
American columnists
American essayists
American male bloggers
American male journalists
American media critics
American online journalists
American political journalists
American reporters and correspondents
American technology writers
Living people
Occupy movement in the United States
Occupy Wall Street
American YouTube vloggers
People from Charleston, West Virginia
YouTubers from West Virginia