UJ3RK5

UJ3RK5 (pronounced "you jerk," -the five is silent) was a Vancouver-based band from the late 1970s. Their style was post punk/new wave, but was more art rock than synth pop. UJ3RK5's short-lived local success was influenced by the music industry's infatuation with Martha and the Muffins-styled male-female bands. The band included local artist celebrities Ian Wallace, Jeff Wall and Rodney Graham, as well as Kitty Byrne, Colin Griffiths, Danice McLeod, Frank Ramirez and CBC Radio host David Wisdom. Their eponymous debut album, portraying the pioneers of Vancouver's school of so-called 'photoconceptualism' or 'post-conceptual photography' in a rare moment of unison, sported an unlikely hit single titled "Eisenhower and the Hippies" -a song inspired by a work of American conceptual art proponent Dan Graham. The band was a rather short-lived affair, allowing the members to concentrate on their art careers instead.