Treasures of Fauxtopia Artifacts, Memorabilia and Souvenirs from The Most Believable Place on Earth

Welcome to the Treasures of Fauxtopia, the most beautiful place on Earth!

Only in 20th Century America (and now in the 21st century) could a multibillion dollar international industry, based on storytelling and deception, flourish, prosper and develop an almost cult like fanbase--and everyone seems to be happy about it.

Theme parks fascinated me as a child. What 9-year-old doesn't love being immersef in make-believe lands come to life? But to a kid who would eventually become a professional graphic designer and a Visual Commication Design Professor, amusement parks, themed restuarants and immersive environments were as equally important to my education as reading, writing and arithmetic.

When I discovered G.E. McAtnoff's Fauxtopia, I immediately recognized that this theme park was more than thrill rides, haunted houses and popcorn stands. This was a park that was designed to educate-especially to those people interested in semiotics and visual communications. Classic park themes such as history, mythology, science, foreign cultures and literature are all on display in Fauxtopia, but it's more about how those themes are presented rather than the topic itself. 

For example, many theme parks have flight simulators that give the visitor that ersatz feeling of flying. But Fauxtopia's ride The Flight School -its version of this type of attraction- doesn't just show pastoral country sides from a bird's eye view, but rather displays the technology and ease at which anyone can take control of a 767 and pilot over New York City, Washington D.C., or even a field in Pennsylvania. Fauxtopia exposes that the fake worked might be the real world...and vice versa.

Over the years, I have studied Fauxtopia in depth, researched every aspect, become an expert and author about the park, an archivist and collector of its artifacts, memorabilia and souvenirs, and present it here for all to see. The pieces exhibited are designated as either artifacts from the Fauxtopia Archives, which include rarely viewed concept work; memorabilia which were part of the park and on display to guests; or souvenirs, items that have been (and in some cases, are) available for purchase at any number of gift shops throughout the park.

The collection exemplifies flatworks (two-dimensional and illustrative), sculptural works, (three-dimensional) works that focus on sequencing and duration (four-dimensional) and works that require the interaction of quests for them to be appreciated (five-dimensional). This is reflective of the current curriculum of the Visual Communications Design program here at Cal Poly Pomona.

This exhibition has been made possible through grants from the College of Environmental Design Professional Development Fund and the Cal Poly Pomona Provost's Teacher-Scholar Support Program. I would also like to recognize the hard work done by the staff at the Kellogg and Huntley Galleries for their efforts in mounting this exhibit. I especially want to acknowledge the creativity of all the Fauxbricators who's talent is on display and enthusiastically participated in the creation of this storied theme park.

I am not alone in my adoration of Fauxtopia. Fans of the park have created various video essays and vlogs about where to dine in Fauxtopia, the history of various attractions and critical artistic and cultural analysis of this "most believable place on earth!"

I hope you enjoy your visit!

Professor Raymond Kampf, Guest Curator
The Treasures of Fauxtopia: Artifacts, Memorabilia
and Souvenirs from the Most Believable Place on Earth
Huntley Gallery, Cal Poly Pomona, March 2022

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About G.E. McAtnoff and F.IB.

G.E. McAtnoff believed in the power of communication. He knew a message was not articulated or received in a vacuum; that it could be expressed in more than words and that all the senses could be involved. He believed that awesome power is possessed when a communicator knows how to visually, tactilely, armoatically and gastronomically manipulate the message and a person's response.

As the founder and lead creator of Fauxtopia, McAtnoff brought together artists, designers, musicians, actors, technicians, filmmakers, scientists, architects, environmental planners, chefs, and good old-fashioned storytellers. He drew upon their expertise to create a place that was unlike -but in many ways, exactly like- the real world. He called his team, Faubricators -those who can fabriate something that can become someone else's reality.

F.I.B. Fauxbricating! is the corporate research and development arm of Fauxtopia. F.I.B. is an acronym for "Fantasy. Industrial. Business." Collectively they created a theme park based on how we the public experience reality: what we wear, what we read, what we eat, and even we smell and feel. Reality is created here. But what the Faubricators have also shown us is that we are very easily influenced by convincing and entertaining messages. We are fooled by these Faubricators -and yet always seemingly delighted to be. They wield a soft power that seeps into culture, gives us joy, affecting us physically, mentally, and emotionally, and often manipulating us in ways we may, or may not, realize.

"Fiction is Our Function."

"Never let the truth get in the way of a good story."
 -Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens), American Humorist, ca. 1900

The immersion into Fauxtopia begins in the parking lot, over the Suspension of Disbelief Bridge and through the fog that blurs the line between reality and the park. Stroll under the Plot Line Station and you are in Setting Square at the beginning of Story Street. The spine of any faux reality is based on the story it creates, so here is where you start your visit.

Setting Square designates time and place, which is obviously “Here and Now”. The blocks of Story Street are based on the parts of every story –the Who, the Where, the Why and the What. Each block is home to an array of shops and boutiques that will better help you define the story.

Just off the west side of Story Street is Plotters Field Cemetery, where old stories go to die, but are more likely reincarnated in the mysterious Culte des huit Maison (translated from French, The Cult of Eight House) that is home to the Spirits of Imagination.

Ultimately Story Street ends at the Temple of Dolos and Apate, the Greek god and goddess of trickery and deceit, respectively. This temple is a fun house where things end up being quite different than expected. However, each time a guest “gets it” –and understands Fauxtopia– fireworks erupt and the light bulb atop the temple glows with realization.

ENTRANCE
1 Parking Lots:
2 Suspension of Disbelief Bridge
3 Ticket Booths & The Blur
4 Segal's Floral Clocks

SETTING SQUARE
5 Plot Line Station
6 Founders Hall
7 Blank's Page and Canvas Club
8 The Corner of Time and Place
9 The Camoflage Forrest
10 Plotters Field Cemetery
11 Culte des Huit Mansion

WHO BLOCK
12 Traits R Us
13 Empathy's Costume Shop
14 Frame 'Em Up Gallery

WHERE BLOCK
15 The Map Shack and The Unreal Estate Agency
16 Cafe Genre
17 Somewhere in Time Clock Shop 

WHY BLOCK
18 Desire, Fear and Fuzzy Logic: General Appeals
19 The Unreliable Narrator Book Shop
20 The POV Camera Boutique
21 The Greatest Story Ever Told Christmas Shop

WHAT BLOCK
22 Mission Statement to Mars
23 Metaphor Boutique
24 Sign and Symbol Shop

VERA SIMILTUDE'S PLAZA
25 The Hub with Blank Statue
26 Mount Rashomon Visitor Center
27 The Bamboozled Lounge
28 The Emperor's New Clothes
29 The Temple of Dolos and Apate

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 Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.  —Voltaire (aka François-Marie Arouet) French Philosopher and Author from the Collection des Lettres sur les Miracles, 1765 

Perceived Reality:

To the west of Story Street, through the Camouflage Forest, is Perceived Reality –a land themed to one's own subjective view of the world. How we understand what is real and what is true comes down to how we individually receive sensory messages. Is seeing really believing? Are your beliefs reality? Persuasive Fauxbricators of the past, very often came to great power creating “realities” for nations and congregations. In this land you can explore those two perceived realities.

Start with a shadow puppet show in Platoʼs Cave Theater or enjoy all the political clowns at Papa Ganderʼs Propaganda Circus. Then wander over the Gas Light Bridge to the towering pyramid of The Conspiratorium, where you can travel along with the Schemefinder to help him rescue his goat Patsy from falling for conspiracy hoaxes. Grab a quick refreshment at the Kool-Aid Stand (everyone else is) and then splash down in The Brain Washer. For a bigger thrill, find yourself falling from grace as you become a victim of The Red Scare. Or just sit back and enjoy a leisurely cruise through old world Russian Potemkin Villages. Perceived Reality is also home to the Placebo First Aid Station and Reminiscence Adult Day Care.

A lie told a thousand times becomes the truth. —Joseph Goebbels Chief Propagandist, Nazi Party ca. 1935

1. Triumph of the Will Sky Way 

2. The Jingo Cruise/Tomorrow Belongs to the USA

3. The Operation Dessert Storm Ice Cream Parlor

4. The Political Spin

5. The Potemkin Village Boat Ride

6. The Red Scare and Black Ball Pit

7. Reminiscence Adult Day Care

8. The Hot Air Politician Balloon Ride

9. Click's Bait and Switch Shop & The Phishing Dock

10. Placebo First Aid Station

11. The Dale Showroom

12. The Brain Washer

13. The Police Ride along with Officer McGrift

14. Drink the Kool-Aid stand

15. Troian Horse Internet Café

16. Gaslight Inn and Bakery

17. Plato's Shadow Theater

18. The Mayflower Simulator

19. Proctor's Ledge Hanging Tree

20. Carousel of Conquest

21. Papa Gander's Propaganda Circus

22. The Dogma and Pony Show

    THE CONSPIRATORIUM

23. Journey into Conspiracy

24. Tin Foil Hat Booth

25. Great Moments with Mr. Kennedy

26. Moon Landing Bounce House

27. The Great Ginger Extinction

28. Back Masking Sound Studios

29. Creepy Pasta Diner

30. Grassy Knoll Shooting Gallery

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"Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate then by the content of the communication." -Marshall McLuhan, Canadian Philosopher and Graphic Designer, 'The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects' 1967

Simulated Reality:

Situated in the north side of the park, Simulated Reality is a perfect place to spend the afternoon (or a lifetime) during your visit to Fauxtopia. This land is ruled by Empress Vera Similitude, who offers guests a variety of portals in which to experience this reality. Stages, screens, monitors, mirrors and painted images are entry ways into new worlds. These portals are the theme for this area of the park, because they have become such a vital role in communication. So much so, that they often eclipse the message itself –is it Facebook we have a problem with? Or what someone is posting on Facebook? Or both?

Start with lunch at the Making Scents Bistro, where science is the main ingredient in every dish. Then immerse yourself in video games at the Polybius Arcade or a matinee at Brechtʼs Broken 4th Wall Theatre. But beware of spending too much time in Simulated Reality for you can easily be trapped on The Scroller Coaster or swindled at Forgerʼs Art Gallery, or worse, to fall prey to Foxxy Murdoch, the TV journalist who manipulates her public following through fear-mongering. But before you leave Simulated Reality, make sure not to miss embarking upon The Treachery of Theme Parks –although, some might say that “this is not a ride.” 

1 The Forgerʼs Art Gallery

2 Mr. Eckshunʼs Snake Oil Wagon

3 The Blindmanʼs Zoo

4 Red Dye 40 Kool-Aid Stand

5 Imposter Designer Perfumery

6 Making Scents Bistro

7 Trompe lʼoeil Tower

8 KFOH Radio Station

9 Abignaleʼs Paper Hangers and Stationary Store

10 Costume Jewelerʼs Row

11 The Slanted News Stand

12 The Simulated Reality Plot Line Station

13 Kidʼs Kingdom of Boxes

14 The Foxx who Cried Wolf

15 The Polybius Arcade

16 The Reality TV Studio

17 The Rialto Theater

18 Brechtʼs Broken 4th Wall Theater

19 The House of Mirrors

20 The Virtual Reality Dome OPENING SOON

21 Flight School Simulators

22 The Gran Dʼillusion Salon

23 The Treachery of Theme Parks

24 Scroller Coaster

25 The Artificial Greenhouse

26 Uncanny Valley Ranch

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Every theme park throughout the world is itself a hyper-reality, because they bring “the fantastic”, “the imagined”, “the oversized” and “the exotic” to life, into actual reality. Hyper-reality has been defined as “a copy without an original” –meaning something that is created, that supersedes in aesthetics and cultural perception, from the thing it is based on. For example, our local Disneylandʼs Main Street U.S.A. is a recreational area inside its theme park based on “the small Midwest townʼs main thoroughfare”, but it is heavily romanticized with little authenticity –and yet, guests often have a much more emotional attachment to this illusionary, fabricated place, then to the real world. In this postmodern reality, artifice is what is true and celebrated –where architecture defies boring boxes with gridded windows, and instead transforms buildings into structures that take the shape of ducks and hats. Here, these hyper-real environments tell stories and have character. Hyper Reality animates inanimate objects. It allows the impossible to be possible. It cleans up history by simplifying it to make it more palatable, which then in turn, creates nostalgia. And it is often a nostalgia for a time or place that never really existed. A question pondered in recent decades has been: Can we Make America Great Again, if it never was in the first place? Have we been living in a Hyper Reality all along? In Fauxtopia, Hyper Reality is concentrated for you to explore. Different from the other lands in the park, Hyper Reality has concentrated areas, such as ETOCS (the acronym for the Ethnic Tapestry of Cultural Stereotypes) on Lake Cliché –an eclectic series of international restaurants and cafes; Kitsch Gardens, G.E. McAtnoffʼs personal collection of oversized objects that are both works of art and crass advertising; and Ye Olde Colonial Civil Renaissance Re-enactment Festival Faire, where guests can see Confederate soldiers joust Genghis Khan –because that was “There and Then, not Here and Now”, and “History is so easy to mix up”.

ETOCS
1 Entrance Arch
2 Mama Tomatoʼs Pizzeria
3 McLeprechaun OʼBansheeʼs
4 The Swan Butcher
5 Der Weite Busen Biergarten (The Ample Bosom Beer Garden)
6 Le Caniche Gourmand (The Gourmet Poodle)

KITSCH GARDENS:
15 The Giant Muffler Man
16 Mount Oldenburg
17 The Brown Derby
18 The Big Whale Stage
19 Big Food!
20 Big Shops!
21 FiestaWare Fiesta!

POSTMODERN MOUNTAIN:
22 The Outdoor Experience
23 The Humanizer
24 The Revolving Restaurant
25 The Retro Diner
26 The Wild West That Wasnʼt
27 The Farmyard Jamboree

YE OLDE COLONIAL CIVIL RENAISSANCE RE-ENACTMENT FESTIVAL FAIRE:
28 Ye Olde Towne featuring Turkey Leg Carts and Starbucks
29 The Empressʼs Hedge Maze
30 The History Twister
31 The Queenʼs Jousting Grounds and Generalʼs Battlefield
32 The Gettysburg Encampment
33 Fauxlljah
7 The Alpine Fondue Chalet
8 Gardens of Olympus
9 Tatemae The Oriental Noodle Company
10 Tiki Oasis
11 Walkabooutʼs Steakhouse
12 The Hyper Reality Plot Line Station
13 The Queenʼs Cod & The Kingʼs Codpiece
14 Casa de Taco

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"Things get scary. But that's why it's important to remember, you're high. It's not reality." -Natasha Lyonne, American Actor and Drug User, 2020

Lyin' Country Safari & Institute:
Fauxtopiaʼs premier resort, Lyin’ Country Safari, lets you be the adventurer who goes after the big game: coming home with the best stories of your trip. You can indulge in luxurious accommodations in the Multiple Stories Lodge, or camp out in Tall Tale Woods on the bank of Big Fish Lake. Daily seminars and classes such as, “Avoiding Libelous Accusations by Employing Hearsay” and “Using Social Media as a Weapon” are offered at the Institute led by notorious raconteurs. Every night you will get to practice your s torytelling skills around the campfire with a group of folks just like yourself, eager to learn “The Craft of Fauxbricating”.

Port Distortion:
Your reality is manipulated by the environment inside the park, but at Port Distortion –Fauxtopiaʼs nighttime entertainment district– itʼs what goes inside you that causes you to question your reality. Just twelve steps and a Booze Cruise away, youʼll discover a variety of shops and nightclubs that offer potions, pill and powders to drink, swallow and snort.
This is a place designed for adults –and those with fake a fake IDs. Alcohol and other controlled substances allow for “reality” to be recreated in a guestʼs own mind. You'll think you are sexier, wittier and a helluva lot more charming than you really are. And those around you will get prettier and friendlier too! And tasty too!
Kick-off the evening at The Pink Elephant restaurant with a specialty cocktail, or indulge your “inner bro” at the nightly beer-bust at the QED Frat House. Next, roll into Mollyʼs Dance Hall, or mellow-out by enjoying common household appliances come to life at The Mushroomery. For a more illuminating thrill, venture into the Crack House, or the Ayahuasca Hut. Finally, wind-down your night at Le Lotus Bleu Opium Den, to lose just a few hours…days…or a lifetime.
1 The Port of Entry
2 The Pink Elephant Cocktail bar
3 Le Lotus Bleu Opium Den
4 The Crack House
5 Bourbon Street Saloon
6 QED Frat House
7 The Ayahuasca Hut
8 Mollyʼs Dance Hall
9 The Weed Dispensary
10 The Mushroomery
11 The Electric Kool Aid Stand

McMansion Acres:
Someone once said that Gothic architecture created after the 1400s was vulgar. But thatʼs just not so at McMansion Acres —a planned community where Fauxbricators improve upon the housing structures of the past. Modern materials are used to simulate characteristic architectural details, from Tudor Cottages to Dutch Colonials, so that they seem “just like the real thing”. These “Duplitecture” homes are painted in authentic reproduction colors appropriate to the style of each home, and landscaped in a variety, if not accurate, traditional ways. This neighborhood is an enclave of the best taste money can buy.

Merchantainment Mall:
Itʼs more fun to spend money when you get a little extra with it —like ambience and a story! At the Merchantainment Mall, you can find all those things you need, and want, but in a setting of whimsy and guile. Here, “fantasy worlds” mix with “modern commerce”. Buying housewares is a delight when done in a Fairy Tale Castle. Pick-up fishing and hunting gear at the Great Outdoors Indoors store. And the kids will love our Big Pyramid of Toys!
12 South Wing Ancient Monument Entrance Corporate Klassy Food Factory
13 West Wing The Royal Court of Home Goods Mini ETOCS Food Court Feel Bad About Your Body Works Feel Bad About Your Body Lingerie
14 North Wing Discount Exotic Imports Fruit Cult Computer Store Super Smelly Candle Shop Well Branded Department Store Toxic Masculinity Hardware The Great Pyramid of Toys
15 East Wing Floor Dresses Discount Shop Youth Panderʼs Forced Hip Shop Pretentieux Kitchenware Quirkyʼs Crap on the Wall Bistro The Great Outdoors Indoors

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