World Imitation Productions (WImP) was an interdisciplinary art and music collective active during the early years of punk in Los Angeles, California, through the late 1970s and early 1980s (c. 1977–1982). Their work involved the creation of xeroxed zines (a series of collage-based booklets sold at punk and record shops locally and internationally), art exhibitions, happenings, staged events, and mail art exchanged with other contemporary artists. The WImP collective was known "most famously (as) the legendary music group Monitor. They also wrote, performed, recorded, and released music under the band name The Tikis. The core members of WImP and Monitor were Steve Thomsen, Michael Uhlenkott, Laurie O’Connell, Jeffrey Rankin, Anne Connor, and Keith Mitchell. When performing as Monitor, Steve Thomsen played synthesizer and keyboards; Michael Uhlenkott played guitar and provided vocals; Laurie O'Connell provided vocals and played bass, and Jeffrey Rankin originally played drums, succeeded after the first 45 by Keith Mitchell who, in his later work with other bands, became known as "the Buddy Rich of punk".) Peripherally, artist Jeffrey Vallance and Boyd Rice, of the industrial band NON, with Robert Turman, were occasional contributors. Biography Origins All of the core members (except for Keith Mitchell) were from California's San Fernando Valley and attended James Monroe High School, and, later, California State University, Northridge (Uhlenkott, Thomsen, and O'Connell) and UCLA (Rankin and Connor). Keith Mitchell attended Long Beach City College. Additionally, Uhlenkott, O'Connell, and Thomsen all lived communally through the early to mid-70s. This period saw a number of artistic endeavors performed by the group before the organization of the members into the World Imitation Productions collective. Their early, pre-WImP work involved semi-performance-based, Situationist-style conceptual, experiential, and prank-based art. Notable endeavors included site-specific installations and modifications within the Disneyland theme park. The collective would alter the park's attractions by leaving battery-powered cassette decks playing soundtracks and recordings they had created. They also affixed incongruous items to the scenery within rides and removed and cataloged "liberated" park elements as artifact-like art pieces. During this period, Michael Uhlenkott also collaborated with fellow student and artist Jeffrey Vallance on installation and prank-based art in an artistic vein similar to, but separate from, the work of the collective. They also worked in a method of shared art development they termed "fixing up", wherein they would pass works of art back and forth, modifying and building upon each other's work. World Imitation Productions In