Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Stillspotting NYC


The Guggenheim museum has begun a new exhibition program called Stillspotting NYC. The project is described as:
Stillspotting nyc, a two-year multidisciplinary project that takes the museum’s Architecture and Urban Studies programming out into the streets of the city’s five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. Every three to five months, “stillspots” are identified, created, or transformed by architects, artists, designers, composers, and philosophers into public tours, events, or installations.

Improv Everywhere has collabortated on two project pieces so far: Mute Button and Say Something Nice. Both are great pieces that weave seamlessly into everyday NYC life.

Mute Button 

Street Muscian
The first Improv Everywhere collaboration included 23 actors and 2 dogs. The group infiltrated a public space - the entrance to Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NYC. The group was given instructions to act out their vignettes in 30 second intervals of sound. The mute button, signaled by the group leader would signal when to make noise and when to remain mute. The general public clued in pretty quickly, but it made them stop, watch, think and interact.

A couple arguing - all part of the piece


Check out the video below:




Say Something Nice
Improv Everywhere constructed a wooden podium with a megaphone attached. The pdoieum sported a sign that read "Say Something Nice." The podium was set up and left alone in severalpublic spaces through the city to see what would happen and whether NYers would really say something nice.

People trying to figure the podium out.

Check out the video to see what happened!


Clearly, when you give mean grumpy 'ol NYers a way to out positivity and love...they do!