Art in Odd Places Pt 1

On weekends, I look for interesting things to do in the city that give me a chance to see an area I don't know well, but also be entertained, just in case the area isn't overly exciting . This past weekend that took me to the area of Union Square, and all up and down 14th St. The event was called Art in Odd Places. And it was literally that. There were all sorts of performance art, static art and participatory art pieces.

For example – The Bodhi Tree. This is a tree that would periodically start making the 'ohm' sound as you walked past it. And once you heard the chanting coming from the tree, and walked up to it, you see an explanation of what it was.

"Buddha attained enlightenment after 49 days of meditation sitting in the shade of the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India 2,500 years ago. Inspired by this idea, the Bodhi Tree is a sculptural intervention in the midst of the bustling environment near Union Square. The tree will emit the sound of OM at random intervals, in an attempt to bring peace, awareness and an opportunity for introspection to New York City pedestrians."


The Kissing Tree – another piece you may not notice unless you were looking.


You see the trunk of the tree had a number of red marks. As you got closer, you see they were lip prints


One of the performance artist was performing what she called "the kissing tree" where she did just that.


Stray and Get Found – This is one that I still don't think I understood what I was supposed to do with. I saw lost and found signs up and down the street.



Later on, I actually found one of the bindle bags.



Inside was an apple, piece of chalk and this note.



So, what was I supposed to do with what I found? I'm not sure. I at least feel good to know I wasn't alone as I saw other people confusedly looking at the pieces and trying to figure out what to do. I suppose I should've just given the apple away and drawn "something" with the chalk, somewhere... But I took the easy way out, and put it all back for someone else to figure out.

There were also some interesting performance artists such as this gentleman...



And some interactive pieces such as this one relating to feet washing.




Here's the blurb on it...

"UNION SQUARE CLEAN - Rob Andrews - Forty figures cloaked in black fabric will gather in Union Square, where the public will be invited to clean the feet of the figures with Andrews. This performance is an act of communion. Of preparation for prayer. Of sublimation. Of sharing. Of acknowledgment of difference, but also of sameness. Let us be contrary, but find peace in our shared rituals! Cleaning embodies our contrary nature in its most basic form. In a sense, that’s what ritual is: an acknowledgment or our fundamental weaknesses. An appeal. The question is of course: to whom do we appeal and why?"

There are two jars of water at their feet and this note.


And yes, some people did it...



And one of my favorites, in the performance art category, was Being Away And Walking. Artist Abigail Lavine choreographed an eight hour dance routine that she did while going around four crosswalks at the corner of ninth and 14th... yes for a whole eight hours.



When I first saw her, I kept trying to watch what was changing in her routine each time she went around and then literally spent about 20 to 30 minutes watching people react to her as she would walk to the cross walk with them and suddenly switch into dance moves. It was quite the people watching event.

I will admit that some of these things were a little too "artsy" for me. But it was interesting to watch people in there in endeavor of art .

Coming soon, I'll tell you about a couple of the pieces of art I came home with and one of the pieces of art that I'm a part of.