Don't be concerned if you run across people acting outrageously along 14th Street this week. The city has not gone mad! Its just the members of
Art in Odd Places, asking you to think about art during your normally artless day.
Every year, this art collective takes to the streets of Manhattan, installing art in random places where the public can see and appreciate it outside the walls of a museum. From October 1 to 10, along 14th Street from Avenue C to the Hudson River, art could be just about anywhere, so carefully scan buildings, windows, and doorknob knockers. That woman selling garage-sale junk? She might just be an artist!
This year's theme focuses on the idea of "chance." Think: randomness and luck. Thirty artists plan to participate, installing paper, video, or audio projects or performances on the street. Several artists will draw your attention to "undetected aspects of the city" while others, invite you to participate in games of chance and even a scavenger hunt. Artists range from the nostalgic to the hilarious. Five payphones—relics of pre-cell-phone days—make sounds meant to remind you of the neighborhood's past. Artist Maya Suess will patrol the streets dressed in garish red offering you free luck during her experiment, "Luck Be a Lady." Irvin Morazan will try to hail a cab wearing an outrageous Mayan costume and eating Cheese Doodles. Stores are in on the gag too, selling underground matchbook lottery tickets.
Check the Art in Odd Places
schedule for each exhibit or performance, which occur several times throughout the week. Opening night, Friday, October 1, features several one-time installations. Other events planned throughout the week include a panel discussion, comedy night, and a video screening.
