UNCONVENTIONAL ACTIONS IN PUBLIC SPACES VOL.2

Before I will write wider about actions created without permission of any authorities (which are called guerilla) I want to familiarize you with some works of group which has started from it and, thanks to that, became very popular. It's a collective of artists called "Greyworld". Their credo is to make world not gray:) They are using number of innovations to make people notice what they see everyday but normally ignore and just pass over it. Their first bigger project was called "Railings". Artists tuned railings (which you can find in parks) to make special sound when you hit one rail with something stiff like a stick. So when you run along hitting every rail you could play The Girl from Ipanema instead hearing normal jangling sound. I think, in this case, they absolutely managed to colourize this grey space. Wouldn't you like to try it? They have copied it to other cities and in some of them "Railings" have been removed by people that definitely like gray :)

Railings (1996)

[image] Next project was also connected with the sound. It was a carpet expanded on the footbridge that contained one of inventions of Greyworld called "the layer". It is a surface with number of sensors that process tension to sound so when people crossed over the footbridge (which was placed in space that you definitely wouldn't delight the views) every step created different sound imitating walking in the snow, water or leaves. What a wonderful experience during your walk to school or work! I bet you would be late:)

Bridge (2000)

Next project which is kind of parody of bronze monument of national heroes (even has inscription written in Latin that says "anything written in Latin sounds wise" :). It looks like bronze but actually is made of synthetic material and has ability of... movement! It can imitate your pose when you stand in front of it !



Ok, I have to mention one more, but very shortly. The project was set of benches and bins placed in a kind of public square. What was special about them? They came to you when you whistled or clapped your hands! Devices had even installed GPS system to track them and bring back if they went to far away (or someone "borrowed" them:)) Additionally every device had its own personality so there were shame ones or impudent, they were acting different every day - they were singing or waiting in a queue for someone to sit on!

Bins and Benches(2005)

Next artist whose works I want to enclose is already mentioned Banksy . He is real guerilla. Even his own agent claims that he has never met him personally. Even though nobody knows how he looks his albums and works sells very well (probably that mystery even intensifies it). He is specialized in quick and unnoticeable actions which most often are provide mural paintings created with a stencil which after few days are known all over the world. Most of you probably have seen a lot of his works so I will mention only the most groundbreaking ones in very short words.
He prepared a stone, imitating prehistoric painting, with a man pushing shopping trolley and planted it in British Museum. The service noticed it after few days and kept showing it on exhibition.
He painted a mural on Bristol Sexual Health Clinic. It contains naked man hanging down the window. When authorities wanted to remove it the publicity opposed. It has stayed:)
He painted set of nine murals on the Wall in Palestine. Here is the relation from it:





Images and more of him works you can find on his website and on artofthestate.co.uk;

I admire him for courage and unusual perceptiveness (look at his works where he adopts to his paintings any kinds of holes and dirts on the walls). But many consider him to be vandal, what do you think about it?

Last unconventional urban action I want to touch in this part of presentation is slightly different. It involves a lot of people gathered in one place who, on some particular signal start to behave in a way they specified before - it's a flash mob. It is amazing how dozens or even hundreds of people are able to synchronize themselves an make it work!
Here are the most outstanding examples I've found:






What do you think about it? Did you participate to any or were you a witness of it?