Blog – Art in Odd Places

AiOP 2014: FREE Sneak Peek! eteam “Nothing is free”

September 30, 2014 – 9:00 am

Your name/collaborative or group name

eteam

The title of your project

Nothing is free

“Nothing for free.” Photo courtesy of eteam.

What does “FREE” mean to you?

Email is free, social networks are free, streaming music is free, online storage is free, streaming videos are free, phone calls are free, shipping is free. Yet none of those is really free, all free offers are logging habits, track data, collect profiles and scan exchanges for marketable information to provide a“better” more customized experience.

The only thing left that is really free is to do nothing.

Why is 14th Street a compelling site for creative response?

It’s a long street cross street through Manhattan and since our arrival in NY it has changed to a street almost entirely occupied by national chain stores. It represents a free market.

What reactions are you hoping to draw from the public?

None or Nothing

AiOP 2014: FREE Sneak Peek! 0H10M1KE & TJ “Drive-By Portraiture”

September 28, 2014 – 12:00 pm

Your name/collaborative or group name:

0H10M1KE & TJ

Title of your project:

Drive-By Portraiture

0H10M1KE (right) & TJ providing roadside coffee during dinner theatre performance Mobile Picnic (2009). Photo credit: Naomi Miller

What does “FREE” mean to you?

There’s no free lunch; everything requires time and effort.

DIY Terms like ‘Free’ and ‘Self-produced’ are often misleading when the event or project has secured sponsorship/ investors, is a collaboration by many others through their time effort and money and/or is backed by a Kickstarter.

Why is 14th Street a compelling site for creative response?

14th St used to act as an invisible border between Brooklyn/Lower Manhattan and the rest of this New York City, as in “I don’t go above 14th St”. Many 0h10M1ke portrait blitzes have occurred aboard L trains across 14th St from 8th Ave to Bedford/Lorimer, where upon 0H10M1ke has completed an entire train car of portraits. M1ke is excited to explore the above-ground 14th St-goers and note differences from an almost entirely Brooklyn-bound subterranean crowd. TJ, an expert driver, will be deskilling as part of this project. He is in his prime when navigating long commutes with complex traffic problems. 14th St as a straight shot should offer some TJ a chance to create some compelling strategies for navigating from point A to B only.

What reactions are you hoping to draw from the public?

Surprised Delight. By breaking the cardinal rule of “Don’t talk to strangers”, passengers will have already one-upped their own rule-breaking by accepting a ride from a stranger. Their demeanor will shift while in transit from potentially guarded, to open, to engaged, to interacting as a newly formed group through critical exposure to that which they may distrust, that which is ‘free’. They will exit safely at their destination thanks to TJ, having made 2 new friends and with a takeaway memento that will act as a receipt for their experience in a 1-minute portrait by 0H10M1ke.