PUBLIC ART INSTALLATION STILLS

so what did the salt outside the door of the Japanese restaurant mean afterall? it is in fact used to ward off evil spirits. not only does it appear outside select restaurants, but is also used in Japanese funerals, so to keep any "evil spirits" from creeping out of their graves and coming home with you! in recognizing all the different functions salt serves, i wanted to offer it to the public with some explanation, and leave it to them to decide how they'd like to use it to their benefit, if at all.

this is what my installation looked like, set up on the corner of Bowery and Houston:

after 45 minutes and a few takers, this man was the first to open the salt on the spot and throw it over his shoulder for good luck:

one hour later, i returned to the scene, and this is what i found:

overall, i felt the installation was a success. when i was first faced with a small bowl of mystery substance on the floor outside a Japanese restaurant, i was both confused and curious. after doing a bit of research and learning the meaning in this found object, i wanted to offer it to the public with an explanation, and see if there would be any takers... and there was! some people dismissed the installation completely, some simply glanced, but some stopped to think about it... they discussed it with their pals, took pictures of it, grabbed some salt and ran away, and even opened it and threw it over their shoulders. it started a conversation, both personal and public. whether it was just with one other person or with the entire street, it made people think about something else, even for just a minute. with any installation, the passerby is forced to look at [it], but with something that invites you to participate, it pushes you to interact and brings the experience to a different level. even something as simple as taking a small bowl of salt opens your afternoon to new possibilities... will you research it? give it to a friend? put it outside your door? cook with it? or maybe just take it with you and keep it as a memory of that particular day in NYC (free protection from evil spirits could be a useful tool in this city!) either way, at the end of the day, 9 lucky people walked away with a plastic bowl of kosher salt and a hopefully some good luck, on me.

video coming soon!