Four-Hour Public Performance, Bryant Park, NYC, June 2004

Michelle was commissioned by Exit Art, NYC to make a public art piece that used the public as material for public.exe: Public Execution, an exhibition organized by Michele Thursz and Anne Ellegood with participating curator Defne Ayas.

Michelle spent a week clandestinely documenting visitors to Bryant Park, recording their conversations, photographing them, and taking note of their location/time in the park. Then she chose five scenarios to recreate and present in the park as live tableaus.

She recorded audio of actors performing the “found conversations”, then further cut up the audio tracks repeating sounds and words, and loaded the new audio onto ipods that were hidden, along with speakers in the performers costumes.

On the day of the show performers were placed throughout the park, assuming poses based on my previous observations with the sounds of pre-recorded conversations emanating from their costumes.

There was also a blog for people in the wi-fi park that showed a map and contained pictures and stories about the original people. These were the ghosts of Bryant Park, a monument to all who had passed through the park and still remain in spirit.

Performers: Benjamin Godsill, Paulina Guerrero, Chase Granoff, Shea Bland, Loma Familiar, Aaron Kreiswirth, Jessye McDowell, Ashley Smith, Tori Sparks

Voices: Vincent Baker, Patrick Mangina Bucklew, Quin Charity, Dan Cherubin, Michelle Handelman, Michele Thursz, Alon Zouaretz

Assistant Producer: Quin Charity
Production Assistants: Ryan Frank, Laura Frencia, Francesca Rossi, Zhenya Plrchkina