Improv Everywhere is one of my favorite public space chaos creators. They have created some interesting events such as No Shirts in the Abercrombie and Fitch store, Slo-Mo in Home Depot, Human Mirror and the MP3 experiments. But the most attention grabbing and news catchy event is this day in winter when thousands of New Yorkers strip off their pants and ride the subways, seemingly unaware that there’s anything wrong with their attire. No Pants subway ride has now gone global in 43 other cities around the world in 16 countries and I assume will continue to amass exhibitionists and voyeurs for years.
The event occurred this past Sunday, the 10th, and I accidentally stumbled upon the end result that evening stopping off at Union Square for groceries when 3000+ participants had gathered to celebrate the joint feat. I got off the 4 coming down from a museum day in the UES when I was hit by a wall of pant-less participants shouting in unison “Take off your Pants!”. Unfortunately, it’s chaotic night scenes like this that push the limits of my camera, as the XSi I have is slow with autofocus and my standard flash is equaly inaccurate in these situations. As a result, my photos are not as clear as I had hoped. I’ll need to practice more of these in the future as I work to pick up the much faster Canon EOS 5D Mark II on the wish list.
I would have participated (*cough*), if it wasn’t for the 28 degrees and my fashionable thermal underwear just wasn’t as revealing as some of the lingerie bottoms flaunted around the square. Much better photos from agents are available on the IE site.
Seu Jorge – Rebel Rebel (David Bowie Cover)
[audio:http://www.rollogrady.org/media/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/rebel-rebel-david-bowie-cover.mp3]
Rebel Rebel, you’ve torn your dress
Rebel Rebel, your face is a mess
Rebel Rebel, how could they know?
Hot tramp, I love you so!
