Today, sidewalks are seen as an unsafe place, full of traffic, noise and crime and people are afraid of it. Street Scraper brings back the notion of the street as a safe social melting pot. Street Scraper is a combination of symbolic props and unique objects that are a part of our daily city life, including two blue police barricades, a “Metro” and “Village Voice” newspaper box, a fire hydrant, a yellow fetch barrel, and a round manhole cover with a pole with parking sign regulations. These elements seem to emerge from a concrete sidewalk.
Spectators would be able to play mini-golf by shooting the ball from the two blue police barricades, passing above and through the street objects, finally falling into the hole in the center of the manhole cover which has a parking regulation sign in it, similar to the flag in a golf course.
In our everyday journey, these objects are obstacles that effect New Yorker’s emotional and cognitive perception of the city landscape. In this installation, instead of separating people, barricades will connect them. Instead of irritating NYC drivers, the parking regulation signs would bring the joy of victory because it is the final “hole”.
Street Scraper brings back something that no longer is. For past generations, the street was a place where kids played and grown ups socialized. People walked right out their front doors. It was safe, lively, and an extension of the home. The neighbors were an extension of the family, and the street was part of that life. Today, sidewalks are seen as an unsafe place, full of traffic, noise and crime and people are afraid of it. Street Scraper brings back the notion of the street as a safe social melting pot.
Figment NYC 2015 June 6 – sept 25