A New Art: Live Platform to Meet New People
by Anjali Patel
Stories have generally been the foundation for artistic innovation. An experience that could potentially turn into a story is something every artist desires. Whether one is a dancer, painter, or author, past interactions stimulate creativity in any artistic endeavor. French artists have taken the act of starting a conversation by molding it into a new form of art.
According to the New York Times, Laurent Boijeot and Sébastien Renauld are two artists who are practicing this art by laying out furniture and inhabiting various busy streets in New York. The overall objective of this unique idea is to meet new people, share stories, and hopefully create new ones. In the city, people are always in a rush. Everyone has a place to be within a certain time. Individuals are caught up in their own world of schedules and meetings. Although this is a normal part of the city lifestyle, taking a step back to recollect one’s surroundings can make he or she feel refreshed and exhilarated.
Security in New York City has been a burden, as it has rushed these artists in their travels. It is understandable that what they are doing could be seen as dangerous to the locals since the artists are outsiders intrepidly living on the streets. But, they are trying to break that “stranger” barrier.
This living practice also makes people feel humbled by the generosity exhibited by many pedestrians as well as the artists. Their purpose goes deep into the roots of the way we treat our neighbors, acquaintances, and strangers. The artists are opening up by sharing their personal stories to people whom they have just met. Denizens, who the artists encountered, opened up their doors to them, letting them use bathrooms and take showers in their homes. In addition, people have also offered bowls of food to the artists. However, these artists are not in any way relating what they are doing to the homeless. They are simply using their tactics of borrowing and meeting different types of people as a way to connect with the world and search for new ideas.
An experience such as this could drive one to start a conversation with somebody new and perhaps somebody they couldn’t have imagine being friends with in the past. Building new relationships with people who come from all walks of life can be some of the most valuable assets one can create with a simple “hello”.
This idea shows people that there are stories waiting to be heard from everybody who is willing to share one. Humans of New York almost serves a similar purpose: it is a blog which portrays people from the city and their stories and backgrounds. It depicts the diversity yet similarity of humans in the city. This form of living on the streets does also show people how different yet similar we all are. However, it takes the idea of connecting with others to a live and interactive level. This could make people feel awakened by the possibilities of adventure and future potential friendships.
Anjali Patel is a high school student from New Jersey who’s livin’ life. She writes and formats for her school newspaper and literary magazine. In addition, she is the student council class treasurer and consistently volunteers for a local food pantry.