Free art piece #20
This one is called “I beg you”.
This piece is a multi-performance city wide project.
1 — The first act aims at replacing all hobo and beggar signs by much better designed signs, more compelling and touching. One example of a better hobo sign that is more likely to trigger a pedestrian’s empathy is: “If not me, make someone else happy today”. Artists’ would also correct the orthography of all gypsy hobos in Paris. One example of a gypsy beggar’s sign spotted on saint germain spelled “hello” wrong in French (“bon jour”) and put a feminine article before the word ticket (“une ticket”) etc.
2 — The second act is a performance piece where artists become hobos. They dress up in a convincing manner and create signs with the sole aim of triggering people’s empathy. or do things to trigger people’s empathy. This is a months long experimental project where artists, through trial and error, unlock new, more effective methods to get people to give money to hobos. The artists are to then share these methods with hobos. This idea was triggered by the sight of two begging boys in dowtown Beirut with one of the boys hugging the other in the street. For any two person beggar group, this should be best practice as it is more likely to trigger empathy. Artists are free to decide what the money they’ll collect during the project is to be used for.
3 — This third act consists in turning hobos into pieces of art. Cleopatra statues and motionless buskers in the street have a more profitable business than beggars. The third act gives every beggar the opportunity to access this market by lowering the barrier to entry. Artists are here to equalize the market and will paint and transform beggars into art pieces. This shifts the paradigm as it turns a pity-inducing money-making occupation into an artistic one.
