. . . and took photos in 35mm B&W film:
Flash Mobs are art made tangible, immediate, and impactful. Chicago had a dose of this recently, when Improv Everywhere co-ordinated "No Pants 2K9"/ "The No Pants! Subway Ride" in cities across the US. In Chicago, the event looked like this: Metromix video/ Chicago Tribune article.
I like this article by Pete McMartin in The Vancouver Sun, which calls flash mobs "a kind of guerilla street theatre." McMartin is critical of the flash mob phenomenon, and I think he has a point: "dancing to one's MP3 player, in public, is an inside joke and smells faintly of an art installation. Hey, look at us! We're crazy! Or we're making a statement! Or maybe not!"
Even the critical can enjoy them, though. These performances are brought to the public sphere-by the public sphere. Ultimate democratization? I think yes...arguably. You have to be somewhat savvy of them to participate or encounter them, but flash mobs have become more mainstream, and it is easy to find out about them and to participate.
The MP3 Experiment, Frozen in Grand Central Station, and Mobile Desktop are among my favorite "missions." This Unexpected Performance is also worth a gander.
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