A couple of stories I’ve been reading about over the last few days: the creation and development of ‘flash mobs’, and the questions of White House journalist/columnist Helen Thomas.
The first is the craze that started in 2003, as I remember it where lots of the cool kids would spontaneously get together and practice some inane activity, before equally spontaneously, dispersing. The so-called ‘flash mobs’ were led by an unknown entity which did not appear malicious because the point of the mobs was that there was no point. The first one was organized in May 2003, for the beginning of June where the hipsters involved would coalesce in a New York branch of Claire’s Accessories and begin to chant ‘Accessories!’. Then they would all go away.
The social commentary about the email-driven collectives, probably unrealized by many of those involved, was that the newly outed creator was interested in the social functions of the activities because there was no point to them. While many trendy functions are attended less because of the artistic worth of the event and more because of the networking and ‘involvement’ opportunities, this fad – for want of a better word – was pure commentary and no substance. After the fourth such ‘mob’, which was effectively hijacked by an unknown member of the public, the creator ‘Bill’, let the concept go from his control. Many other groups of the same kind had sprung up around the country and around the world, attempting to do largely similar things, but the death of the movement, in the opinion of its creator, would (and did) come with its adoption or otherwise corruption by corporate America. In Summer 2006, the ‘flash mob’ is dead. Harpers magazine contributor Bill Wasik has spoken to LA Weekly about the work, and below you will find links to the three-part essay he wrote for his magazine about the experience.
Generally speaking, the closer you get to the center of things in artistic spheres the more you realize the center doesn’t really exist. When you try to get close to it, the thing kind of evaporates. Flash mobs invite people to a non-existent center. For example, in the third mob, we lined the banister of this hotel and stared down into the lobby for five minutes. Two hundred people lined this huge, city block-sized balcony, and after five minutes we just applauded. The idea being it was just this crowd of people, but at the center of it was a vacancy.
Another way of looking at it is to acknowledge there is a social dimension to experiencing art. Your friend invites you to a concert or a reading, and you go in part because you want to be out in the scene, and see people who like to experience the same things. There’s a social commonality. Flash mobs are sort of like those scenes, but it dispenses with the art entirely. All you’re left with is the social connections.
…The more I did them, the more I realized the mobs actually did have a deeply political value. The nature of public space in America today has changed. It’s shopping malls, large chain stores, that kind of thing. The presumption is that you’re going to purchase something, but once you try to express yourself in any other way, suddenly you’re trespassing. New York City is blessed with a bunch of real public spaces, but at this point, if you’re young in America, chances are you have grown up without authentic public space. I discovered that it was political to go into one of those stores.
Harpers My Crowd: Part 1
Harpers My Crowd: Part 2
Harpers My Crowd: Part 3
LA Weekly: ‘My Name is Bill’
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