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Times Square Art Installation Wants Your Opinion On Capitalism


By

Christopher Robbins

Published Sep 12, 2013

Modified Sep 12, 2013


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Lambert's installation

 

via release


By

Christopher Robbins

Published Sep 12, 2013

Modified Sep 12, 2013


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What is capitalism? And you do have a hilariously simplistic opinion of it that can be expressed in a binary fashion?

These questions are part of an exhibit that will hit Times Square next Friday. Steve Lambert, an artist who made that New York Times "special edition" announcing the end of the war in 2008, has taken his giant sign around the country since 2011, asking people to vote "True or False" on the question posted in blinking lights. The scores are then tallied, and passionate dialogue ensues.

"Start a conversation about capitalism and friends edge away slowly, and strangers even faster," Lambert says in a statement. "This is what art is for. This is what art does well. It creates a space where new ideas and perspectives can be explored. A space unlike any other."

Lambert, who was a senior fellow at New York’s Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology and now teaches at SUNY Purchase, will also be part of a free discussion with economist Richard Wolff, and Harriet Fraad, contributing editor to the journal Rethinking Marxism. More info on that event here.

Tally your vote on Lambert's giant sign in Times Square next Friday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., or on Sunday, October 6 through Wednesday October 9.

Tagged

art

capitalism

eyebeam

Times Square

original


Christopher Robbins

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Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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