The Subway Yearbook project is the latest bit of fun from the joy-sharing pranksters at Improv Everywhere:
[W]e installed a photography studio on a random subway car. We claimed that the MTA had hired us to take photos of every single person who rides the subway and that we'd be producing a yearbook at the end of the year. Most people were happy to pose for us, and the resulting photos show just how diverse New York subway riders can be.
Guestblogger Arthur Goldwag is the author of "Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies: The Straight Scoop on Freemasons, The Illuminati, Skull and Bones, Black Helicopters, The New World Order, and many, many more" and other books. 9/11 -- the sheer shock of it, the deaths, the sense of violation... More.
A woman who appears to have been inebriated fell onto the tracks in a Boston subway as a train was rushing towards her. People on the platform frantically waved at the train, which stopped in the nick of time.... More.
This is surely one of the most adorable animal YouTubes in the history of all internets. (via @maggiekb1 via this blog).... More.
Yves Béhar (who is in an epic struggle with Marc Newson to claim the title of "sexiest industrial designer alive") designed this vibrator. It looks like a Miyazaki cartoon creature. The Form 2 takes a two-pronged approach to the vibrator, giving its user what they're calling "Sensation in Stereo.... More.
Michael Jackson's funeral cost one million dollars. His final outfit cost $35,000, and the flowers cost $16,000. Lord. Obviously I'm no MJ anyhow, but when I die, if there's a mil lying around? Feel free to bury me in nekkid dirt and use the rest to feed pie to starving kids.... More.
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That's not just art, that's a good deed.
It's a lot like what I do every weekend.
http://freephotoproject.tumblr.com/
Ah, lying - is there anything you can't do?
Whew, that was close. When I saw there were only 2 comments on this beautiful, hilarious, and good natured prank (obviously imho) I was worried some sad sack hadn't put them down for fucking with people. Thank you Sirdook for not disappointing me.
As someone who rides the DC Metro everyday, I'm surprised at how different this is than my subway crowd. Does no one in New York City work? Or does everybody have a "cool" job where you go in in jeans every day?
Are they going to follow through on the yearbook thing? 'Cause that would be pretty neat.
Great project. They should at least make it available on Lulu or something similar.
I think everybody goes through a phase of taking photos of people on the subway. Here are mine... http://picasaweb.google.com/dfiliak/NYCSubwayPeople#
@5: Some people here do have cool jobs, some have to go from place to place during the day, students, tourists, nannies, delivery people, and a lot of working class people with long hours and also weird hours. The Q train has always been packed with working class people at midnight whenever I take it from Manhattan to Brooklyn during the week. (Yes, that was the 6 train in the video, I'm just using the Q as an example of the diversity of people and the hours they keep in this crazy city that I live in.)
I bet people would have done it even without the yearbook angle. It would be cool if they actually printed something up, maybe with a page for each train.
@5: Some of us here do nothing but apply for jobs, which sadly requires so special clothing effort.
Their High Five Escalator stunt made me cry for its earnest fun.
#2 posted by Anonymous, September 22, 2009 4:24 PM
It's a lot like what I do every weekend.
http://freephotoproject.tumblr.com/
Beautiful work, Iain. I like it a lot.
@5 Anonymous
I used to live in DC and ride the metro, and I wore jeans or shorts or whatever the hell I wanted. And I have a doctorate. What the hell sort of job *cares* what you wear these days?
I work in a corner of my bedroom. You can imagine what I'm wearing.
^
Pink tutu and bunny slippers? nothing but body paint? pieces of beach towels super-glued inappropriately? old tv dinner trays and rubber bands? gucci pjs?
Lack of suits: perhaps because the photos were taken at 3:30pm. I bet there'd be more suits just before 9am, or just after 6pm. But there'd be no room for the camera.