From New York Post · · 1m 20s
A naked protest against AI on Houston Street
A Baltimore artist stood nude on a SoHo soapbox for three days to protest OpenAI, and the neighborhood answered back.
In brief
A Baltimore artist stood nude on a SoHo soapbox for three days to protest OpenAI, and the neighborhood answered back. A stunt loud enough to stop traffic still fails if nobody can tell what it's protesting. Originally reported by New York Post.
Three days, no clothes
Performance artist "Psuperhamb," who goes by Ham, stripped naked and stood on a small platform at Houston and Crosby in SoHo from Sept. 5 to 8.
The message was on his skin
Slogans were scrawled across his body, including "Use less to fight progress." The target was OpenAI, which is opening an office on Houston.
“Use less to fight progress”
New Yorkers were not moved
Passersby yelled at him instead of reading him. One man pointed out the obvious problem with a naked man on a busy corner.
“You got your s, t out? You know there's kids, bro.”
Then came the mockery
Two women walking past skipped the politics entirely and went straight for his anatomy.
“I wouldn't be flaunting that”
Punched, then committed
Ham says someone shoved him off the platform repeatedly and punched him in the face. He claims police took him to a psych ward on Sept. 8, released after six hours.
Not his first time
Last year he stood in freezing New York cold in underwear and socks to raise money for an engagement ring. He is no longer engaged.
In short
A stunt loud enough to stop traffic still fails if nobody can tell what it's protesting.
