# 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.
- Title: A naked protest against AI on Houston Street · New York Post
- Summary: 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…
- Keywords: nyc, performance art, openai, protest, soho, news, entertainment, naked, against, Houston, Street, New York Post
- Source: New York Post — https://nypost.com/2026/09/12/us-news/nyc-artist-goes-fully-naked-for-soho-stunt-that-left-new-yorkers-irate
- Published: 2026-09-12T16:10:27+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: nyc, performance art, openai, protest, soho, news, entertainment
## 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.
## Key takeaway

A stunt loud enough to stop traffic still fails if nobody can tell what it's protesting.