!VAR HAGENDOORN

The City as Stage (2)

When I visited Hong Kong in May 2006 I saw a mime group performing on the street as a promotional campaign for a cell phone operator. Now street performances are as old as the street and companies have used models, hostesses and entertainers to promote their products and services for ages, but what I found interesting about this performance was the actual merging of art, sales promotion and urbanism.

The purpose of the performance is to stop people in their tracks, to attract their attention, to make them wonder what is going on and to make a lasting impression. Flyers and samplers are almost instantly thrown away. Everyone living or working in a city has developed strategies for avoiding junkies and beggars and those students who have been hired to "ask you a few questions" and sign you up for a service you don't need. It is only natural that at some point companies would turn to artists to come up with ideas to promote their products.