renewed faith in public space

I had a wonderful experience the other day. I am a big cynic and believe that public space has lost a lot of what it used to have which are the random encounters with people. Everyone is walking around in their own private worlds, with their blackberries and IPhones with headphones in their ears. The private realm has begun to drastically encroach on our lives to the point where people don't talk to strangers anymore. When did people become so unapproachable?

The work that i do as a public artist is related to this, i like to question what conversation means and what it involves in a public setting, but at times it begins to feel like my efforts are futile.

The other day however there was a woman who reaffirmed what i am doing. I was walking down 5th ave and came up to 14th st and just as i am about to cross the intersection, a woman runs up to me and asks me if i would drop her mail in the mailbox across the street. At first i was very taken aback, all i could do was stand there with a goofy smile on my face as the words that she was saying were registering in my head. Finally i took the mail from her and watched her walk away. i dropped it in the box and walked away wondering if someone was following me with a camera, this kind of stuff doesnt just happen in public anymore. This little exchange is what i think public space has lost and what through my work i would like to see begin to reappear.

I kept walking with a smile on my face. :)