Sign of the Times - Vid

Sign of the Times - Andres Serrano

Listening to the radio today and caught an interview with Andres. He's an artist in NY and decided to take art to vid by going out for a few hours a day, sometimes more and walking for miles while buying these signs along the way in order to use media as a tool and voice for the homeless.

From what I could gather he paid $20 per sign to those who would sell and many did except for one.

creativetimereports.org...
After noticing an unprecedented number of people begging on New York City's streets, Andres Serrano embarked on a project to collect some of the signs homeless people use to tell their stories and ask for change.

I immersed myself in the project, going out almost on a daily basis and walking five, six, seven hours a day. Once, I even walked 12 hours uptown to Harlem, East and West, downtown to Battery Park and back home. I never took transportation anywhere because I felt that since the homeless live on the streets, I had to walk the streets like they do. After a while, a few said to me, “I’ve heard of you. You’re the guy going around buying signs. I was wondering if you were ever going to find me.”

I bought about 200 signs and usually offered $20, which they were happy, even ecstatic, to get. (Once, though, I saw a sign that said, “Just need $10″ so I said to the guy, “I’ll give you 10 for it and he said, “You got it. I guess the sign did its job!”)

Visit the link for the rest of the story.

creativetimereports.org...

Also here:

www.theguardian.com...

Peace

Truly sad times...occaisonally I weep for humanity, lately, I'm not sure why I do at all.

Awesome, awesome, awesome!

Good luck to all your homeless on the streets in this weather, they will need it.

reply to post by jude11


Thanks for sharing this, I probably wouldn't have seen it otherwise. It's pretty interesting to see the signs collected like this, I always wonder about the stories behind the homeless. I like that the guy actually purchased the signs for a reasonable amount of money that could actually at least buy them a meal.

It's particularly worrisome this time of year, especially with this terrible cold weather. Help whenever you can folks, you can even get decent sleeping bags for a reasonable amount of money. I always wish I could financially do so much more to help.

Obviously, clever forgeries.

w8tn4it
Truly sad times...occaisonally I weep for humanity, lately, I'm not sure why I do at all.

I've come to the point of just being angry.

Peace

reply to post by 13th Zodiac


Nah, if they are forgeries they are not very clever!

I will stay on the benevolent side with this thread.

reply to post by jude11


Homelessness sucks. I've known homeless people.

But I'm on the fence. Here's why:

I used to walk downtown Atlanta at night, and met with all kinds of people asking for things. Most of the time, I gave change, whatever I could, to whomever I could. Of course, they weren't just sitting there with signs, they would approach you...constantly. Over time, I stopped giving change because it became annoying, though.

While in Athens, there are people with signs all over the place. The same people, every day. This is where I met my homeless friend. A guy who had a marketing degree, a wife, a life, and gave it up because he got tired of the BS. He had a job, a couple of jobs small jobs (such as mopping the local Pizzeria), so he didn't have to beg, but he was still homeless. He never asked for ANYTHING. He was a good person, fun to talk to. He told me that there is no need to beg in Athens. There are shelters and a myriad other places to get help but the people we see everywhere are basically lazy and looking for handouts. One winter, when it was supposed to get down into the teens, I gave him a zero sleeping bag that I had had for years and never used. I had no need for it, and it probably saved his life.

Also in Athens, one time I was getting off the highway. I saw a couple people, obviously homeless, sitting there. I noticed that one reached into a backpack and pulled out a few cardboard signs. He looked at the ones he had before he selected the one he wanted to use that day. He didn't just have ONE sign, he had an array. That solidified it for me.

I've seen one same person in the same place in the mornings in Atlanta. I have also seen tents and etc erected in underpasses, which breaks my heart.

I was in Atlanta another time, and passed by a guy who wanted me to help him. I told him to wait (I was in a parking meter hurry), and after I went in to the store I would help him. When I came out, I reached in my pocket and gave him all the change I had. He said, "what i'm gone do with this? I want something to eat. Buy me a sandwich." So I took him to the deli next door and pick out what he wanted.

I've always been of the opinion that it's better to do or give something even if the person is deceitful, than to do nothing if someone should need it. But I am cynical and apprehensive due to some of the things I've seen and witnessed.

*shrug*

And no, I've never been homeless. I guess some of what some of them do is a tactic for survival.

*shrug*

ETA The documentary "Dark Days," with Marc Singer, is an interesting film about actual homelessness in The tunnels of NY and how they survive.

reply to post by MojaveBurning


I was in a shop one day during the winter when a man came in trying to sell his cost for $25. He got shoved back out the door pretty quick and I went outside to find out just how he ended up on the streets trying to sell his coat in winter weather. Turned out that he had lost his job, came home only to be thrown out by his wife and a cleaned out bank account. Spent the night in a shelter and had his suitcase get stolen while sleeping. All of his id was stored in his suitcase for safekeeping, which didn't work out so well for him because that meant he didn't have documentation to get a job. By the time that I ran into him, he'd been on the streets for two months. Luckily at the time, I was in a position to hook him up with a job to help get his id back, food, and place to live and last I heard, he was doing pretty good.

Met another one who said he had a terrible family and figured traveling via train was the way to really live as strange as we may think that sounds. Also met a few that were schizophrenics like the guy who talked to God on a defunct walkie talkie. Then there were some that never spoke at all like the Sweeper who'd push around a grocery cart filled with all sorts of brooms and would only take food in exchange for him sweeping the sidewalk entrance of where you lived or worked. I tried giving him $20 once but he just frowned, handed it back and walked away with a disgusted look on his face.

In short, based on my experience, there's all sorts of reasons why someone might be on a the streets. Sometimes it's mental illness, sometimes it's giving up on society, and other times, it's just pure horrific bad luck.

PS. I used to get hit up by homeless while walking to school downtown. All I ever had to say that I was a single mom going back to school with two kids in response and they'd wish me well, agreeing that my kids needed every penny more.

I wood be penny less if I lived in a city with homeless people holding signs like that.

Some of them are so creative and humorous, how could you not help!

People making a good living off suckers?

Not all who beg are professional, those that are will be making a fortune, relatively, from the susceptible.
It's easy to label them all as rip-off merchants, harder to work out who is really in need of help.
All I know is that there are a heck of a lot of genuine homeless in the US for whatever reason, and the UK is not that far behind proportionately either and heading downwards with more food banks opening regularly.

Compassion not there for you fellow man, well, guess that's OK, just remember though, on your way back down from your lofty position on life wayward ladder, you might end up on their rung or lower one day. Hope not for your sake chum!