I hang back at the wall often, observing the reactions of passersby. More often than not, students and others just completely ignore the presence of a new signpost and two strange benches on the sidewalk. My presence is also often ignored- even when folks stop for a moment to read the signs on the post or on the benches. I'm keeping to my approach of only asking, "would you like to try the listening station?" of people who pause and take notice of me or the installation, so as not to end up feeling too aggressive. The majority shake their head, or tell me, " I'm just reading the sign, thanks".
I realized later today that I forgot my most effective response: " It's meant to be used!"
Still, a few people are curious and open enough to stop and try it out.
This young man tells me a little about life as a recent college graduate, and I convince another man walking by to take our picture.
A few minutes later, a group of young people come by, having come from the library. They are curious to try it out, and end up creating a three-way listening station. They told me, " it's hard to just listen!" - but these three seem to have friendly and close relationships already, and used their time on the station to laugh and joke at their listeners.
After a slow hour, my friend Mary comes by and spend a while chatting with me on and off the station. While she's there, an acquaintance from the neighborhood shows up, and elects to use the station with Mary, since he knows less about her than about me. By this time, Mary is an old pro, and she shows Jim how it's done.Like yesterday, despite their many numbers, no Penn students stop to use the station. Many of them who pass this corner are coming from the grocery store, their hand full with plastic bags- so I don't expect them to stop. But even those who aren't in as much of a hurry are surprisingly resistant... I'll keep at it tomorrow, and see what I can do.
No comments:
Post a Comment