Pigeon Man

This is the first example of a social space being created by an "artist" of sorts after entering Washington Square Park. Although he was not an artist in the traditional sense of the word, judging by his "donation cup," he certainly seemed to think he was some sort of pay-worthy performance artist.

His performance art basically consisted of sitting really still and holding bird seed. The pigeons in the park would then flock to him and sit all over his body as if he were a statue of sorts. This created a public spectacle, because not only did the birds perch on him, but the also defecated on his (as you can see on the back of his left shoulder). He was particularly a hit amongst children, as he would let the kids hold some bird seed in their own hands and then the birds would also come and sit in the children's hands. Because of the fact that so many children stopped to watch and participate, the parents of the children also stopped to keep an eye on their offspring. Thus, one man created an entire social space consisting of children, adults, and animals just by sitting still and sharing some bird seed. However, despite what the "Pigeon Man" himself might claim about his artistic abilities, I feel as though it was more so the rarity of the situation than the actual artistic talent involved that truly drew the crowd and created the social space in this situation.