This project is from April of last year, and has been recycled from one of my first blogs to die out. Thanks to those who participated. For more projects like this, visit the Social Disruption page.

Inspired by Mr. Mark Jenkins, we decided to try our hand at a street installation. Materials: old clothes, newspaper stuffing, cardboard sticks for support, tape and staples to hold him together.

It took about 45 minutes to put our hanging man together, and we found the result moderately pleasing.

Once constructed, he had to be transported. There was no room for subtlety; I grabbed him by the crotch and cradled his back in my other arm as we began our march. We passed many confused pedestrians who did double and triple takes before realizing that the Hanging Man wasn’t really a man at all. As we neared the center of town, we discussed what to do with our Man. We could put him in a trash can, put his head in a mailbox, jam him halfway into a sewer, set him up on a locked bicycle, or–dare we–set him on fire. Flaming facsimiles of men had a comfortable home in our past, and we weren’t eager to repeat the trick and suffer again the unwanted attention of the law. We decided to go for a bridge, and dangle our Man off as if he were holding on for dear life. We dragged him to the middle of the bridge, waiting for a lurking squad car to roll out, taped his hands to the railing, and nonchalantly flipped him over as a group of students walked by. “But what if you cause an accident?” they asked disapprovingly, “Would you cry?”

But something this magnificent produces only joy and laughter:

Lesson: bystanders are not always as amused by the antics of the mischievous as the pranksters themselves are, and they will call the cops on you. We had about five minutes of laughter, watching the bewildered looks of those who passed by, their faces turning quickly from panicked concern to amusement. Then the 5-0 showed up and we decided to stroll out, unsure of whether or not the snitch was aware that we were the responsible ones.

I checked back in 15 minutes later and our Hanging Man was gone. Cheers to you, MPD, your quick response time restored the monotony before any real fun was inflicted. We will remember our Hanging Man fondly, and hope that those lucky enough to have spotted him in his five minutes of fame will do so as well.

RIP