Friday, June 17, 2011

Pop-up piano returns to Tompkins Square Park

As you may remember, the nonprofit organization Sing for Hope placed 60 donated pianos around the city for your use last year.

And now they're back with 88 pianos, each of which has been painted by an artist type or someone. Bobby Williams happened by yesterday when this guy was putting the (locking the?) Tompkins Square Park piano in place...




As the sign says, this one will be unveiled tomorrow.

But! Our own Melanie Neichin at East Village Corner got a sneak preview... And we hear that she even played "Für Elise"...


In any event, hope this won't be too distracting for the nearby ping pongers (table tennisers?).

The piano will be here until July 2.

18 comments:

VH McKenzie said...

Beautiful!!! Is that the work of Mosaic Man I hope?

EV Grieve said...

Good question, VH. I didn't see the piano in person.

Does anyone know?

Tom said...

Oh dear lord!!! How will your readers stand the horrible noise? Isn't there a petition I can sign, or some anti-piano music coalition I can join to stop these uninvited rapscallions from forcing me to endure their horrific music? This is all a plot by NYU to further homogenize the neighborhood, isn't it????

EV Grieve said...

Ha!

We'll be standing by with sound meters ...fingers ready to dial 311, no 911!

Melanie said...

Come on..it's acoustic..unplugged. Hopefully it will still be in tune after last night's storm. It was in tune yesterday!!Such a beauty.

Anonymous said...

if somebody starts singin and playing show tunes i won't hesitate to call the police

Tom said...

That's more like it!!

Anonymous said...

if somebody really wants to bring back anarchy in the park i know how to do it - just sit down and play and sind sing the entire score from the broadway musical Annie - that should do it!

Cookiepuss said...

when they first brought the piano to TSP I thought... yeah this is what we need for the neighborhood.. a piano. don't you just love these populist public art projects.. what are they trying to say, that anyone can play..that everyone is a musician.. wouldn't it be funny if some wack job decided that it was their piano.
and then proceeded to play and sing for the entire duration of the project.

Marty Wombacher said...

Nice work by Melanie! I just wonder if you just sit at the piano and don't play it, will you be busted by the NYPD?

EV Grieve said...

@ Marty

Ha!

Melanie said...

Thanks Marty. I did not see a seat.
@anon 10:10AM--the song "It's A Hardknock Life For Me" keeps going round in my head.
LOL

Laura Goggin Photography said...

@Anon 10:10 - good one. I suggest the collective works of Alan Menken.

Anonymous said...

The piano is by Nicolina of Mad Hatter Tea Party fame. Perhaps the rabbit has a concert in store for us...?

Lux Living said...

I love this project. Saw a bit about it this evening on the news. It's a bit of the creative NYC spirit we don't see much anymore... unless it's sponsored by Chase and there's a Foursquare check in and coupons for a new think tank.

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

A great way to start the summer. And now I'd like to send this one out for Lou and Rachel and all the kids and P.S. 192.

The Free Art Society said...

The piano is by local artist and Free Art Society founder Nicolina. Www.NicolinaART.com
Stay tuned for the second annual Massive Mad Hatter Tea Party in Tompkins Square Park...coming soon!

Anonymous said...

Last night there was a jazz combo playing, using that piano. They also were requesting donations. Is that what the piano is for? Last year we all hung around the piano and took turns playing, and we all seemed to be amateurs. Sometimes various drug-addled citizens heckled.

It's an interesting contrast. It was as if the professionals "privatized" the piano. Nobody was standing around the combo- everyone intuitively stepped way back and were standing far away, as if they were at a concert.

It was an interesting phenomenon from a sociological point of view, but ---

I liked it better when it was The People's Piano!