CONTACT:
Emilio Alarcón | +34 659-948-131
e-mail: mmmm at mmmm.tv

MEDIA EVENT:
On August 16 for 1 PM – 2 PM. 46th and Broadway, New York.

TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE AND mmmm… PRESENT
"MEETING BOWLS" AT TIMES SQUARE

An Experiment in Urban Furniture and Dialogue arrives from Spain.

Times Square, New York (August 10, 2011) – The Times Square Alliance with the Consulate General of Spain in New York today announced a month-long public art installation of three large sculptures with seating for eight people. Created by the Spanish collaborative mmmm…, the Meeting Bowls are social places for gathering and getting to know people. On a first-come, first-serve basis at 46th and Broadway, all members of the public can enjoy the intimate spaces from 8 AM to Midnight. This is the world premier of Meeting Bowls and the first installation by mmmm… in the United States.

"Times Square is pleased to be a testing ground for emerging ideas about gathering in our public spaces and thus enriching cities worldwide," said Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance. "The Meeting Bowls are a new type of temporary and playful urban furniture creating a small oasis among the rush of pedestrians."

"Contemporary to the recent Spanish 15-M Movement, and similar in aspiration, we hope the Meeting Bowls will encourage dialogue and interaction in the most important main square in the world, Times Square," said Eva Salmerón of mmmm… "The small group discussions will promote a sense of community and humanize the modern city."

The semi-spherical capsules stand 5 feet tall and 7 feet in diameter with a continuous seating ring inside. The Meeting Bowls gently rock as people step in and out. The artists created the gentle motion to be relaxing and fun much like a swing, but one for adults.

Once inside the bowls, signs ask people to record and to share their dialogue via smartphones or laptops. QR codes and hashtags facilitate connecting to others from the past or in the future through the mmmm… website, facebook and twitter. The links:

	facebook.com/mmmm.tv
	twitter.com/mmmmtv
	#MeetingBowls

Rather than build and ship the Meetings Bowls from Spain, mmmm… utilized global computer-aided manufacturing. Digital files of the 250 parts were emailed to Advanced Cutting Services in Roselle, New Jersey. Teaming with R&N, the sheets of waterproof high-density chipboard or MDF were cut with computer driven routers. On Monday, August 15, the four artists will assemble the meeting bowls with only screw guns and rubber hammers live in Times Square.

About mmmm…

mmmm… is a collaboration by Emilio Alarcón, Alberto Alarcón, Ciro Márquez and Eva Salmerón, who have been creating projects for public space since 1998 from Madrid, Spain. They have built in brick a life-size car that occupied a parking space between two vehicles parked in the street. Or they have spread 100 couples kissing simultaneously through out the crowds of the city center. Noise levels on the streets unexpectedly plummeted during that moment of mass intimacy. Also they have scattered about the streets, members of an orchestra that simultaneously played the same music. Pedestrians experienced the music differently depending on which street they walked past, the speed at which they walked, and by which direction they were headed. For more info, visit www.mmmm.tv

Meetings Bowls is supported by the University of Alcalá, Consulate General of Spain New York and Spain Culture New York. CNC cutting was provided by Advanced Cutting Services and R&G Construction Cabinet & Millwork of New Jersey.

About Times Square Alliance

The Times Square Alliance, founded in 1992, works to improve and promote Times Square cultivating the creativity, energy and edge that have made the area an icon of entertainment, culture and urban life for over a century. Times Square Arts presents temporary cutting-edge art and performances in multiple forms and media to the 360,000 to 500,000 daily visitors to New York City’s Times Square, making it one of the highest profile public arts programs in the United States. It is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation’s Cultural Innovation Fund; and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. For past projects, visit www.TimesSquareNYC.org/arts

ELEVATOR ENCOUNTERS FOR TEENAGERS AT REINA SOFÍA MUSEUM
Until June 2, 2011


The Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid asked for ideas on creating a workshop for teenagers related to the body. The mmmm... group responded by developing a workshop emphasizing physical experience rather than a theoretical exercise.

Aligned along a grid, twelve booths placed in the middle of a nondescript room. The booths appear exactly alike; each has a single door and an open roof. Opposite each door, a removable panel allows for the creation of larger and smaller spaces. During each encounter adjustments are made to the number of participants, the amount of light in the room, booth size and duration of the encounter.

How do participants perceive the "other" in such close proximity? Is a feeling of intimacy generated or claustrophobia? Does the participant avoid physical contact? Where do participants place their hands? Do they lose track of time? Who will be the next person to get into his or her booth?

The small space of each booth, less than a square meter, exaggerates gestures and body language. It becomes immediately apparent which people are drawn to one another and which feel uncomfortable. Curiously, the behavior and gestures of participants in the same booth often mirror each other; two people touch their hair simultaneously even when they are not looking at each other, participants stand with their arms crossed or scratch their necks simultaneously.


The weekly workshop for secondary and high school students runs from October 25, 2010 through June 2, 2011 at the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, Spain.


PRESS: + 34 659 948 131

BRICK CAR
Exhibited at «2 x 1» from May 14 through May 30, 2010. Matadero. Madrid (Spain).


"Coche de ladrillo" (Brick Car) is a life-size car built in brick. It occupies a parking space between two vehicles parked in the street.

The three-dimensional, pixilated car is modeled after a modern automobile and was built using solid, Madrid Red-colored bricks. The wheels are one foot thick. The car weighs five tons.

All methods and materials used are common to any traditional brick wall. A mason and project engineer were enlisted to construct the car.


PRESS: + 34 659 948 131

Download the poster of the action in high resolution (DIN A3, 300 ppp)

Download the map of the musicians' locations in high resolution (DIN A4, 300 ppp)

Musicians will be scattered around Herrería, Zapatería, Correría and Sierva de Jesús streets. The action will take place on Saturday, September 12th at noon and will last two hours. The Joven Orquesta Gregorio Solabarrieta will play the suite from Prokofiev’s "Romeo y Julieta", Charles Ives’ "The Unanswered Question", a selection from Tchaikovsky’s "The Nutcracker", Strauss’ "Eljen a Magyar" and "Off to the Hunt!", and Khachaturian’s "Sabre Dance".  

The different musical pieces will be broadcast over a local radio station so that all musicians can play in synch despite being at a distance. Musicians will carry tiny radio receivers and earphones so they can listen to the music as they play. The radio program itself will encourage citizens to go out on the streets to experience the action live.


An mmmm... action commissioned by the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council as part of their Alhóndiga Plan within the Disonancias program.


PRENSA: + 34 659 948 131