CONTACT: Eva Salmerón
+1 (443) 938-7919
e-mail: mmmm at mmmm.tv

MEDIA EVENT | UNVEILING: Saturday, July 19, 7:30 - 10 PM. Creative Alliance at The Patterson. 3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore MD 21224

WAITING FOR THE BUS INSIDE A GIANT SCULPTURE IN BALTIMORE

Baltimore, MD – Creative Alliance and Southeast Community Development Corporation in conjunction with the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC), and SPAIN arts & culture, announces the installation of a permanent public art project that includes three large sculptures that form the letters BUS. Each letter stands 14 feet tall and 7 feet wide. This conceptual sculpture and bus stop was created by the Spanish collaborative mmmm… as part of the initiative TRANSIT – Creative Placemaking with Europe in Baltimore.

This is the second United States installation created by the Spanish artist collective mmmm… In 2011 mmmm… built the Meeting Bowls in Times Square in New York City. This project was comprised of large objects shaped like bowls that provided seating to accommodate eight people. The temporary and playful urban furniture was designed to promote interaction by having those seated inside the bowls face one another. The bowls were a social place for gathering, getting to know people, and fostering dialogue in small groups. During the time the Meeting Bowls were installed in Times Square, approximately 20,000,000 pedestrians saw them, and tens of thousands took photographs. Many stories appeared in the media regarding the Meeting Bowls, including a humorous commentary by David Letterman on the Late Show.

BUS clearly functions as bus stop on S. East Street in Highlandtown, right next to the Creative Alliance. The artists mmmm… wanted to create a place for the community to enjoy, interact, and meet while waiting for the bus. Their mission was to transform the dull experience of waiting for the bus to an entertaining, leisurely space in the middle of the hectic rhythm of the city.

BUS is made with wood and steel, materials that are typically used to build urban furniture. The three letters of BUS allow passengers to assume different postures of sitting or standing while waiting for the bus. Each letter has its own distinct personality. The specific modifications were designed to be geometric letters that maximize functionality; for example, the S allows passengers to lie back while they wait, and the B provides handicap-accessible shelter from the wind and rain.

The bus stop is manufactured in a way that is similar to the construction of conventional street benches. The planks of wood are screwed to a resistant steel structure that supports weight and prevents vandalism. As in a conventional bench, the use of planks allows the sculptures to achieve a curved geometric profile that enables passengers to assume comfortable positions. The letters are big enough to accommodate two to four people each and protect them from rain, sun, wind, and inclement weather.

"Creative Alliance is extremely fortunate and honored to have mmmm..., a group of prominent visiting artists from Spain, bring their creativity and playful sculptural art to our community here in Highlandtown," said Gina Caruso, Managing Director at Creative Alliance, who has been working closely on the project. "Passengers will actually become part of the art as they wait for the bus. It’s wonderful."

"The size, shape, and function of BUS, can make this unique bus stop a reference sculpture for Highlandtown neighborhood and the city of Baltimore. BUS can become an iconic urban meeting point," said Ciro Márquez of mmmm… "A bus stop you will never miss."

About mmmm…

mmmm… is a collaboration between Emilio Alarcón, Alberto Alarcón, Ciro Márquez and Eva Salmerón, who have been creating projects for public spaces since 1998 in Madrid, Spain. They have arranged 100 couples kissing simultaneously throughout the crowds of the city center. Noise levels on the streets unexpectedly plummeted during that moment of mass intimacy. They have scattered members of an orchestra that played the same music simultaneously on various streets. 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. Also they have built the Meeting Bowls in Times Square (New York), large objects shaped like bowls with seating to accommodate eight people. They constructed temporary and playful urban furniture, designed to promote interaction by having those seated inside face one another. Meeting Bowls were social places for gathering and getting to know people. For more info, visit www.mmmm.tv

Collaborating with Baltimore Artists

mmmm... could not have completed the sculptures without the help of Kyle Miller and Tim Scofield, local sculptors from Baltimore who have fabricated the piece in collaboration with mmmm… at Tim Scofield Studios at 421 N. Exeter St.

About TRANSIT

TRANSIT – Creative Placemaking with Europe is an initiative of the Washington DC cluster of the EU National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) and the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA), supported by a grant from the European Union. TRANSIT is supported by the British Council, Goethe-Institut, SPAIN arts & culture, the Embassies of Austria, Greece, Ireland, Finland and Poland. For more info visit: www.europeinbaltimore.org

About Creative Alliance

The Creative Alliance builds communities by bringing together artists and audiences from diverse backgrounds to experience arts and education programs and engage in the creative process. We provide support to area artists, promote Baltimore as a center for creative production, act as a positive force in our community, and advocate for cultural expression rooted in a sense of place. Founded by volunteers in 1995. In 1998, the Creative Alliance began working with a coalition of business, religious and political leaders on a revitalization plan for Highlandtown, just northeast of Fells Point. The Creative Alliance reopened The Patterson as a multi-purpose arts center on May 16, 2003. For more info visit: creativealliance.org

Southeast Community Development Corporation

The Southeast Community Development Corporation is one of the oldest community development corporations in Baltimore. Founded in 1975 as Southeast Development, Inc. (SDI), SDI developed and constructed community facilities, then focused on housing, becoming a steady producer of affordable housing throughout the eighties and nineties. In the late nineties, it incorporated as the Southeast Community Development Corporation and focused on the Highlandtown community. Today, we are the only community development corporation to combine a unique set of private and public programs to focus on the revitalization of Southeast Baltimore communities. For more info visit: www.SoutheastCDC.org

CONTACT:
Emilio Alarcón | +34 645 206 392
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

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.

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: +34 645 206 392

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: +34 645 206 392

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:+34 645 206 392