Naked Group Descends on Wall Street

Wall Street got a bit more exciting on Monday morning. That’s because dozens of people showed up…with nothing on! As part of a performance art project, dozens of people arrived on Wall Street to show their stuff.

A New Face to New York

Street vendor Ali Wafaa said to the New York Daily News,

“It was like out of a porn movie. I wish New York City would always be like that.”

At around 7 am, the group took their clothes off right in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Three of them were arrested and taken to the 1st Precinct stationhouse in Tribeca.

Showing a Purpose

So, what was the purpose, besides having a bit of summer fun? Artist Zefrey Throwell apparently gathered the 50 or so people together on Wall Street as part of a performance art event that he called “Ocularpation: Wall Street.” The point was for participants to pose as traders, janitors and secretaries.

As Throwell said, “I came up with this as an educational project to help illuminate the mysterious wheels of Wall St. It’s not just a strip tease.”

Giving a Voice to Nudity

Whether everyone else, fully clothed, on the streets understood it or not, Throwell said that the nudity represented the transparency that he thinks Wall Street needs.

One of the nudists taken to jail, Eric Clinton Anderson, is a Brooklyn artist who was detained by police for an hour and a half before he got a summons. Interestingly, he pointed out that, “I think it’s pretty interesting Wall St. guys can do what they’ve done, and nobody goes to jail.”
Now maybe he’s got a point.