Consider the Pothole
Photographers aim to change the way New Yorkers view ubiquitous roadway menace
By COURTNEY HUMISTON
Updated 8:31 AM EST, Tue, Nov 3, 2009
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On Sunday morning, passersby paused to watch a man sitting in the middle of Greenwich Street eating spaghetti and meatballs out of a pothole.
No, he was not a homeless man enjoying a castaway doggie bag from Gaetana's. He was modeling for My Potholes: a photo project conceived by Montreal-based artists Davide Luciano and Claudia Ficca that shows people using potholes for daily activities as if they are a valuable part of the neighborhood rather than a roadway menace.
The couple had the idea for the series after they hit a pothole so large it caused costly damage to their car. At first they were angry, and naturally so, "but then we thought, wouldn't it be funny if we saw a woman washing clothes in a pothole?" says Luciano. Besides challenging people to see the world differently, "we want to make people laugh," says Ficca.
Other scenes have included a man crushing grapes to make wine, a lady receiving a pedicure and a couple baptizing their child. And they have at least 30 more ideas according to Luciano, whose first passion is film but has turned increasingly to photography to tell his stories. "For one thing, it's cheaper," he laughs.
In Montreal, potholes are a serious problem and subject of much-heated debated. For whatever reason, the cold weather or, speculates Ficca, political corruption, the prevalence of the obstructions have made their work easy so far. But this was the first time they have photographed outside of Montreal and they were surprised how difficult it was to find a decent pothole in New York. A testament to Giuliani's scrubbing? Perhaps, but also, "it's not really pothole season," sighs Ficca.
The first good one they found was in Little Italy, a more appropriate setting for the spaghetti scene, but they decided that Mulberry Street was too narrow and cars would not have been able to pass.
Their guerrilla-style of shooting typically takes less than five minutes and so far they haven't had any trouble with the law.
Today they arrived with a bag full of spaghetti "probably too much," laugh Ficca, and meatballs that they had made the night before. They quickly arranged the pasta in the pothole and their model, Luciano's brother, pulled up a seat. They alternately gave instructions and snapped photos.
A curious cab driver became an impromptu part of the scene and seemed more than happy to participate, obeying Luciano's gestures. Ficca nervously looked over her shoulder as a police car pulled up to the intersection, but after pausing for a minute to absorb the scene, he moved on. "We won't be going to jail today at least," she said happily.
The problem of potholes, it seems, is universal and their work is gaining international appreciation: one man emailed from Rio de Janeiro inviting them to his neighborhood and a magazine in China is featuring a full-page spread. "Everyone has a pothole," says Ficca, profoundly.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: Nov 2, 2009 9:14 PM EST
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