"This publication was prepared on the occasion of the project Six Actions for New York City, New York, NY, May and November, 2007." -- Colophon.

The publication documents a series of events, actions and performances staged in New York City between May and November 2007. An appraisal of current public art practice, it presents something of the dark humor and alternate critical desires of artists to reach out to the individual and suggest change through diverting the everyday flow and use of the city. Adrian Piper<U+2019>s durational performance consisted of text applied in henna to the forehead of participants, literally conflating the space between thought and action. The fitful street experimentation of Spartacus Chetwynd flipped the city inside out as the artist turned the street into an open studio. Gelitin found a home among the freak shows and hot dog stands of Coney Island. Jonathan Monk<U+2019>s Five Ballerinas in Manhattan felt at times lost and alone and at other times in step with street salesmen and pamphleteers. Kaprow describes such fertile ground as a “habitat,” the space in which constituent parties, relationships and values converge, resulting in an “overall atmosphere” and a certain mood that pervades and becomes part of the work. This publication tells a tale of temporary artistic footholds in the city through the material gained or suggested by each of the actions.