Occupy Wall Street :: NYC Liberty Square : Right To Assembly

I finally made it to Liberty Square to see what is happening for myself. Occupy Wall Street  started a month ago and is now a world-wide movement. It was peaceful, relaxed and ambiguous. I walked through the crowd making drawings, looking to collect sentiments and moods. I found that majority of people there didn't really know how to feel about what was going on around them. Some said to me they felt the protest should be happening in Washington, not here. Some said it's like the 60's are back.  It seemed as though the main event was photographing and video taping. Every other person around me had some kind of camera or recording device in their hands. The police were surprisingly kind-one lady cop even said to me "am I in your way?" when she saw me drawing behind her. I couldn't believe it!

"Mike Check! Mike Check!" Human microphone sound amplification system: one person shouts a phrase and the crowd repeats. A bonding experience. And an exercise in trust. How do you know that the next speaker is going to say things worth repeating out loud? All the speeches, by the way, were read off smart phones, not paper.

cameras everywhere!

The "Occupiers" lounged on mattresses. One of these two guys was on a laptop, the other was smoking.

Oh, the characters you meet!

"Occupy Lego Land" guy said to me: "Just trying to put a smile on everyone's face"

What people have to say. *some are actual photos of posters.

What people have to say. *some are actual photos of posters.

What people have to say. *some are actual photos of posters.

My friend Audrey Hawkins posted a great blog entry on the event with her drawings. Take a look.

UPD May 2012
Some of these drawings live on in Augmented Reality as part of arOccupyMayDay by Mark Skwarek