Let Sleeping Giants Lie (on the Sides of Buildings)
We’re used to feeling small in a world ofgargantuan billboards plastered across skyscrapers. The towering models in corporateads may be photographedin high definition — but they rarely feel alive. In fact, it’s pretty easy to ignore them while hustling throughthe maze of city streets.
EnterJ R Skolaand the art collective Dawn of Man. They film models sleeping in front of green screens and project themonto the side of buildings as part of a project calledProjection Napping. The effect is surprisingly beautiful and hypnotic. The group wants to show that in the midst of restless energy, there is another way to be.
This projectharks backto other iconic works likeAndy Warhol’s 1963 film Sleep—where he filmed a mansleeping for over five hours —andWinsor McCay’s surreal comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland. For all these artists,there’s something subversive about taking leave of our waking lives and giving ourselves over to sleep.
Projection Napping is a slight change of pace for Dawn of Man, which first became known for creating a call to action for Occupy Wall Street. Their 99% “Bat Signal” even spawneda spin-off group called The Illuminator, chronicledin this WNYC storywhen they were projecting signs protestingthe abuseof workers in Dubai and a plan to radically revamp the New York Public Library.
You can seemore videos and images of napping giants on Dawn of Man’s Facebook page.