Comments on: The Google Street View Prank

By: mssusan

mssusan — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:40:58 +0000

Normally Sampsonia Way is a fairly unassuming street, but when Ben Kinsley and Robin Hewlet, two art school grads from Carnegie Mellon University, found out that the Google Maps Street Team was coming to town, they decided to make things more interesting.
The two, along with a group of friends staged a marathon, a parade, a mad-scientists laboratory, a sword fight, and more, all along the route.

By: mssusan

mssusan — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:36:37 +0000

On May 3rd 2008, artists Robin Hewlett and Ben Kinsley invited the Google Inc. Street View team and residents of Pittsburgh’s Northside to collaborate on a series of tableaux along Sampsonia Way. Neighbors, and other participants from around the city, staged scenes ranging from a parade and a marathon, to a garage band practice, a seventeenth century sword fight, a heroic rescue and much more...

By: wow

wow — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 19:18:47 +0000

this is not funny or interesting at all

By: Sid Morrison

Sid Morrison — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:09:11 +0000

ted writes: "An MA in Fine Arts must be pretty easy to get."

so it seems!

By: Rocky Rook

Rocky Rook — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 19:59:31 +0000

I made google maps while out on a jog.

By: ted

ted — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:15:25 +0000

An MA in Fine Arts must be pretty easy to get.

By: Sid Morrison

Sid Morrison — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:33:49 +0000

I thought it was pretty clever (especially the guys with the laser) but had to really chuckle when I learned this was actually a "public art project" that was the Masters' Thesis (in Fine Arts) for the organizers.

http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/November/nov11_streetwithaview.sh tml

The description on the above link is a real hoot.
I quote:
"For one day, artists and citizens turned a small, one-way alley in Pittsburgh's North Side into a dream world, an elaborate montage of spontaneous performance and provocative visual art."

AND

"Integrating fiction, community storytelling and performance art into the platform of instant-access, 360-degree imaging, the "Street With A View" project explodes the barrier between reality and performance, life and art. It represents communities and artists taking back the power to define themselves and their environments and to use technology as a tool of self-expression."

Somebody is really taking themself a little too seriously. Come on.... It was a funny prank, but a Master's Thesis project?

By: su.wei

su.wei — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:30:45 +0000

haha how clever.

By: liphttam1

liphttam1 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 01:32:25 +0000

Nice! I put I sign outside my house. Im leaving it there until google comes by! not there yet!

By: Marilyn Terrell

Marilyn Terrell — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:28:19 +0000

@Mr. Binky: yes, they did know someone in Google, that's how they pulled it off. The video tells the full story.

By: Mr. Binky

Mr. Binky — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:31:40 +0000

They knew someone on the inside at Google, apparently.

By: Namowal

Namowal — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:53:11 +0000

Is there a way to find out when the car is planned to come by? Or is this kept secret (normally) to prevent shenanigans?

By: Scooter

Scooter — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:18:42 +0000

I got Video No Longer Aval so... I guess i missed out.

By: Frau

Frau — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:12:32 +0000

I wish I had known about the google street view car when it had been driving past my house.
We are forever now in the car and going to lunch on a saturday afternoon.

By: Orjan Morjan

Orjan Morjan — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:01:08 +0000

Well it's not like they waited in that alley for the google car and suddenly jumped forth.

By: Corinne

Corinne — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:50:20 +0000

Repost. But it's still pretty neat.

By: Mouserz

Mouserz — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:32:55 +0000

when I was reading about this a few weeks ago, they said that the google-street-view car was invited there so they could do the joke.