Hello Friends,  
On behalf of Art Corporation of America Incorporated, I invite you to join in celebrating a significant event for our collaborators, families and friends.

Here's the story!!
 
Jack Bashkow begins his ascent of the Brooklyn Bridge
 

BRIDGING - 40 Year Anniversary May 19th, 1977

Artists Climb New York City's Major Bridges  
Replacing Terrorism with Art in
Mass Media
...

At 9AM on May 19th, 1977 Seven artist/climbers and a support team of
about 30   people scaled New York's seven largest suspension bridges, stopping   rush-hour traffic for about 20-30 minutes.

 
Due to the proliferation of terrorist violence in mass media, at the time,
our artists' group was concerned about the impact violence in media
was having and would have on the public. We wanted media to
recognize that  programming creative news content was also
marketable and worthy.
 

The group saw BRIDGING as a socially engaged and culturally responsible, positive, collaborative  art event.

Watch BRIDGING ~ 8 Minute Rough Cut by Ruben O'Malley
 

By intention, BRIDGING captured major media engagement uniformly across the city of New York, local, national and international news. TV, radio and print crews appeared at every   accessible bridge. Helicopter filming occurred
at at least 4 bridges. All the climbers received summons, were arrested
and later all our cases were dismissed. 
  
BRIDGING is historically part of today's Cultural Activism movement.
 
"BRIDGING was not an imposition on society, but rather an enrichment." Thomas Livornese, lawyer for Art Corporation.
 
BRIDGING won Best News of the Year Award 1977
for ABC TV's Eyewitness News .
 
"BRIDGING is the first Social Sculpture to use Mass Media as art."
Joseph Beuys, renowned avant-garde sculptor / co-founder of Europe's Green Party and Free International University for Creativity and Interdisciplinary Research.
 
BRIDGING CLIMBERS:
Gianfranco Mantenga ~ GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE
Ruth Russell ~ TRIBOROUGH BRIDGE
Janet Applegate ~ QUEENSBORO BRIDGE
Tony Sapp ~ WILLIAMSBURG BRIDGE
(Tony Sapp's Ground Partners: Michael Erlich and Ed Sheehy)
Anthony Siedenberg ~ MANHATTAN BRIDGE
Jack Bashkow ~ BROOKLYN BRIDGE
John Halpern ~ VERRANZANOS NARROW BRIDGE
 
John Halpern initiated BRIDGING and Art Corporation of America Incorporated   together with artists Greg Pickard, Paul Pellicoro,
Jack Bashkow, Gianfranco Mantegna, Ruth   Russell and others. 
 
ACAI worked together for three more years creating   public and interactive, collaborative art events around the USA and Europe. 
 
In the tradition of BRIDGING and Cultural Activism, Halpern  
later created
New Consume, engaging in 20 years of public interactive art, world wide
such as sending cigarette smoke back to cigarette factories with
1000 people; creating fresh air interactive breathing stations
using plants, sealed glass environments and hospital respiration
equipment, interacting with 200,000 people; living in an
hermetically sealed glass house for 10 days with 10,000 plants,
breathing once per minute.

Halpern and New Consume won a prize from the Swiss government for a project engaging unemployed people and the public in an
art cookie - economy experience.

A complete archive of BRIDGING, including news reports, objects, relics, etc.
is available for installation, exhibition or publication.
 
~*~ 
 
John Halpern is a filmmaker, today, having created feature documentaries such as REFUGE with Martin Scorsese, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Oliver Stone, Philip Glass and others and the work in progress about meditation, engagement and sustainability, WAKING BUDDHA.  
 
For a more info: http://www.wakingbuddha.com
 or
Call: 917.991.9279
Thank You.
 &
 HAPPY BRIDGING!!!