I work on the Upper West Side and just in case you've been living under a rock for the past few days, David Blaine is in an 8-foot spherical "human aquarium" in front of Lincoln Center and will be for a whole week before he attempts to hold his breath for 9 minutes. It's Day 2.Some coworkers and I went to see him at lunch today. The aquarium and Blaine by themselves are relatively boring, but the onlookers are a different story entirely. Their fascination with death-defying feats has never been more apparent to me. Reactions to Blaine's form of performance art, in my eyes, can be divided into two categories: (1) hope and youthful amazement -- much like children who are thrilled by quarters that magically appear from behind their ears -- and (2) morbid curiosity of what it would be like to see the famous magician die. My reaction falls more into the first category and less into the second. I took several pictures and have attached a few of the better ones.
Enjoy.
