A few weeks ago, Ruth and Scott and I did a sensory deprivation piece in Washington Square Park. The idea was to have Scott perform the same action - getting from one side of the park into the fountain and standing up on one of the ballasts - with fewer and fewer senses to rely on. We started out with just blindfolding him, then progressed to deafening him, binding him, and then taping his mouth. I played bodyguard, keeping him from hurting himself or other people, while Ruth filmed.

Scott did quite well, and actually said that the fewer senses he had, the easier it was for him to concentrate - he still had smell (useful near the dog park) and a bit of touch (to locate the direction of the sun). The third round, he went almost directly to the ballast, contrary to what had happened the fourth time. For the last round, I took him back on a different route, which did confuse him, and there was a lot of wandering before he even found the fountain.

The reactions of people in the park were interesting, especially once we had him tied up. One woman stopped and watched me binding him, with a look of disgust on her face…until she took a picture. Once that social seal had been broken, lots of people started taking photos, and a few snide remarks aside, people seemed to enjoy watching Scott try to find his way.