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If you spent time in Tompkins Square Park in the past few weeks, you might have noticed a public sculpture spelling out the word "FOOL," adorned with hundreds of colorful Post-Its. A closer inspection reveals the content of each piece of paper: a revelation by a New Yorker about his or her most foolish moment.
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The cardboard sculpture is the work of downtown East Village artist Thomas Manco of Manco Studio, who set up the installation at the beginning of the month, inspired by April Fool's Day.
The messages range in theme and scope—although most seem to deal with marriage, apartment hunting and drugs. Standouts include: "Got rid of my apartment... Then got stuck without one during COVID," "Didn't buy Bitcoin when I heart about it in 2011," "Thinking COVID would be over in two weeks," "Moving to an apartment without seeing it in person... very foolish" and, a personal favorite, "Fell in love with a man who gave me chlamydia and gonorrhea." New Yorkers clearly know how to entertain the city.
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Manco is no stranger to public displays of cardboard art in the downtown park. Back in December, he unveiled his "The Mench on a Bench," who was unfortunately decapitated in only 24 hours, and in March passerby were treated to his "Eat Out" work. The latter was removed by the Parks Department less than a week after it was installed.
You can browse through more of Manco's work on his Instagram account—where he also reveals the date and location of all of his "art drops." Surprisingly, given the artist's track record, "FOOL" is still at the park... so you might want to stop by to confess your foolishness and start spring a-new.
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