Artist To Hand Out Free Hot Dogs At Brooklyn Bridge Park

DUMBO, NY — An Austrian sculptor will park a bulbous, yellow microbus inside Brooklyn Bridge Park all summer to hand out free hot dogs for a new public art exhibit.

Erwin Wurm plans to bring his modified Volkswagen Microbus to the park starting in June and give out the food during the weekends for his piece "Hot Dog Bus," according to the Public Art Fund which sponsored the exhibit.

"The bus’ bloated form will encourage audiences to reconsider the relationship between capitalism and consumption in today’s culture, while the act of eating, according to Wurm, can be considered an additive sculptural process in its own right," the Public Art Fund wrote in a release.

"Hot Dog Buns" is a reimagining of Wurm's earlier piece, "Curry Bus," when he parked the Volkswagen outside a Germany art gallery in 2015 to hand out currywurst.

The Brooklyn version will start on June 9 and run until August 29 at various locations around the park, the Public Art Fund said.

Aside from "Hot Dog Buns," the nonprofit also plans to launch two other public exhibits around the city this summer. "Flow Separation" by Tauba Auerbach will take passengers along the city's waterways in a fireboat with "optically vibrating designs" painted on it and "Kitchen Trees" by B. Wurtz will install tree-like sculptures created with kitchen objects at City Hall Park.

"With playfulness and invention, each of these artists adapts everyday aspects of contemporary life, creating new platforms for art and experience," Public Art Fund director and chief curator Nicholas Baume said in a statement.

"They engage our senses, inviting us to look, touch, taste and move beyond our expectations in corners of the city that may be familiar or surprising — on a boat, in a park, moving across boroughs and landmarks —reminding us that the city is a place of innovation and curiosity."

Image: Erwin Wurm, Curry Bus, 2015, courtesy Studio Erwin Wurm, Bonn 2017