Chelsea students chalk it up to the High Line

By Patrick Hedlund

Pedestrians pacing along 14th St. in the Meatpacking District gawked on Wednesday as a group of kids with chunks of chalk fixed to their feet paraded down the street as part of a performance art/public awareness project to draw attention to the High Line.

The afternoon event, co-sponsored by the Friends of High Line, was led by three groups of eighth-graders from the nearby New York City Lab School in Chelsea, who traipsed along area sidewalks wearing lime-green “chalk shoes” that they created themselves in art class.

The project came from the mind of award-winning artist Julia Mandle, who helped the students cast 100 pairs of the heavy, chalky clogs to mark major access points to the High Line on 14th, 18th and Gansevoort Sts.

“In their performance, the kids literally lead the way to the High Line, marking their path through the neighborhood with eye-catching color,” said FHL co-founder Robert Hammond, who joined the group on Wednesday.

As the line of students forged along sidewalks and streets in the sunny weather, they stopped to circle tables at the pedestrian island at 14th St. and Ninth Ave., and drew arrows and heart-shaped designs leading up to the former elevated railway.

FHL organizers said they cleared everything with the local police precinct before commencing, but that didn’t stop some from questioning the performance art piece.

As employees of the stretch’s high-end retail shops looked on, Hammond asked if one store would display a pair of the chalk shoes in its front window. The retailer, upscale clothier Alexander McQueen, declined, instead asking Hammond if the group planned to clean up the sidewalk.

“Although we understand what it is,” said one man, who didn’t provide his name, observing from outside the store’s front door, “is it something that people from Uptown [coming here to shop] are going to think, this neighborhood’s a mess?”

Most passersby, however, offered approving smiles to the students, who waved their shoes in the air after grinding them down during the final push.

“That’s what really struck me—seeing everyone’s reaction on the street,” said FHL spokesperson Katie Lorah. “Everyone seemed surprised, and I think people were really enjoying the performance.”

An exhibition of the chalk shoes will go on display at the Leo Kesting Gallery in the Meatpacking District from May 15-21, featuring shoes used in the performance and a video documenting the project.

Lorah added that using the combination of the neighborhood’s artistic reputation while creating awareness of the developing High Line strikes at the heart of the group’s goal. “Our education program has been one of the most successful ways we do community outreach,” she said. “It’s really important for us to use the High Line, even before its opens, as a teaching tool.”