The PAC Stages a Pac-Man-Shaped Rally By the AT&TPAC. Any Questions?

First off, how can something be a "flash mob" when local media's tipped off to the happening, oh, a week before it's scheduled with a press release? Second, it's awful hard to make a statement out of a conceptual-art event tied to health-care reform; yellow ponchos don't have quite the...

By Robert Wilonsky

October 26, 2009

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First off, how can something be a "flash mob" when local media's tipped off to the happening, oh, a week before it's scheduled with a press release? Second, it's awful hard to make a statement out of a conceptual-art event tied to health-care reform; yellow ponchos don't have quite the same impact as a "Youth in Asia Will Kill Your Grandma" sign. And: Don't promise thousands when you deliver ... oh ... a hundred, maybe?

There's a word for what happened Sunday, when the Dallas Professional Artists' Coalition took their health-care protest to the Arts District: anti-climactic. Donned in their canary-colored trash bags, PAC reps formed a Pac-Man (or so we think) as a metaphor for the health care industry's unbridled consumption, said organizers. (Actually, as you can see, they didn't so much form a Pac-Man so much as stand in the chalk outline of the video-game character.) It also had something to do with creating solidarity amongst local artists and building momentum toward "an art-friendly solution to the health care crisis." More photos of the happening follow after the jump.

Don't worry, though. We've got better dress-up items forthcoming from the weekend. Five words: "Princess Leia slave-girl costume." Happy early Halloween.

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