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Read the press release here.

Performance Artists Dressed All in White Will Watch You in Brookfield Place

By Irene Plagianos | October 16, 2015 4:36pm | Updated on October 18, 2015 4:03pm
 Eleven artists will spend eight hours a day, standing in Brookfield Place, taking notes on passersby.
Eleven artists will spend eight hours a day, standing in Brookfield Place, taking notes on passersby.
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Brookfield/Patrick PKPR

BATTERY PARK CITY — It's not your paranoia — it's art.

If you happen to walk through Brookfield Place in the next couple of weeks and feel like you're being watched — you'll be right.

Eleven performers, clad in white, will be stationed in the Brookfield Place pavilion at 230 Vesey St. for eight hours a day, taking notes on the thousands of people who pass through daily.

The crew of watchers are part of a performance art piece, called "9 - 5,"  dreamed up by Ernesto Pujol, a New York-based conceptual artist and choreographer.

The point of the performance is to "pay homage to the city's office workers by granting them the gift of close attention throughout the business day," according to Arts Brookfield, which sponsored the project.

"There's a choreographic beauty in the daily flow of commuters moving purposefully to their destinations, especially with our stunning new Pavilion as their backdrop,” said Debra Simon, vice president and artistic director of Arts Brookfield, in a statement. "Ernesto Pujol's 9 – 5 not only shines a spotlight on this daily dance, but it also pays tribute to each of the individuals who are part of it."

The performers watching and writing are meant to be part of a quiet, meditative act, one that "evokes the repetitiousness of all labor, while also inspiring audience members to be more actively aware of the flow of humanity that surrounds them," according to Arts Brookfield.

What will happen to all those notes remains unclear — Arts Brookfield did not immediately return request for comment.

"9 - 5" will take place, as might be expected, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Oct. 26 through Oct. 28.