The performance artist Psuperhamb, known as Ham, from Baltimore, Maryland, stayed naked for three days on a small platform on Houston Street in the SoHo neighborhood of New York, between September 5 and 8. During the performance, he displayed messages scribbled on his body, such as "Consume less to fight progress," apparently to draw attention to the opening of an OpenAI office on the same street.
The action generated strong negative reaction among New Yorkers. A video of the moment went viral, showing a man asking "What the f*** is this, man?" and complaining about the presence of children nearby. The situation generated protests and jokes on social media.
The artist claimed to have suffered violent interventions during the performance. According to him, someone pushed him off the platform several times and, when he went back up, he was hit by a punch to the face, after which the aggressor fled.
On September 8, Ham was forcibly taken to a psychiatric ward, where he remained for some time before being released, according to the account published by the New York newspaper.
