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Paul Takeuchi
A SEAT FOR THE ELDERLY: THE INVISIBLE GENERATION

first performed on October 12, 2018
Art in Odd Places: Body, New York, NY
performed three times in 2018

LULU LOLO

New York, NY
fabulouslululolo@gmail.com
lululolo.com

A SEAT FOR THE ELDERLY: THE INVISIBLE GENERATION
LULU LOLO

In “A Seat For The Elderly: The Invisible Generation” I walked along 14th Street from Seventh Avenue to University Place with a chair strapped to my body for three days.

“A Seat For The Elderly: The Invisible Generation” highlighted the lack of compassion even to the point of indifference to the “invisible generation”—the elderly struggling with the fragility of their aging body. Focusing on this fragility, I walked with a chair strapped to my back (which was easily removed) offering this “Seat For The Elderly” to older people that I encountered along 14th Street. I engaged and challenged the public about the indifference and impatience that is shown to the elderly as they slowly make their way in the city. Many older adults thanked and blessed me for doing this. Some of them would not take a seat because they were busy on their way to some place else or they would have difficulty getting up again once their knees rested in the chair. Other older adults felt they were too youthful to take a seat in a chair marked “elderly.” The performance also drew attention to what an older person is called. In the past to be called an “Elder” was a respected term—a person of wisdom. The current correct term is “Older.”