This guy gets to the underground station wearing blue jeans a tee shirt and a golf cap. He then stands near the station's front entrance, gets his violin from its case and starts playing with all his great virtuosity for the thousands of people coming through right at the rush hour. He played for 45 minutes during which time he was totally ignored be the throngs of people passing by. Nobody had any idea that this Guy was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest violinists in the world, playing consecrated musical pieces in a very rare instrument, (a 1713 Stradivarius, worth more that 3 million dollars). A few days earlier, Bell had played in a concert at the Symphony Hall in Boston, where the best seats were sold for $1000.00 or more!
This experiment was video taped and shows men and women passing by,, coffee cups or cell phones to their ears totally indifferent to the incredible sound payed in the violin by Mr. Bell. This experiment was set up by the Washington Post in order to determine how art can be valued and appreciated.
Of the thousands of people passing by, only a woman recognised the music...
This unbelievable spectacle of indifference can be seen on Utube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw.