HotelChatter || Hotel Artist in Bed, Make That 50,000 Beds, with State Tourism Commission

We're friends of the arts, especially the hotel arts, and have friends who are artists to boot. So when we read the article in yesterday's NYT Arts and Leisure Section about Chris Doyle's latest video project, one line in particular jumped out at us:

Underwritten partly by a $90,000 grant from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism...

Whoa. That's a lot of jack.

As the hotel cognoscenti know, Doyle's video "Sheets" intrigues guests in the lobby at the Hotel on Rivington on the Lower East Side. Doyle's latest, 50,000 Beds, is a trifecta of exhibits showcasing videos shot in 45 hotel rooms in the Nutmeg State. We didn't get the extent of the Connecticut-tourism-office connection of his latest project until we checked out the website.

Now we're wondering: Could this be the sneakiest, and perhaps cleverest, tourism campaign ever?

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The subliminal messages start with the project's title. 50,000 is the number of lodging beds (we imagine give or take a few) in Connecticut. Exhibiting the videos at three museums across the state seems like an obvious ploy at getting folks to visit more of the Constitution State.

To that end, the project website even includes convenient Weekend Travel Itineraries, suggestions on ways to get to and around the three participating venues, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Artspace in New Haven and Real Art Ways in Hartford. We're talking train lines, rent-a-car offices, restaurants. And hotels: The 50,000 Beds website lists each and every hotel where the videos were shot, 45 in all, with links where possible.

As for the videos themselves, judging from the handful available on the website, we have our reservations. They seem to have been influenced more by Psycho than Hotel Bed Jumping. But we'll reserve judgment until we get to one, or two, or possibly all three shows later this month. The exhibits open, on three separate evenings, starting July 20, and run through September 23. Thanks to the 50,000 Beds website, we'll know where to put our head down the next time we're in New Haven. Boolah, boolah!

Related Stories:
· Hotel Rooms Become Overnight Stars [NY Times]

Hotel Reviews:
The Hotel On Rivington Thor

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