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Published: Oct 9, 2007

The Casual Passer-By I Met at 3.01 pm, Philadelphia, April 9, 2007Opening reception Thu., Oct. 11, 5:30-6:30 p.m. (near the Fresh Grocer garage, 4001 Walnut St.), exhibit runs through Nov. 30, Fresh Grocer garage, Fisher-Bennett Hall, University of Pennsylvania, 3340 Walnut St., and Slought Foundation, 4017 Walnut St., 215-701-4627, www.slought.org

(CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Starting on Oct. 11, there's going to be a new face on the block at 40th and Walnut streets — specifically on the facade of the Fresh Grocer garage. The face belongs to a young Philadelphian. He's not famous, and although his image is blown up to the size of a billboard, he's not advertising anything, either. This anonymous face is actually part of an outdoor art installation by Yugoslavian artist Braco Dimitrijevic, curated by Aaron Levy of the Slough Foundation and students at the University of Pennsylvania. The subject of the installation, titled "The Casual Passer-By I Met at 3.01 pm, Philadelphia, April 9, 2007," is just that: a stranger who agreed to be photographed by the artist after running into him on the street.

Since 1968, Dimitrijevic has been putting large-scale photographs of others like him on the outer walls of the Venice Bienalle, the Hayward Gallery in London and the Champs-Élysées in Paris, to name just a few locations. These installations aim to subvert the usual codes of the city, where billboards are reserved for celebrities, advertisements or both. By displaying the image of a regular person without any explanatory text, Dimitrijevic makes us realize, and question, our media-conditioned response to fame. The portrait will move to Penn's campus in November, and a simultaneous gallery exhibit at Slough will showcase past works by the artist, featuring other lucky passersby. So next time a random person asks to take your picture, say yes. You might just become art.