The New York Times explains what’s going on in Felix Salmon’s video and the pictures from Gothamist below:

This was an art exhibition — a term that perhaps conjures a more subdued event. But the art in this show, called “Those About to Die Salute You,” involved humans in motion, boats on water and those tomatoes. It was the creation of Duke Riley, whose work skews aquatic and unpredictable: He once built a wood and fiberglass submarine, floated it too close to the Queen Mary 2 and was arrested.

His vision for Queens on Thursday night was a Roman-style staged naval battle among representatives of museums in four New York boroughs, who would face off in teams in the reflecting pool, paddling in boats built from recycled materials like reeds and salvaged Styrofoam.

At least, that was the general idea. There were no dress rehearsals; there was no script.

Art in a Recession (Reuters/Felix Salmon)

Tomatoes Fly at Museum Battle in Queens (Gothamist)

In Queens, a Battle on the Low Seas, and May the Best Artist Win (New York Times)