For one week last month, the population of art enthusiasts on Walker Street swelled considerably. “I’ll Raise You One,” the piece they came to see (or more often happened upon by luck), in the storefront space of Art in General, drew such zealous crowds that some viewers unwittingly spilled into lanes of traffic while others staked out key viewing positions for hours at a time.

If there was a common response among the sidewalk critics it was: “Oh, my God!”

Such was the reaction to Zefrey Throwell’s performance piece, which involved games of strip poker played for seven days in view of all at Walker Street and Cortlandt Alley, the slightly gritty corner that straddles Chinatown and Tribeca.

Coinciding with Occupy Wall Street, Throwell’s expressed intention was political as well as prurient. Participants, who except for Throwell changed daily, were told they could arrive with however many clothes (i.e., capital) as they liked, reflecting the artist’s view of the disparity between winners and losers in the American economy.

Regardless, all the players managed to lose——repeatedly—to the delight of those on both sides of the windows. Even if the crowds craning their necks did not catch the deep sociopolitical message of seven people getting naked before their eyes, they were inspired to discuss the work.

Miriam Rivera and Carmen (who would not give her last name) spent their lunch hour of jury duty, for the second day in a row, wedged in among the peeping masses and talked excitedly about the performance.

“I never seen anything like this. Never,” said Miriam.

“They call it art,” Carmen noted.

“It is art,” Miriam agreed. “And they’re being creative. They have no shame and they shouldn’t have any at all.”

“Would you do it?” the women were asked.

“If I was a James Bond girl!” Carmen exclaimed with a laugh. “Yes!”

A young couple arrived and stood behind the two women. Hearing the conversation, the woman glanced at her partner. “He would definitely do it. Anything to get his clothes off,” she said.

In the meantime, the players in the window continued their game as an observer in the crowd, his nose pressed close to the glass, helpfully explained, “They’re not naked yet.”

“They’re really going to get to that point?” the young woman asked.

Just then, one of the men in the window got to that point.

“Oh, my God!” the woman gasped.

Courtenay Finn, Art in General’s curator and programs manager, often ­stood at the back of the crowd, handing out information about the show and trying to prevent distracted passersby from standing in the busy street.

She said it was exciting to see so many people drawn to the gallery.

That included the men who work at the building supply business across the street where the gallery buys its installation materials.

“This is the first time they’ve come out to see what we do with those supplies,” she said. “It’s nice to activate the neighborhood.”

Throwell, who staged “Ocularpation: Wall Street,” a 50-person naked protest in August that led to three arrests, said he expected more trouble from the police. “However, the cops have been some of the largest supporters,” the artist said, as a crowd, standing in the rain, stared in at him and his fellow unclothed players. “They come by every day and bring lots of their friends.”

Throwell said he had more volunteers for his strip poker games than he had places at the table. Some had participated in his other projects; others were artists themselves or naturists who make a statement out of nudity.

But some were just drawn to the idea. “I like card games and I like being naked,” said Kira Clement, 22.

“I love Zefrey and I adore what he does and I think it’s really interesting that he creates a dialogue in a different way,” said Argot Murelius, who came from her native Sweden 10 years ago and writes about art. “It’s not your regular banter.”

Ed Illades had appeared in a previous Throwell project, but in his clothes. “It’s amazing to me, sitting around a table with naked people, that like right away it’s just okay,” Illades said.

“But the people outside don’t seem to get tired of it,” he added. “It’s weird.”