Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog

It’s the first real taste of winter and the few people out at the Falls today are hardy fishermen and me.  The only birds I encountered were a quartet of Carolina Chickadees moving through the tops of the now “nude” willows.  All this year’s leaves are lying brown and curled up around the bases of these trees.  Nearer the river, each footstep is greeted by the sound of the thinnest ice crunching underfoot.  Later as the sun arcs up, this ice will disappear and become mud that sticks stubbornly to my shoes.  I walk the shoreline picking up and photographing the things I find interesting or worth keeping.  Because it’s cold, I don’t plan to stick around for hours.  I remind myself of the other times I’ve visited the Falls when it was really windy and freezing.  Because survival knows no fashion, during those times I would wear my “Elmer Fudd” cap…the one with the ear flaps!  Not even my best friends have ever seen me sporting that one!

After checking out the latest river offerings, I circled around my studio spot.  With the vegetation down, it’s become much more visible from the informal trail that meanders nearby.  Immediately, I can see that things were not as I left them.  Someone else has stopped by and made use of the materials I have gathered and banked at this location.  Here’s a closer look at what he or she has created.  I studied it for a while before forming an opinion.  I was a bit surprised by my own feelings.

This is the Styro-tableau as I found it.  It consists of three polystyrene sculptures and one hand-lettered sign.  Whoever this artist is has recycled the head of one of my older pieces (the Watchful Willie figure) and attached it to a “body” of their making.  There is also a stylized, abstract “fish” and a smaller, abstract “figure” that’s really crude and falling apart.  It must have been made sometime during the week.  Also nearby, are a few older works I’ve left behind, but those pieces are undisturbed.

I appreciate that this artist has tried to create some sense of movement out of these static materials.  It’s not an easy thing to accomplish.  The arm and hand shading the eyes is a nice touch.  What I’m less enthused about is the use of the blue marker and the hand-lettered sign.  The admonishing tone of the “message” is not my cup of coffee.  I’m also not wild about the idea of breaking the Styrofoam up to make the work.   I do, however, acknowledge that when you invite others to play…you can’t always control the game.  At least whoever made these works attempted something creative which is a message I much prefer sending out into the world.  Here’s a better look at the fish sculpture.  The spines are beaver-chewed willow sticks.

I think this would still read as a “fish” without the marker.  In my own Falls  work, I try to keep things “pure” by using only what I find here.  Although it’s possible that the marker was also found on location…the sign to me would suggest otherwise.  I wonder if the person or persons who made these sculptures also made the works in my previous post?  After encountering this latest  grouping the desire to make something of my own left me.  I instead decided to gather river-worn glass for a series of ornaments I’m making at home.  I’ll show you those later.  I am amazed that an earlier sculpture I assembled a few weeks a go is still standing upright!  Usually these take a stick or rock to the chest not long after they are set up.  This is in a particularly muddy area and so visitors might be reluctant to come near it.  For now, I’ll end with that image.