Oh woe is me! It was starting out to be such a beautiful day. There was a spicyness to the air that was intoxicating and the willows were alive with birds. I saw several different warblers and managed a good photo or two! As I approached what has been my outdoor studio spot for months, I could tell something was different this time. A feeling of foreboding began to fill me and my heart sank as I looked around my site.
They were all down and destroyed! Figures that had been my friends since early summer were lying around my studio smashed and savaged to bits! The figure I made with Ariana that wore the lacrosse helmet we found together was staring up at me like some ancient Egyptian mummy. The eye sockets were hollow and I could not find either the helmet or the eyes. Even the small bird piece that had alighted on this figure’s shoulder was just random bits of broken polystyrene.
Both the Styro-Odysseus figure and the dancing figure that greeted him back from the war were goners now. It seemed that a particular kind of viciousness was reserved for the heads as they appeared to take the brunt of the attacks. The violence was not restricted to the “art” and I saw that even the old milk crates I stored found objects in were also now cracked and battered. There were two other works out here and how did they fare? What about that Figure with the Long Arm? Look for yourself.
It’s not an encouraging sight. All these sculptures had been up here for weeks and many people have had the opportunity to see them and interact with them in positive ways. Among the other options included taking them home, moving them to another location at the Falls, adding to them in some other creative way, leaving them be until the river eventually found them, etc… Unhappily, the option exercised was just to smash them with sticks. One other figure was also out here and unfortunately, she lasted only long enough for one good post until she too was discovered by the vandals.
This is all that remains of Minnie now…fragments of broken Styrofoam. Minnie was an interesting character and people seemed to relate to her. More than likely all this carnage is the handiwork of adolescent boys. I have seen this before…many times over the years. What is it in the human spirit that finds some strange satisfaction at tearing down what has been built by others? I don’t understand the pleasure derived from this kind of destruction? I will admit to feeling down after I encountered all this trauma and I haven’t been back to this site since then. I did gather up what I could and I intend to make new works if I can lift my spirits up enough to do it. For now, all that remains are photographs of these sculptures when they existed intact and in the contexts that helped to define them. Here are a few previously unpublished images.
I know I shouldn’t be too upset since all this stuff is just river-born trash anyway. I think I keep saying this to myself in part because it’s true and to insulate my feelings for when these black days occur. These materials had already been abandoned. I can’t take it all home with me and I should just enjoy the ephemeral nature of it all. Still…
Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog 
This is Awful! How devestating! WHY would anyone want to do this? Its just doesn’t make any sense! I’m so glad you have pictures of your characters. I can only imagine what it must have been like to find them this way – I felt upset and very uneasy just looking at them all smashed up. Nature didn’t even get the chance to take them before human nature stepped in:0 Poor Minnie and Styro-Odysseus! I’d be ashamed to have such thoughtless, insensitive vandals for kids! If they’re like this now and remain unchecked – imagine what they’ll be like when they grow up!
I’m so glad that you shred these characters with us Al – and you at least have a record of them. If you do turn their adventures into a book – you will have children sobbing when it comes to the final chapter…. It will be like a Santa Claus doesn’t exist moment (only we know he does – right!)
Although I was disappointed…I’ve been down this road before. It does strike me as being something of a double insult. First these materials get dumped into the environment and then when something becomes of it all…even more destruction happens. I have learned not to become too attached to these things over the years. Thanks Lynda…your comments are always appreciated.
You said it well, when you said you don’t understand the pleasure derived from trashing another’s creations. Perhaps that is why you are so good at bringing to light what mankind has done to their environment. The same discomfort you feel for the destruction of your sculptures and workspace is what we should all feel for you and for our environment. I find it a rather similar occurrence what you blog about. We care about and for our environment very little better than the passers-by cared for your styro friends.
Had I come across your work area and there was no sign saying I could take one home, I would not have bothered the area but been amazed at the creativity that had taken place, there. You mention young boys as perhaps the culprit? I would have thought a group of aspiring young boys might have spent some creative time learning and creating these from artifacts found riverside. Interesting contrast; what we would hope the youth of today was doing and what they are actually doing.
This post……….depressing and sad, but is actually what you have been writing and creating to change. I don’t think this one occurrence will slow you down, only fuel you to find a way to persist in sharing what you believe in. I’m sorry, Al.
Leslie, Thank you for your sensitive comments. I had never considered leaving a sign saying that people could have these things. Over the years, people who wanted them simply took them and that was okay with me. From the beginning of this project, one of my assumptions is that what we do to the land we also do to ourselves. You made that connection which is an insight that many miss. I will be okay and I’ll make more of this hard to classify art for a little while longer.
My thoughts reflect all those already expressed. I do wonder what effect a sign would have on visitors. Perhaps then they would realize your art wasn’t just random but part of an ongoing process. Perhaps they would think about your open air studio differently–and art and nature too–if you did put up just a simple sign or an artist’s statement. Something simple like a single sheet of paper on a stick in the midst of your studio. Just something to let others who visit the place know of the ongoing existence of your creative project. Have you ever considered taking interested art students or just environmental groups out for a field trip to show them your work and the potential for their own efforts? Might raise some awarenss ???
I too am so glad you’ve made a photographic record of your art. Like my photos of the now defaced Bitter and Sweet mural–at least there’s record of it ‘intact’.
shanti om, friend
Hi Eva…I guess when it comes down to it, I hope folks who come across my outdoor studio can see that there is something going on and can put two and two together. Calm me naive! I do know that people these days don’t want to work very hard and depend on others to tell them what’s what. Maybe a small sign like “Free” or my blog’s name and that’s it. There is already a considerable verbal record on this project out there. I have yet to pass up an opportunity to speak or present and recently I spoke to the entire 4th grade where my youngest son goes to school. They think I’m famous because a couple of them “Googled” me and found stuff! I got a big kick out of that!
Good to know that you’ve been doing educational outreach. I hope the children pass it all on to their parents.
Pitiful — the attitude of destructive men.
Do they hate themselves so much
to destroy something that is reborn
because they can’t give a new life to their own?
Hopefully one day we can resurrect each of our trash
into something beautiful and inspiring
like your life-like styro arts.
Make new ones to give the boys another chance.
🙂
I doubt the people who break and destroy these works think much about what they are doing. It seems impulsive and opportunistic to me. Thank you for your comments…I will make new works from the old.