Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Strawberry Hill Art or Vandalism?

So here we were climbing down a steep path from the parking area of the Strawberry Hill Wayside on the Coast of Oregon. At the bottom after it was safe to stop watching my every step lest I should take a tumble rather than a walk, I was able to look around. At first I saw all of the seals and the life in the tidal pools. Then I became aware that behind me out of sight from above, but clearly visible from the beach and rocks below was some elaborate carvings in the soft sandstone of the cliff.



Now the names and obtuse words carved into the cliff are in almost everybody's analysis are graffiti and are an act of vandalism. Unless, of course, they were carved by Lewis and Clark or Abraham Lincoln or some such which would raise them into the realms of historical artifacts and make the area worthy of National Park status.



I did not recognize any names of that caliber. Nor did these items rise to the level of aboriginal petroglyphs. I did marvel at the carved face however. It seemed oddly appropriate. I wondered if the seals on the rocks ever noticed it.

My family said, vandalism is vandalism. I'm not so sure myself.
So how vote you?
Is this Vandalism or Art, or something else?

4 comments:

Kirsten said...

Well, I tend to be of the opinion that graffiti is art, though I'm still of two minds about the destructiveness inherent in the art form. So these carvings--especially the face--would fall into the same area for me.

Glad you're posting things from your Oregon trip!

drlobojo said...

The Oregon trip, yes. More to come. Came home mowed lawn. Mourned my dead plants. Down loaded my photos. Then I left on a ten day trip to Baton Rouge to see my baby girl. I think, I hope, surely, I'm back for a while.

drlobojo said...

And Kristen, thanks for the suggestion about Mo's Annex. Good food, beer battered halibut and clam chowder. I appreciate the tip. I'll be blogging about Silvia Beech Hotel too.

Erudite Redneck said...

Graffiti = art. But I'm with Kirsten on the destructiveness of it.