Weird Street Art

Walking home from the train in mid-November I chanced to look into the vacant lot at Charles and Lafayette St and saw this large conglomeration of detritus. At first glance the debris looked odd but unassuming. The neutral shades of beige and brown blended into the landscape of the lot, so that if passing by the mass would not stand out from your peripheral vision. It would easily be mistaken as a normal wind swept collection of leaves and assorted trash. But once you gave the thing your full attention, you could not help but notice that the items were placed rather then strewn; furthermore they formed a shape.

 After intially recognizing the face formed on the ground I went in for a closer look. The majority of the outline of the shape was made up of used teabags. They were layered very neatly, giving the form some sense of permanence.

Along the chin and throat there were a series of bell shape ending in a horn. I suppose this represented the voice box.

The eye was a pile of  chestnuts, accentuated with tongue depressors or popsicle sticks.

 Behind the eye was a large array of Q-tips with their cotton ends torn off. Other material was less immediately identifiable. Various plastic clips, metal bands, and little caps that seemed familiar, as though you saw them everyday but couldn't exactly place where or how they were used.

Clearly the items had been collected over a long period of time. Then they had been placed with painstaking care. This was a well planned or at least well executed design.

I marveled at it for some time. Wondering as I looked, who made this? Where did they get all those teabags? How long has it been here without me noticing? How many others had seen this thing and wondered these same questions? How many more had walked past it? Lastly I wondered, how long until it would be destroyed?

The answer to the last question came today. Between Thursday and early this Monday morning the thing had been destroyed. Swept back or kicked apart I can't say but the shape is no longer recognizable. I don't feel sad that it was destroyed, the impermanence of it was inherent in its design and placement. Instead I feel glad to have seen it when it was there and happy to share it too.