In this week’s Clackamas Review (the local paper that essentially covers our county) had an article on the front page entitled, But is it Art? that had the subtitle:

Mystery ‘rogue artist’ hits a Milwaukie park to make a statement— or maybe just a mess

I’ve been so busy that I haven’t taken our longer route on the walks with my wife, so I didn’t notice that someone created a mini-living room in the middle of a park. The artist did the deed in the middle of the night without proper authority or authorization.

How fabulous is that!

I’ve read about things like this happening in other cities… but not in my little town. You can read the entire article online, which gives a fairly detailed description of the project. So even though I didn’t get to see the art, it accomplished its goals.

First, it got my thinking … I mean, why do we see that pile of objects and immediately think living room? Because all of us have conformed to the idea of what our living space should be, and it doesn’t vary much. We have a sofa, chairs … even a tiny table in front of the sofa that we can’t put our feet on, but is too low to be useful.

In the TV show, Sienfeld, one of the characters said that he is planning on giving away all of his furniture to replace them with “levels.” Surely all of us have had similar bursts of creativity in how to organize our living space, but such 14 year old inspiration quickly dies.

Yes, I could go on and on about the thoughts that were inspired by this piece of art. But I’ll save you the eye-strain.

Second, the art got me talking … to my neighborhood friends (and I guess to you too, gentle reader). More than just a conversation starter, is this akin to vandalism, or should it be permitted? This cement slab in the center of this green space was designed for art, so if the city hasn’t commissioned the art, perhaps that space should be part of the common space.

Third, the art got me inspired … to grab my turn at that space for an art project. I mean, surely we’ve all dreamed of creating artistic clandestine compositions, no? Allow me to give a couple of quotes from the article:

[JoAnn] Herrigel [Community Services Director for the City of Milwaukie, OR] hopes to remove the display before the next heavy rain weighs down the objects, making them more difficult for city crews to remove.

“It’s not going to put us over the edge, but I have to pay for the people and the time to go out and take it down,” she said. “If we had to have crews go out there every week and remove a rogue installation, that would be a problem.

“While we are responding benignly now, that could change in the future.”

Far from discouraging me, I want nothing more than to be arrested for creating public art. Now that’s a legacy to leave for your children.