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We poison our land and then call it home
Amongst the green buds and new growth along ******* Creek sits an apartment complex whose management likes to dabble in temporary art installations. Little yellow flags sit along the edge of the grass, a patina of scent, chlorine with a hint of yeasty pepper, spice in the air. Is this art or landscaping? The tile only makes sense satirically: Warning Pesticides Applied, a nicely worded cautionary tale.
The best angle of approach is from the Midland Trail, any other might net you a trespassing charge. A wrought iron fence partly blocks the view, adding complexity to the visual metaphor.
No artist statement is present and, rightly, none is needed. The artist’s choices regarding medium, substrate, and location are all pitch-perfect with the blunt realism speaking volumes, straight into the viewer's eyes, nose, and endocrine systems.
What is said is clear, yet what it actually means is more hotly contested. Some see the work as a clarion call, a warning about ecocide and the distances colonization has removed us from the landscape. Others, a beauty pageant hot take on the value of modern urbanized landscaping.
What that means is beyond even me. I’m with the ecocide crowd on this one, and that’s because…
