By The Sea

150 meter aluminum sea serpent skeleton sculpture in Nantes, France. Artist Huang Yong Ping

This kind of public art doesn’t interest me. It seems more a testament to hubris and ego than art. There was some other guy, I forget who, years ago, that did this with fabric, etc across acres of land. It was a turn off.

Samurai octopus helmet, 1700s, Japan

Despite how well done this is, it is hard to interpret the meaning outside the culture. The first impulse is cool, then WTF, then a laugh, then confusion about the message. Is it ceremonial, is it religious, is it played for a laugh? My heart goes out to archaeologists trying to figure out the past.

What we owe Rachael Carson.

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