A walk along the paths at a nearby sculpture park brought butterflies…
….hugging trees…
…and other loveliness. Strolling at a leisurely pace, I went back and forth between my canon and my iPhone, taking in the familiar installations….
…and some not so familiar ones.
This was one of several pieces from a new interactive installation (link here).
At first glance, I thought it was weird. Really weird. I wandered around trying to figure it out and then it happened: I heard barking. Lots and lots and LOTS of barking. And sirens wailing. And lots of city-type noise pollution. I’m sorry…what?!? This place is usually so peaceful! What gives?
Then I read the signs and figured out that the installation was designed for people and their dogs.
I don’t know if the audio was on a timer or if was set off by motion detectors, but I could hear the frigging dogs bark everywhere I went. How stinking annoying.
Okay, dude. I get it. You’re an artist delivering a sermon about dogs. Whatever. Enough already.
My leisurely stroll turned into a bit of a sprint to escape the noise. But as the noise started to fade, I noticed this memorial bench.
This bench communicated more about dogs and the love of dogs than any pre-recorded barking or goofy leashes hanging from trees masquerading as art ever could. It was simple, heartfelt and sincere — and it just didn’t try so darn hard. Shellbe and Scarlet must have had really good lives. And THAT’S beautiful.
hey there, friends 
Okay, I would be annoyed but all the piped in noise, too. The bench, however, is so sweet!
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The weird part about the noise is that it's city noise. This sculpture park is in the county where there's not a lot of that stuff. It's just really out of place. But I love that bench. So sweet. 🙂
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