Rock pile or work of art? Bluffton wrestles with overflowing artistic installation
The world has a lot of famous rocks from the Rock of Gibraltar to Plymouth Rock to the Rock of Ages to Stonehenge. Not wanting to be left behind, Bluffton has a few rocks of its own, but now the town feels the installation may have gotten out of hand.
Hoping to avoid a multicolored avalanche of stones and slabs in Wright Family Park Park, Bluffton is trying to get its most popular pile of rocks under control this week.
What started as simple painted rocks left across the town for others to find, has culminated in a makeshift “rock garden” in the park off Calhoun St. in Old Town. Countless painted rocks surround the base of a live oak tree overlooking the May River. But once all the rocks had been painted, artwork on bricks, slabs of concrete and fence posts started to make their way into the informal art display.
On Tuesday, the Town of Bluffton announced in a Facebook post that they would be making some changes regarding the rock display.
“The rock garden has seeped out of its boundaries and has grown beyond the original portion of the park, where rocks were placed as part of the landscape. It is now interfering with The Wright Family Park’s natural beauty and park elements,” the town said in the post.
The town specifically named three issues: the larger non-rock paintings, rocks promoting business and paint splatters on the adjacent wooden walkway. Workers for the Town of Bluffton were on site Tuesday afternoon to begin power washing and removing the larger art pieces.
Maintain it or let it be?
Anyone admiring the rocks would notice the name “Stephen” written at the bottom of many of the art pieces. Self-described painting addict, Stephen Gregar, 75, is responsible for a many of the works in the installation, particularly the concrete slabs and larger fence post paintings.
On Wednesday he was begrudgingly collecting many of those pieces. “Why should I have to take it home? I’m donating this. This is my time and material,” he said.
Gregar agreed that the space shouldn’t be used for self-promotion, but couldn’t understand why the town is so resistant to it being a public art space.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked. “Take that home and put it in my garage? I have to sell it? I have to sell my artwork and people can’t enjoy free art?”
However it should be noted that all of the paintings on fence posts and concrete slab paintings were Gregar’s. Gregar said that people have referred to the pile of painted rocks as his shrine, a sentiment he resents.
“I want it to be everybody’s shrine. If you want to call it a shrine, it’s everybody’s,” he said.
Since the rocks serve a purpose in the park, combating erosion and protecting the structure of the riverbed, having them painted makes no difference to the town. Bluffton has unabashedly supported the painting up until this point.
“We liked that it was kind of a natural occurrence that supported the character of Bluffton and the artistic sphere that has been a part of the Bluffton culture community for many, many years,” Assistant Town Manager Chris Forster said.
But now the town worries whether or not the bricks and slabs of concrete can contribute to the same purpose.
“The concern now is that it would get to a point where it became either obstruction or a safety hazard or actually started compromising the integrity of the structure,” he said.
Establishing rules for the park’s rock installation is something the town will do at a future date. At the moment the town isn’t sure where the line will be drawn. However, the larger concrete slabs are “getting beyond what the design of the structure was intended for,” Forster said. Ultimately the town’s public art committee will decide what these rules will look like.
The next Public Art Committee meeting is on July 30 at 4 p.m.
Other local artists
“I don’t know whether to say I like it or whether it’s almost garish,” said Bill Winn, an artist at La Petite Gallerie, in Old Town Bluffton. “It’s kind of a way of expressing yourself, but then again, it’s kind of a way of defacing.”
Mattie Parott, a framer at Camellia Art Gallery and Framing wasn’t sure Wright Family Park was the right place for any public art.
“I think for that location, it might get a little out of hand. I think there maybe could be a better place for a more public art display. I’m not sure if that is the right place,” she said.
Picking up your artwork
If your paint project has been removed due to this cleanup, you can pick it up at the Town’s Public Services Department, located at the entrance of Oscar Frazier Park. The address is 2 Recreation Court, starting Monday, July 8. Please ring the doorbell and come during the following hours: Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Fridays, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
