Street Sculpture

There's a local artist named Mark Jenkins who I like a lot. A lotta lot. I first saw his work in 2004 or so at the Artomatic at the Children's Museum where he had his tape people and also these digital collage-things that looked like oriental rugs but it was digitally tiled images of body hair which were both intriguing and, I'll admit, a little bit revolting.

If you're lucky, you can catch his work on the street before DCRA or some other organization yanks it down.

Jenkins might be called a situationalist I guess, by taking things he finds on the street and turning it into something playful and creative- The lamp posts on Thomas Circle being turned into a Merry-Go-Round


Or large angels suspended in the unused alcoves of Malcom X Park.
I find work like his really inspiring- the ability to see something unique and beautiful and useful in an otherwise mundane and under-utilized location. His pieces are largely independant and do not cause stress or damage to their locations. Unless they are wildly misinterpreted by small minded people who apparently need something to do or complain about.