Somewhere along a dirt road in the middle of Westchester, New York lies a small wooden cross tied together with coarse rope. It rests barely noticeable, nestled in a crowd of bushes with a few flowers surrounding it. Yet, for some reason, it is all you can see when you walk past.
Some art jumps out to its audience. It can take up every crack and crevasse or be utterly massive. Public art has a tendency to do just that. Public art usually grabs your attention in a split second and loses it in a split second. Whether it be murals that cover the sides of buildings that you pass on the bus every day or statues that tower over their viewers that are along your walk to work, public art is just meant to grab your attention quickly because they probably won’t have it for long.
However, there are moments where public art is made to be not public at all. Instead of being massive and distinct they are inconspicuous and camouflaged. Yet, the message they convey can be just as impactful.
Walking along a dirt road in upstate New York I almost missed that cross, but I managed to catch it in the corner of my eye. Rather than engulf an area in color and style this piece of art fits right into its surroundings it is barely noticeable. When I noticed the cross, my attention to it lasted for more than just a glance. I wondered how it found its way here and why it was there in the first place. It was crude and old but it was also beautiful. The person who gathered the rope, two pieces of wood, and flowers was not trying to overwhelm their surroundings but only send a simple message neatly tucked away in the bushes. This piece of public art has no artist who can be named or a plaque to which it can be given a date. It is blank and lacks all context, yet its message is clear and powerful. It begs questions that lead to no answers.
After spending some time glaring into the cross and the flowers that were around it I couldn’t help but feel sad. Its simplicity created something so powerful and encompassing all I could feel was sad walking away from it. Even being as small or hidden as it was its message was much larger.
At times we define what public art can be. Living in a place like New York City, we can’t miss the public art around us. Every corner probably will have graffiti lining the walls or peeling posters. Still, we cannot forget how and where art can find itself, even if it’s hard or easy to find it.
