When does public art and playfulness interfere with the health and well being of other living things? That can be up for debate… more often than we think.
The war between whimsy and responsibility is an ancient one, and it is raging in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Someone, and you’d be hard pressed to find who, has put a tiny door on a tree in the park. Officials took it away, saying it was hurting the tree. But people freaked out, so they are putting it back.
via A big battle over a tiny door in a San Francisco tree | Grist (caution, original article has swearing).
While the Grist article favors the tree and park officials, I honestly feel like the door did no more damage than a bird feeder attached to a tree, probably less.
I also like seed bombs, however the seeds contained in those are sometimes invasive, so you do have to be aware.
What are your feelings about adding on to or embellishing living things in order to create public art and whimsy? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Related articles
- Tiny tree door in Golden Gate Park must go, says Rec and Parks (sfgate.com)
- Mysterious Tiny Door Discovered in Tree in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park (laughingsquid.com)
- Adorable News: Mysterious, Tiny Elf Door Appears In Golden Gate Park Tree (mediaite.com)
- Mystery elf door in park sparks attention on the Web (news.yahoo.com)
- Teeny Tiny Tree House Door Replaced With Crappier Teeny Tiny Tree House Door (blogs.sfweekly.com)
- Mysterious Tiny Door Replaced with Inferior Model (nbcmiami.com)
Mental Flowers 
Hm… I think if it decomposes, it’s Ok. Like fairy houses, built in public places out of moss and twigs. Or cotton sweaters knit over trees or public sculptures.
As for a door on the tree, I think it depends on where the tree lives. Golden Gate Park? Sure. Redwood National Park? Hell no.
Makes sense to me. 🙂