Art or Eyesore?

A few miles from Hearst Castle, a trash collector spent fifty years cobbling together his house out of junk and found objects. As Cambria became more trendy in the 1970s, neighbors wanted him to tear down the multi-level “eyesore,” while others saw “Nitt Witt Ridge” as a folk art monument. It’s still there, and still a controversy within the city and its historical society.

=> LA Times: A folk art trash palace in the shadow of Hearst Castle

This seems like the kind of roadside construction that would fit in with American Gods’ cosmology. More like The House on the Rock than Hearst Castle, despite the proximity.

Then there are Wyland’s 100+ whale murals. I've seen several of his giant outdoor murals featuring sea life:

=> Rainbow Lagoon and Long Beach Convention Center. | On the other side of the building. | Redondo Beach power plant.

It turns out that the first of them, on the wall of a Laguna Beach hotel, was later painted over as an “eyesore.” (C’mon, really?) But since then, a friend of his bought the building, and he’s recreating the original mural. On canvas this time, so he can move it if anything happens to the wall!

=> OC Register: Wyland recreates first ‘Whaling Wall’ in Laguna Beach

—Kelson Vibber, 2019-07-19

=> Life | Art

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=> Originally posted at K-Squared Ramblings | Fediverse: @kelson@notes.kvibber.com | Log Home