ART OnSite is an ambitious environmental art installation featuring 20 works by 8 artists presented along Nevada City’s Tribute Trail, a popular hiking path that runs beside Deer Creek, one of the earliest and richest locations of the California Gold Rush. The goal of the project, two years in the making and conceived by Chair Nancy Fleming and Vice Chair Nancy Nelson, was to draw the community together through the nexus of art. Unfortunately, the enterprise was marred by violence, as one of the artworks proved too offensive for a person or persons in our town, and was almost completely destroyed, and then removed to a secret location for safekeeping.
What, you might wonder, would be so egregious to a permissive community like ours, known for its (barely) underground cannabis economy and alternative lifestyles? It was 5 larger-than-life, gold-patinaed dog poop statues made of resin entitled Nevada City Alchemy.
The artist, Daniel Brickman, created it in response to one of his early visits to the creek when he spent hours watching dog owners enjoy the trail while their pets left behind their droppings. Daniel, who enjoys working with clay and devising his own malleable materials such as sawdust and glue, was struck by the individuality of each poop, their statuesque nature, and by what he saw as the parallel between owner-permitted dog defecation and the pollution of equally negligent gold miners of the 1850’s. Both groups left waste with disregard to the environment and their fellow citizens.
When I first heard about the golden dog poops, I was excited. Scatological art can cause a sensation and it’s on trend; witness The Holy Virgin Mary by Chris Ofili, Complex Shit by Paul McCarthy, and Another Shit Show by Will Kurtz. I told Nancy Nelson, this could be an exciting draw for dog-art lovers near and far, and it would dovetail nicely with the project’s NEA Our Town Grant’s goal to help revitalize the local economy. This shit could be big.
Sadly, less than two weeks after ART OnSite’s debut on September 7, 2013, one of the golden dog poops was smashed to pieces. And, over the next few months, three more were destroyed before Daniel and the two Nancys retrieved the last one.
My dog Tyler Foote and I were lucky; we got to see Nevada City Alchemy in situ. And it was sensational. Getting directions via word of mouth, trekking alone into unknown territory as wildfires were burning nearby and temperatures were breaking records, I worried if we had enough water, if I had taken the right path, even if I knew what I was looking for and would know it when I saw it. I thought about turning back. I was tired and my dog was panting…but there was gold out there…I had to see it.
I thought about the 49ers, the men who dashed across the country, and the women who said yes to their insane certainty. I thought about arriving at this creek when it was inhabited by the Maidu, the tribe who peacefully lived off its abundance for centuries before get-rich-quick whites descended on it with their pans, picks, and shovels. And, I thought about how many well-known groups and anonymous individuals had had fought and continue to fight to restore the South Yuba Watershed to its magnificence.
Soon, it was almost noon and I was exhausted. I considered turning back, but by God, I had to see it. Gold fever had struck.
A man and a teen appeared from the opposite direction.
“Is the golden dog poop ahead?” I asked.
“Yes,” the man laughed.
“Is it on the right or the left?” I asked.
He paused, “I can’t tell you can I? Isn’t it supposed to be a scavenger hunt?”
My expression said, “Really?”
He laughed again. “Don’t worry. You’ll see it.”
They hiked past me, and I was Dorothy with my dog Toto, left with only a path to follow and my own determination.
The trail bent around a tree and we crossed the irrigation ditch. And then I gasped. I saw it, almost beneath me, the golden dog poop. Eurkea!
The legend, the quest, the doubt, the aloneness, the smell of fires nearby and my own sweat, the crunch of September leaves, historical predicates, my tired dog, and a goal achieved: it was one of the most evocative art experiences of my life.
We turned back and went home, sated.
Soon after, the iconoclasts hit. And one by one, the false idols were destroyed.
There was righteous chirping by some who were pleased that the "stuff" defiling nature was gone, and heartbreak for some who were dismayed that our community proved too provincial to handle challenging art.
On a chilly February morning Tyler Foote and I joined the two Nancys to pick up the shards.
The two Nancys were disappointed. I promised them that I would tell the story of Nevada City Alchemy and ART OnSite (which still consists of 15 fascinating multimedia artworks along the 8-mile trail) and let fellow dog-art lovers know that there is a place where you and your dog can explore history, enjoy nature, experience art, and, if you look closely, find a shard of the legendary golden dog poop, a remnant of the controversy in our tiny, complicated town, Nevada City, CA.
For more information visit ART OnSite.
