On Saturday night or early Sunday morning, a penis was made out of gravel on a Wagner Terrace porch. With the gravel member came a mystery and a whole lot of penis jokes.
Naturally, it was posted to the neighborhood Facebook group:
“There is a sicko on the loose in our neighborhood. This penis replica thinggg (sic) is not art it’s Offensive and disrespectful! Myself, and my neighbors woke up to this on our front steps. Nothing was stolen, but we are highly offended at the actions that took place outside of our homes.
Did this happen to any other neighbors??”
With that, the debate raged on: Are these erections vandalism or pubic art?
While it is not anatomically correct, it is stylized enough to know at a glance that, yep, sure enough, that’s a dick. But what is it trying to say?
Are the beer cans included with most suggestive that the artist had help, or are they watching over the art piece, perhaps a meditation on the effects of alcohol on mating rituals?
Could it be performance art about whether neighbors speak anymore, or is everything reduced to digital communication? (But, you know, … a dick.)
It seems that the post inspired neighbors to check their porches, or copy cat artists, because other landscaped (manscaped?) penises began popping up around the neighborhood:
Some in the comment thread have raised concerns, like “This art work had to take more than a minute to complete and no one saw anything?” Which is a fair point, thank you, Terry. Whether this is a depraved maniac, a drunk neighbor, or a new wave in outdoor art, only time will tell.
We have reached out to some of those who said they were affected, but until we hear back, here are a few responses from neighbors in the Wangener Terrace area:
“Offensive shape. caricature of a penis at best.”
“It must be HARD to get over that!”
“hopefully the perpetrator won’t come again”
And, of course: “What a dick” Stay cool. Support City Paper. City Paper has been bringing the best news, food, arts, music and event coverage to the Holy City since 1997. Support our continued efforts to highlight the best of Charleston with a one-time donation or become a member of the City Paper Club.