Mudflat Art

Once famous large sculptures composed of driftwood adorned the landscape of Emerville’s mudflats in the 1960s and 70s, courtesy of an eclectic group of artists from the California College of Arts and Crafts. The first sculpture was an assigned project erected near Oakland Airport on Bay Farm Island, inspiring John McCracken of the same college to initiate an independent piece in the mudflats of Emeryville. Beginning as nothing more than an abstract exhibition of objective creativity using nearby trash as source materials, John McCracken’s mudflat art attracted other artists, some keen on relaying politically charged messages befitting the era against the Vietnam War. The press quickly attempted to disregard the dually political and playful public art, labeling the mudflat art composed of driftwood and litter as “derelict”, without dissuading the public's awe of the powerful movement. The Free Speech movement spoke loudly in the halls of the University of California, Berkeley at this time, emboldening artists to continue expressing their thoughts and opinions on this very ground. Not only did this movement align with that of free speech, it also enhanced awareness of the increasing loads of trash washing into McLaughlin State Park, then owned by the Santa Fe Railroad. Upon closing of the pop-up art gallery in 1998, 80 dumpsters worth of trash were hauled out of the mudflats, and environmentalists continue to advocate for the restoration and preservation of remaining salt marsh ecosystems in the Bay. A short film documents the art: https://evilleeye.com/history/junkopia-mudflat-sculpture-film-surfaces-on-youtube/ and a New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/23/us/rubbish-lives-for-a-time-as-sculpture.html