Take a look at this tree. Do you see a work of art or a piece of junk?
A nondescript shopping cart “just showed up” outside at a house in Arlington Heights one day five years ago.
Matt Sacks did not want the cart to go to waste, so he searched for a use for it. Finally, he tied a rope around it and, using his truck as a winch, hoisted the cart into a tree in his front yard. He fastened it to a branch and strung lights in the branches.
Through thick green leaves, a faded gray and metallic shape comes into view — the shopping cart, dangling upside down, surrounded by a maze of rope and extension cords.
Sacks calls it a work of art.
The city of Fort Worth isn’t so sure, and now he faces a fine of at least $500.
“In my mind what makes it art is that in my mind it is art,” Sacks said. “I love the absurdity of it.”
For about 10 years Sacks has operated his house in the 4600 block of El Campo as the nonprofit Grackle Art Gallery. Black painted bird silhouettes dot the front yard along with a blend of flowers and other plants.
For years, Sacks said, he never suspected the cart was an issue. Then in January he received a notice on his door from a city code compliance officer. It told him to clean up some brush and leaves, but it also directed him to remove the shopping cart.
Sacks cleaned up the yard, but in early March a code officer told him the cart violated city ordinance. He protested. On March 28 he was issued a $564 citation with a municipal court date later this month.
City ordinance bans the accumulation of broken, inoperable or discarded items like furniture, appliances and toys. Brandon Bennett, the city’s code compliance director, said the issue isn’t cut and dried.
The city can address hazardous issues, but whether the shopping cart is art or a nuisance must be decided by the court, Bennett said. The question is whether the thing was assembled with an artistic expression. Hoarding a bunch of broken bicycles in a yard probably isn’t art, but turning them into wind chimes might be, Bennett said.
“Each case must be evaluated based on its own variables ... which can be frustrating to neighbors who find the items to be ugly, distasteful,” he said in an email.
Shopping cart-themed art is not uncommon.
Buffalo, N.Y.-based artist Julian Montague documents lone shopping carts in photos through the Stray Shopping Cart Project, which includes a guide to distinguish between false stray carts (those that will be returned to their store) and true stay carts (those that will never make it home). Social media site Pinterest has dozens of posts regarding shopping cart art, and DIY website Make: offers several options for cart reuse.
Sacks said the cart is safely in the tree. Several ropes are visibly holding it and, he said, he has secured it to a branch. In the winter, when the tree is bare, the cart is probably more noticeable. But in May with the leaves full, a passer-by may not see it right away.
The city prosecutor agrees it must be taken down, Bennett said. Sacks plans to argue against that himself in front of a municipal judge.
If the judge tells him it’s not art, Sacks said he hasn’t decided what he’ll do.
“We’ll see, we’ll see,” he said. “I like it. It makes me happy.”
This story was originally published May 7, 2019 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Take a look at this tree. Do you see a work of art or a piece of junk?."
