THE CREATURE OF STOW LAKE
Color Video without Audio | 4 min (1 min clip below)
Get the Flash Player to see this content.
On a recent trip to Golden Gate Park I came across a poster.
HEADING: “CREATURE OF STOW LAKE”
BLURRY PHOTO: A reptile who’s body is far too big for its shell. Frustrated. Unapologetic.
BODY OF TEXT: “Caution. Something lives in lake. It appears on the hottest days. Aggressive. Do not feed.”
Something was off in this carefully calculated place for public recreation. Something was off and eerie, and similar to the rest of Stow Lake, it wasn’t natural. How was this possible? And why was it publicized? All I could think was that this was a cry for help. Someone was here and they wanted to cause waves in the man-made lake. They wanted to steer public opinion, the same way that the park planners wanted to steer the public path. They wanted people to feel small next to nature. Small and powerless and not a bit smug. It was a total production. “The CREATURE of Stow Lake,” was a subplot to the narrative that San Francisco Parks and Recreation had written.
HEADING: “CREATURE OF STOW LAKE”
BLURRY PHOTO: A reptile who’s body is far too big for its shell. Frustrated. Unapologetic.
BODY OF TEXT: “Caution. Something lives in lake. It appears on the hottest days. Aggressive. Do not feed.”
Something was off in this carefully calculated place for public recreation. Something was off and eerie, and similar to the rest of Stow Lake, it wasn’t natural. How was this possible? And why was it publicized? All I could think was that this was a cry for help. Someone was here and they wanted to cause waves in the man-made lake. They wanted to steer public opinion, the same way that the park planners wanted to steer the public path. They wanted people to feel small next to nature. Small and powerless and not a bit smug. It was a total production. “The CREATURE of Stow Lake,” was a subplot to the narrative that San Francisco Parks and Recreation had written.