Hikers protesting new 'Beetlejuice'-like sculptures in Arkansas state park

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — New sculptures at Pinnacle Mountain State Park in Arkansas in have drawn the ire of local hikers, who have started aChange.org petitionto prevent the installation of any more and perhaps remove the existing art pieces.

The art installations were part of an artist-in-residence program in which artists from Arkansas and beyond were to derive inspiration from the park.

"I don't even have an opinion of what that is, I couldn't tell you," said Mat Seeling, an avid mountain biker and owner of Spokes bicycle shop in Little Rock. "It just looks like a blob of...something."

The new sculptures are referred to as "the mushrooms." One on the East Quarry Trail is called "Crystallized Tears."

At least one more sculpture is expected to be installed in Pinnacle Mountain State Park as part of the artist-in-residency program.

The new art pieces, installed late last year, have not received a warm welcome from some hikers, who say they are so out of place that they distract from the typical goal of a hike: to escape into nature, untouched by humans.

Looks like a jumble of trash, looks like someone took tornado wreckage and stuck it up there on a slab of concrete," said Joshua Hamilton, a hiker from Nashville, Arkansas, who started the Change.org petition.

Hamilton is not alone in his view of the sculptures; since he created the petition four days ago, it has received over 1,700 signatures.

"I'm trying to get in touch with Arkansas State Parks, you know, [sent] some emails...haven't heard back yet,"Hamilton said. "And I will present [the petition] to them, just to see what they have to say about it, make them aware that the majority of the people who use state parks, who like to get out there and enjoy nature, are not for sculptures like this."

The Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism provided the following statement to KATV concerning the sculptures:

"There was no taxpayer money used for this installation; it was a private donation through the Arkansas Parks and Recreation Foundation, which also privately funded Arkansas State Park Monument Trails at Pinnacle Mountain, Mount Nebo, Devil’s Den, and Hobbs State Parks, recently named the best mountain biking trails in America by Outside Magazine," said Shea Lewis, secretary of the Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism."

Not everybody is condemning the art installations. Seelinger said they don't bother him or any of his fellow mountain bikers.

"We just ride by them and you know, catch it out of the corner of our eye but we don't stop and go 'Ooh, ahh, that's really cool,' just doesn't happen," Seelinger said. "If it's something to get somebody outside, walking in the woods going 'Ooh, what is that,' I think it's a great idea."

As some have pointed out, some of the art pieces summon up memories of similar sculptures in a particular film from the '80s.

"Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice," Hamilton said. "And watch out for the sandworms."