At last, Environmental Graphic Design can live up to its alternate namesake and promote environmental change. Anonymous “artists” stepped up the battle being waged to remove an obsolete and unwanted dam in the Ojai area of California by painting a vast graphic dotted line and scissors icon along the face of the 200′ dam. Originally built for water storage in 1947, the dam was immediately criticized for blocking the area’s Steelhead trout and preventing much needed mountain silt from reaching the diminishing beaches of the nearby Pacific shores.
Everyone in the area wants it gone but the main reason for the holdup is finances. Demolition would come with a hefty price tag nearing $140 million. Maybe they could auction off pieces of the artwork to finance the destruction, but it’s doubtful the artists would be willing to sign their work.
