Maybe It's Art

During the past couple of years drivers, and pedestrians (if there are any) along Herritage Street have seen a sculpture slowly take form until it resembles a boat such as the CSS Neuse. The CSS Neuse may have made a difference in the Civil War had it made it to New Bern before being scuttled.

History buffs with a particular love of local lore and craftsmen with the talent to build such a replica have worked tirelessly to duplicate the original with the hopes of it being a major tourist attraction for the city.

Unfortunately its mere existence has almost prompted a 21st Century Civil War between the city and the project developers.

The acrimony arose when city inspectors insisted that it is a structure and must adhere to city codes. It looks like a boat and if we are blessed or cursed with more tropical storms drenching the area, the CSS Neuse II may have to prove it is really a boat if the river of the same name was to overflow its banks.

But wait; what's that Orange thing at the corner of Herritage and Gordon streets or that mass of mysteriously twisted wood in front of the Arts Center on Queen Street? Oh, forgive me they are works of Art and Art doesn't have to be inspected. Forget that some child might try and run through the circle of that Orange thing, fall to the other side and break an arm or leg. Would the city be liable since it's Art and not a structure? We have no answers… just questions.

And maybe that's where that's where the builders of the Neuse II missed the boat (so to speak). They failed to declare they were erecting a work of Art. Cities throughout America boast the various statues they have that honor our heroes and historical figures - statues sculpted by artists and craftsmen.

And what do we see around the corner from the twisted wood and the across the street from the Orange thing? We see a monument to a very important piece of our local history. The person responsible for its design and creation must have had some talent and skill. Isn't that what an artist possesses - talent and skill? In those terms we fail to understand why anyone would not see the CSS Neuse II as a work of Art. We have no answers… just questions.