Entropy or Art?

One fine wintry day, I was walking along the Thames.  The water was still and reflective, and so was I. There was so much trash lining the path, so many derelict boats, so much graffiti.  I could not fathom it.  There were plenty of rubbish bins and trash receptacles, benches placed at regular intervals, and paths leading to city streets where even more receptacles waited.  Further, people were diligent about picking up dog waste.  On the one occasion I did not (the dog had chosen an inconveniently stickery place), I subsequently heard a woman exclaim behind me, "Oh someone didn't pick up their dog's poo!"  She wouldn't have known it was me, it was a lesson to her children.  But, she did not exclaim about the rubbish or the graffiti.  It was as if that was invisible to her, and indeed, to the rest of the populace.

In some cases, the rubbish reflects a homeless population:  among other common Oxford sights are blankets airing or drying on the railing, a bedraggled pack, and an encampment, including a tent.  In other cases, though, I'm not so sure.  The mossy umbrella hanging on the yew in Osney Cemetery could have literally been left there for a rainy day.  The numerous gloves and sweaters and scarves perched or entwined on railings could be awaiting retrieval (although it's hard to see how a sweater could have been dropped without the owner being aware.) The rest could go either way.

So, I took some pictures, but failed to capture the trashy nature of it.  And the graffiti is a mixed bag.  I'm not a fan of the tagging, which literally covers everything.  It was rare to find a sign or lifebuoy station without a tag. However I actually rather like some of the bridge graffiti.  There is obvious thought and design involved, both in color and choice of subject. And even the piled on tags, once they are accumulated, can have some appeal. 

So, that is always a question, in any urban setting:  when is it vandalism or trash, and when is it non-funded public art?  The trail of "P" that I followed in Leyton was likely the latter. The cans on the railing by the Thames path in Oxford were probably just trash, however creatively managed.

Finally, there is the omnipresent dirt and decay.  Should humans clean up their collective acts, or is it something to be accepted, or even celebrated? I have a friend who turns rusted objects into abstract photos, and another friend who loves to capture derelict barns and other almost sculptural ruins.  I'm not immune to that impulse:  moss growing over a sign, rusting bridge struts, cars covered in bumper stickers, and rotting boats are all represented in my almost daily photographs.

So the question remains:  is it entropy or art? Or both?