An Exploration of the Art in Saint Peters Village

St. Peters Village forest is a remarkable, ever changing treasure trove of seek-and-find art.

 

Amid the cold February malaise in Pennsylvania, I drove west in my Toyota Camry searching for nothing particular, yet hopeful for a new experience. A new surprise. A new story.

 

Off Route 23, I stumbled upon St. Peters Village: a tiny, old time village with an inn, bakery, arcade, ice cream shop and more.

 

I pulled into a parking lot across from the small post office and discovered a set of trails through the state game lands. Consistent with the rest of the charm of the village, I discovered that the trails and nature surrounding St. Peters Village are uniquely decorated with unsanctioned (and apparently illegal) spray-paint art, including words and phrases of love, loss, encouragement and regret, clever designs and cartoonesque characters. I was fascinated.

 

 

Over the course of the next year, I made several more visits, wandering the trails and photographing my favorite discoveries.  I soon realized that the artwork scattered among the St. Peters trees, stones and rock formations is not stagnant — it is constantly evolving.  With each return visit, I always discovered something new or something I had missed in a previous visit.

 

 

Sure, there is some tasteless graffiti too, but in my assessment, the good easily outweighs the bad.

 

This post intends to share a small amount of what there is to see. Given the ever changing nature of the art, no two trips are ever the same and this documentation is almost immediately outdated, which, I certainly argue, is part of the charm.

 

 

In my research, i discovered mostly negative online comments towards the art in the St. Peters woods, with several folks condemning the “graffiti”. I love nature, support conservation, and understand the “graffiti” argument, yet I couldn’t disagree more. St Peters woods are a thought-provoking, living art exhibit, showcasing many emotions and experiences of the extraordinary lives we share. The pros outweigh the cons. True art happens among this forest canvas.

 

I wish I was a better artist and could positively contribute to the art that appears in St. Peters Village — this post and these photographs are, in part, a way for me to praise the faceless, ongoing community of artists who make these woods interesting and unique. I am always excited to find what’s new, investigate new sections of the woods, and enjoy the inevitable curiosity and exploration these woods prompt.