The shaggy dog and eagle dancer agenda: Kenny Be’s Yard Arteology

The study of neighbors through their lawn decoration…

Figure 53. Barnum: The English and the indigenous bust a new move.

The photograph above shows that the residents of this home are at the forefront of the new movement to use stuffed animals as yard art. Traditionally thought of as indoor decoration, the explosion in size and numbers of plush toys has been behind the push for more public placement. Combining Disney’s Shaggy Dog plush toy with a concrete Native American eagle dancer Kachina fountain suggests that this yard artist is a firm believer in the power of shape-shifting as a weapon against enemies. From hazy childhhood movie memories and a hasty scanning of Wikipedia, we know that the pop-culture dog implies that shape-shifting powers are required for performing selfless acts, while the eagle dancer intimates that transformative powers are helpful for tricking God into listening and (hopefully) answering a person’s prayers. Neighborhood enemies be warned.