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'''Rock balancing''' (also '''stone balancing''' or '''stacking''') is the practice of balancing [[Rock (geology)|rocks]] on top of one another without the use of adhesives or other supports. |
'''Rock balancing''' (also '''stone balancing''' or '''stacking''') is the practice of balancing [[Rock (geology)|rocks]] on top of one another without the use of adhesives or other supports. |
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The number of rock piles created in this manner in natural areas |
The practice became popular among members of the public from 2014.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Berry |first1=Graham |title=No, you shouldn't stack rocks on your next hike. Here's why. |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/cairns-rock-stacking-national-parks |access-date=18 June 2022 |work=Lonely Planet |date=8 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref> |
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The number of rock piles created in this manner in natural areas began to worry conservationists, and has been seen as a form of [[vandalism]], because the rocks can misdirect hikers, expose the soil to erosion, and aesthetically intrude upon the natural landscape.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Fessenden|first=Marissa|date=July 13, 2020|title=Conservationists Want You to Stop Building Rock Piles|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stacking-rocks-wilderness-no-good-180955880/|access-date=2020-06-14|website=Smithsonian Magazine|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Barkham|first=Patrick|date=2018-08-17|title=Stone-stacking: cool for Instagram, cruel for the environment|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/17/stone-stacking-instagram-environment-adventure-tourism|access-date=2020-06-14|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> |
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== Process == |
== Process == |
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Artist [[Michael Grab]] describes the process of stacking rocks as requiring a minimum of three points of contact for each rock, which form a "natural tripod". The fact that all rocks are covered with various indentations mean that such contact points can be found through experimentation. He |
Artist [[Michael Grab]] describes the process of stacking rocks as requiring a minimum of three points of contact for each rock, which form a "natural tripod". The fact that all rocks are covered with various indentations mean that such contact points can be found through experimentation.<ref name="gg">{{cite web |last1=Grab |first1=Michael |title=About |url=https://gravityglue.com/about/ |website=Gravity Glue |access-date=18 June 2022}}</ref> He talks of sensing the vibrations or "clicks" as two rocks move against each other as a way to locate these points, which must be in places where the rock's [[centre of mass]] lies between three of them.<ref name="gg"/><ref name="grab">{{cite news |last1=Rusch |first1=Emilie |title=Boulder rock artist Michael Grab is making the impossible possible |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2015/02/25/boulder-rock-artist-michael-grab-is-making-the-impossible-possible/ |access-date=18 June 2022 |work=The Denver Post |date=25 February 2015}}</ref> |
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Grab says he finds it "pretty remarkable" how stable the structures are, believing that in the absence of wind or other interference they could stay standing for months at a time.<ref name="grab"/> |
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[[File:Rock Stacking Championship-5714 (16262755354).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|2014 Rock Stacking World Championship in [[Llano, Texas]]]] |
[[File:Rock Stacking Championship-5714 (16262755354).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|2014 Rock Stacking World Championship in [[Llano, Texas]]]] |
Revision as of 11:53, 18 June 2022
Rock balancing (also stone balancing or stacking) is the practice of balancing rocks on top of one another without the use of adhesives or other supports.
The practice became popular among members of the public from 2014.[1] The number of rock piles created in this manner in natural areas began to worry conservationists, and has been seen as a form of vandalism, because the rocks can misdirect hikers, expose the soil to erosion, and aesthetically intrude upon the natural landscape.[2][3]
Process
Artist Michael Grab describes the process of stacking rocks as requiring a minimum of three points of contact for each rock, which form a "natural tripod". The fact that all rocks are covered with various indentations mean that such contact points can be found through experimentation.[4] He talks of sensing the vibrations or "clicks" as two rocks move against each other as a way to locate these points, which must be in places where the rock's centre of mass lies between three of them.[4][5]
Grab says he finds it "pretty remarkable" how stable the structures are, believing that in the absence of wind or other interference they could stay standing for months at a time.[5]
Contests
The World Rock Stacking Championship is held every year in Llano, Texas, as a part of the Llano Earth Art Fest.[6]
The European Stone Stacking Championships are part of the European Land Art Festival, held annually in Dunbar, Scotland.[7][8]
Opposition
Some visitors to natural areas who wish to experience nature in its undisturbed state object to this practice, especially when it intrudes on public spaces such as national parks, national forests and state parks.[9] The practice of rock balancing is claimed to be able to be made without changes to nature; environmental artist Lila Higgings has defended it as compatible with leave-no-trace ideals if rocks are used without impacting wildlife and are later returned to their original places,[10] and some styles of rock balancing are short-lived. However, "disturbing or collecting natural features (plants, rocks, etc.) is prohibited" in U.S. national parks because these acts may harm the flora and fauna dependent on them.[11]
Destruction of wildlife and habitats
Rock piling in streams silts the water, disrupts critical habitat, and can kill rare wildlife. In a river in Pisgah National Forest, scientists have repeatedly found protected Eastern hellbender salamanders crushed under the piles of rocks that tourists build midstream. In addition to the direct killing that takes place while the rocks are being moved, the flat cobbles that would make the best cover for hellbenders to live under tend to be the same individual rocks that rock pilers seek out to incorporate into balanced piles, chutes, and dams; this activity makes the best rocks unavailable to be used as habitat. Dismantling the piles and dispersing the stones does not seem to prevent their being repeatedly stacked into new piles. The biologists suspect that rock piling may be a widespread conservation problem for hellbenders, a rapidly disappearing species that is a candidate for Endangered Species Act protection, throughout their range, especially wherever they exist in easily accessible streams on public lands.[12]
Notable artists
- Adrian Gray, UK artist specialising in stone balancing sculptures and photography
- Andy Goldsworthy, artist for whom rock balancing is a minor subset of his "Collaborations with Nature"
- Bill Dan, American artist
- Michael Grab, balance artist and photographer, born Alberta, Canada[13]
See also
- Cairn
- Environmental art
- Inuksuk
- Jenga (a game requiring skill to balance wood blocks)
- Street art
- Yarn bombing
References
- ^ Berry, Graham (April 8, 2022). "No, you shouldn't stack rocks on your next hike. Here's why". Lonely Planet. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
- ^ Fessenden, Marissa (July 13, 2020). "Conservationists Want You to Stop Building Rock Piles". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ Barkham, Patrick (August 17, 2018). "Stone-stacking: cool for Instagram, cruel for the environment". The Guardian. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ a b Grab, Michael. "About". Gravity Glue. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
- ^ a b Rusch, Emilie (February 25, 2015). "Boulder rock artist Michael Grab is making the impossible possible". The Denver Post. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
- ^ "Rockstacking". llanoearthartfest. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
- ^ "Stone stackers pile up in Dunbar for European championships". BBC News. July 10, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
- ^ "European Land Art Festival – ELAF". European Land Art Festival & Stone Stacking Championships.
- ^ "Home – Leave No Trace". lnt.org. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ Newman, Andy (July 3, 2008). "It's Not Easy Picking a Path to Enlightenment". The New York Times.
- ^ "Park Regulations – Canyonlands National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". nps.gov. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ Unger, Shem D.; Williams, Lori A. (2017). "Anthropogenic Associated Mortality in the Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis)" (PDF). Southern Naturalist. 16/2. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ Krulwich, Robert (January 5, 2013). "A Very, Very, Very Delicate Balance". NPR. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
External links
- Rock Balancing is both art and advocacy. By Reuters . Philippines. August 2011.
- Stuart Finch – Rock Balancing Act. By Sarah Phelan. Metro Santa Cruz. March 2001.
- Gilles Charrot – L'homme qui murmure a l'oreille des pierres Martine Schnoering. September 15, 2009.