PORT TOWNSEND — A piece of guerrilla art – a representation of U.S. flags with skulls indicating American deaths in Iraq — appeared downtown during Memorial Day weekend and vanished as soon as the holiday ended.
On Friday evening, what appeared to be six large American flags were propped against the Memorial Stadium fence bordering Quincy Street.
From a distance, the artwork looked like flags in a parade, but closer examination revealed a macabre detail.
Each of the six panels had 208 sections that depicted three skulls with a “la muerta” (“death” in Spanish) label.
An adjacent placard explained the purpose, that the flags provided individual recognition for the 4,384 (as of May 23) American men and women who had been killed in the Iraqi War.
The placard explained that about 1,500 color-coded strips of recycled paper, each with a block print containing three images, were stitched together to create the flags.
The piece was not signed, although its title was “My ‘Senior’ Project.”
This suggested that it originated from Port Townsend High School, where seniors are now preparing such projects.
In truth, the perpetrator was a different kind of senior.
On Tuesday Darryl Harenko, 63, said he sought to commemorate the country’s considerable sacrifice during this latest war.
A Vietnam veteran and a retired schoolteacher, Harenko of Port Townsend said the project took him two years from concept to completion and that the Memorial Day timing was coincidental.
“It was ready about two weeks ago,” he said. “But Memorial Day was so close I decided that I should tie the two events together.”
He chose the Memorial Field location for its visibility, attaching the paper to thin strips of wood in order to fit into the chain link fence.
Although the field is in the Port Townsend city limit, it is county property so he approached the county for permission to hang the piece.
He said he was turned down, but decided to do it anyway.
Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Director Matt Tyler said that a permit is required to post anything on the fence, but he has no record or recollection of a permit request from Harenko.
Harenko said that, last Monday, he and his wife, Lynn, began hanging the paper on the fence and were told by city representatives to stop.
He said he pointed out that the fence was county property and that the city had no authority over the area, but that when a policeman then arrived and told him to stop and he did so.
There is no police record of that request, said Sgt. Ed Green of the Port Townsend Police Department.
On Friday night, when the city and county were both closed and the police were providing holiday enforcement, the Harenkos posted the artwork.
He took it down Tuesday morning and brought back to his studio to dry off.
Today, he said he will rehang the flags on the outside of the Port Townsend High School gym.
He said he has permission to do so.
Harenko taught biology in Portland, Ore., prior to moving to Port Townsend in 2005, where he taught for one year before retiring.
He has maintained contact with the high school, and served on the evaluation committee for senior projects last month.
It was at that time he decided to append his project with the “senior” description, knowing that it could be taken two ways.
After today’s exhibition at the high school, Harenko has no future plans for the display.
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Jefferson County reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
