Is this the work of an artist or criminal on Bainbridge Island?

Some are calling the mystery painter an “artist,” but others are calling them a criminal, after a Bainbridge Islander felt the concrete gray boxes along the town’s main street, Winslow Way, were perhaps too bland, and painted them orange under the cover of night.

But this being Bainbridge Island, the color change has caused a stir.

“First thought was that it was a gorilla advertising campaign for Avalara [an island company], although that would be strange considering we’re a small island and they are pretty well-known,” said Taylor Crockett, who works at a jewelry shop in Winslow near the painted blocks.

“The color is kind of garish and reminds me of construction,” she said. “I’m personally not a fan.”

Some islanders, however, don’t mind the color, according to a KING 5 report.

But city officials take a different stance on the matter.

“If you hear any rumor about who might have done this, we certainly would like to chat with them,” Bainbridge Island City Manger Doug Schulze told the city council.

KIRO Radio’s Tom and Curley have the same issue with the installment. Is it art? Was this the work of an artist?

“It can be art,” Tom said. “What if it turned out to be Picasso? Would you say it’s not art because it’s done [anonymously]?”

“I’m in favor of somebody doing something to beautify it,” he said. “If there was a Confederate flag or a swastika, then I might have more issues with it.”

Curley wasn’t buying Tom’s reasoning.

“You don’t have to go to the absurd,” Curley said. “Here’s a piece of concrete and an artist comes along and determines ‘that’s not good enough for me, so I’m going to paint it.'”

Curley notes that it was done overnight, likely because the painter knew that police wouldn’t be watching as closely and they could get away with the crime.

Tom did express one reservation about the now orange cubes.

“The best argument against me, for creating a work of art, is that because I might have inadvertently defaced someone else’s work of art,” he said. “If they are only functional and they are not considered art. But if the person who created those cubes and put three together, if the idea behind that was it was an artistic expression, I don’t have any right trumping their art.”

“You still don’t have any right to deface public property,” Curley interjected. “It’s public space. It belongs to the public.”