Turtle Soup

What's going on over in Turtle Land? The organizers of Charleston's sprawling public art exhibition, Turtles on the Town, don't seem to have their act together.

There aren't enough maps to help people find the art objects - I've tried to get one on two occasions from two different locations, no luck. Some of the sculptures were late to arrive. And the website promised a complete photographic listing of the turtles "right before [they] hit the town," but that was a week ago - still no sign of the listing.

Not only does this make my job of reviewing the damn things harder, but it doesn't seem fair to the multitude of sponsors who back the loggerheads.

That doesn't mean the artists haven't tried their best, though. Given blank sculptures to decorate, they've tried all kinds of different things. Lisa Backwelder's created one to lurk outside the Post and Courier offices on Columbus St., with a mortarboard, rolled up newspaper and a gormless expression that's perfect for the P&C.

Dave Lorenz has done one ("Davey Wavey") on Meeting St. with smooth scythe-like swirls on its back and a receding Elvis kiss curl on its head. And the Dock St. Theatre has a cool one called "TheatreWings," with feathered foreflippers, dramatic masks on its shell and a nice brown, grey and black color scheme. It's by the Charleston Stage Company High School Apprentice Program (the tykes who are stuffed backstage), which is directed by Stefanie Christensen.

The best thing about checking out the turtles was that it gave me the excuse to act like a tourist in my own town, walking up streets I don't usually bother with and finding new short cuts that make me feel less geographically challenged. If only there were more maps to help other tourists track down the turtles and explore Charleston.