Stone stacking contest brings gravity-defying sculptures to Scottish beach
(Artdaily.org)

Sculpture artists gathered in Scotland on Sunday to compete for the weighty title of champion stone stacker, in a quirky competition launched last year. More than 30 participants from America, Spain, Italy and from around Britain converged on Dunbar, near Edinburgh, for only the second European Stone Stacking Championships. Competitors must create the most complex and gravity-defying artistic sculptures from rocks and pebbles gathered on the town`s Eye Cave Beach. `(It`s) the most ancient art form that there is,` James Craig Page, the fledgling contest`s founder, told AFP. Despite stone stacking`s lofty history, he traces the modern-day challenge to the creations of Californian stacker Bill Dan in the early 1990s. Stone stacking however has angered some conservationists who accuse enthusiasts of `rubbing out history` by removing rocks