Storefronts of Seattle

 

 

On Thursday, September 20^th, our class visited the storefronts of Seattle.  In all we visited three sites.

Installation #1:

Artist:  Gregg Schlanger, Basic Water Requirements

Location:  505 5^th Avenue South, Seattle – VULCAN, Inc .

Site:  #4 on the storefronts of Seattle map

When first arriving at the window front one sees a lineup of glass jugs, some containing a substance, and others not so much.  The substance is a necessity – water.  Upon further observation, one begins to learn what the artist is sharing with his audience.

Each jug represents a country.  It is properly labeled with the country name, a cutout outlining the shape of the country, and then a number sharing the number of liters of the basic water requirements for that country.

The jugs were displayed in a row and in order from least to greatest, left to right.  Somalia was one of the countries that had the least and Canada had the greatest.  The scale went from zero to 818 liters.

The artist draws your attention and puts things into perspective.  With the daily water requirement being fifty liters, some countries have less than a liter available.  The struggles faced by these countries that have a limited water supply, face a major water shortage leaving them unable to grow food and provide water for drinking.  The sad outcome can be death for the residents.

The display which is located in a real estate building does mirror the display.  Considering the ability to buy a small piece of real estate with running water is a luxury.  When thinking of the big picture, some countries do not have enough water to serve their people.  Countries such as Canada and the United States should be thankful not only for the opportunity to own their small piece of the world but to have adequate water available.

 

Installation #2:

Artist:  Paul D. Mckee

Location:  411 Maynard Avenue South, Seattle – SCIDPDA

Site:  #6 on the storefronts of Seattle map

For this display, I am unable to connect the artists’ work to the location.  The site to work did not relate in any fashion being it was displayed in the Asian community.  The only consideration may be that some people’s homosexuality or ones ethnicity is not always accepted.

This display depicts controversy.  There were two pieces each containing a mounted head of a person.  They were mounted like a trophy deer one would see displayed by a hunter.  Each head had antlers and ears like a deer. 

Surrounding one head is a swarm of bees that gradually lead over to the second head.

Until I read the display description, I had a hard time interpreting the work.  What I learned was that Paul Mckee is a gay artist whose sexuality was not accepted in his home life growing up.

I feel that I was unable to further interpret was he was trying to show.  Although I liked certain elements of the display, such as the swarming bees, I just could not personally connect and understand the overall context of the display. 

 

 

 

 

Pocket Shrine

Artist Perspective: Ruth Marie Tomlinson

 

September 13, 2012

 

Ruthie uses many resources to influence her art.  She is an avid reader, enjoys writing, and uses sketch books to record her thoughts and ideas.  Her education was provided at Evergreen State College and the University of Washington.  She has spent a lot of time working with various textiles.

People who have influenced her passion for art are Louise Bourgeois and Ann Hamilton.  Louise has worked a lot with tapestries and a favorite piece that inspired Ruthie, created by Bourgeois, is called Articulated Lair.  The way in which this piece is displayed, Ruthie thought it encompassed a humming sound only to find out later that the sound was coming from the building it was displayed in.  Ruthie is drawn to sounds and therefore the overall effect of the humming drew her into the piece even more.

One of Ruthie’s works was created out of inner tubes which were placed on the floor.  When one walked upon the inner tubes, she especially enjoys the sound it made.  She has come to incorporate sound throughout her works.

We learned about a second residence that Ruthie visits in the summer located in Montana.  It is called Two Dot Spot.  She loves the never ending horizon lines.  The shadows created by the ever evolving weather patterns are a source of creativity.  She has used coffee and ink to create a representation of the shadows onto paper.  This home gives her immense pleasure and truly provides a lot of ideas for her creativity.

 

 

The Henry Art Gallery

 

September 6, 2012

The Henry: Gary Hill, Contemporary Art & Vinyl

The Vinyl Show captured my attention the most.  I was drawn to the many uses of the vinyl and the incorporation of items such as a bird for a needle, padlock, and bow from a violin.  I liked how some were melted, broken, and some were in their original form.  The tower of records was amazing because of the overall number of records present in the display.  The artist captured your attention by the sheer number of ways in which he interpreted the records.

In addition to a terrific display, the added benefit of being able to hear music totally brought the visual and audio aspects together.  I loved how the one room had multiple records playing simultaneously creating one melody even though each one seemed to be its own instrument. 

I spent quite a bit of time in the vinyl show not allowing me to visit the other areas of the exhibit.  I was able to briefly view the other areas because of time constraints, but perhaps I just spent too much time enjoying Gary Hill’s show.  I’m someone who truly enjoys music and this show captured my attention deeply.  I really would like to see this again if time allowed and perhaps the areas I missed.  I would highly recommend this to others.