Sometimes an artist's workspace yields its own composition. Example: in Tacoma a few messy spray cans offer an exciting combination of depth and color.
Hang out in lofts with innovative artists? Maybe you just are one and have a camera; either way, upload all your snapshots from Seattle, Tacoma and Eastside art happenings to ourAround Town Flickr Pool.
Today in local music, Timothy McAllister — soprano chair of the renowned Prism Quartet and acclaimed saxophone soloist — performs with University of Puget Sound's own Grammy-nominated pianist, Duane Hulbert.
Listen to samples of McAllister'smusic on his personal Web site.
Readers interested in Tacoma music also enjoyed this story from the City Arts archives: candid interviews with four Tacoma-based jazz musicians, plus beautiful portraits by Steve Korn.
The Tacoma-based Cartoonists' League of Absurd Washingtonians (CLAW) is offering its second annual scholarship — over $300 — to "artsy" kids interested in the art of sequential illustration. The scholarship application is due March 15, so you better get on it!
Here's a local twist on the iconic gold statuette by Tacoma LEGO artistDan Parker at City Blocks studio. For more on Parker, read the Curator's Eye in the March edition of City Arts Tacoma. And don't miss Tacoma's premiere Academy Awards party, hosted by the Grand Cinema at the Rialto Theater on Sunday, March 7. Doors open at 4pm. Live Red Carpet coverage begins at 5pm.
Oscar statuette by Dan Parker. Photo by Duncan Price
I’ve always known that soup was good food, but who knew it could also make me feel patriotic?
Monday was a glorious sunny day (remember that?). The balmy weather inspired a lunchtime stroll over to Infinite Soups on Tacoma Avenue. Everything about this spot is just so right. I had to wait in line for a while, but that was OK with me. A happy-go-lucky group of students was studying the handwritten menu and chatting with Todd DeShazo, soup chef and co-owner. One of the students gave me a friendly smile that felt as warm as the sunshine streaming through the front window. (The anticipation of homemade soup makes people smile, it seems.)
Tacoma's own The BareFoot Collective presents a one night-only presentation of dance films, giving insight into the strange world of contemporary dance through, perhaps, a slightly more familiar medium.
Tonight, March 1, at the Merlino Art Center, studio B, 8:00pm. $5 at the door. Popcorn will be served.
It's interesting to consider how dance presented through film can create almost an entirely different art form. Through the use of editing, outside images, various angles and sound effects — an entirely separate choreography is being put into place on top of the dance performance itself.
Something to think about...
Here's a nice montage of works by one of the participating dance companies, to help get you in the right mindframe for watching and considering dance (think of it as a mental stretch).
Read details about all of the films and participating artists from the press release after the jump:
It is with a heavy heart that I announce the demise of Tacoma's Warehouse music and arts space. Does that name ring a bell? It should, as City Arts spent considerable real estate in our February issue covering the lively incubator and its forward-looking young managers. Sadly, as the email that came in to City Arts earlier today attests, these entrepreneurs are now going to have to look forward in a different direction.
The warehouse formerly known as the Warehouse | photo by Andrew Waits
Now, you might think that we — like Sports Illustrated — are cursed. But not so fast. As Warehouse manager Adam Ytsie explained in his email, we had nothing to do with this one. "We really wanted to thank you for the support that City Arts showed to us," he wrote. "It was great publicity for us and hopefully publicity we can further use in the future. Unfortunately (NOT due to the article) we have been shut down and asked to vacate by our landlord."
We don't mean to downplay the sadness of this news; we just want David Boeand our other future cover subjects to know that they have nothing to worry about.
Last month I tried to be comprehensive with my "Art Drive" itinerary. The result was a maddeningly frantic dash between venues. Conclusion: it's tough to see it all.
This month, I'm going with three picks and slowing down to take things in.
I wish Tacoma had a true gallery district where all of the spaces were clustered in close proximity. I prefer my art "walks" to be car-free. Maybe the answer is to travel by bike?
Tonight at 6pm at Fulcrum Gallery (1308 Martin Luther King Jr. Way), Troy Gua will present an artist’s talk on Monument, his sculpture and photo installation that opened last month.
Troy Gua, Untitled Soldiers
For those who haven't yet seen it, Monument is a tribute to the men and women fighting in the Iraq war and a contemplation of loss. (Loss of life, loss of limbs, loss of life as it existed before the war.) Loss is not a happy topic — so what do we do? Sanitize it, ignore it or look away? Gua’s show asks us to meditate on difficult truths. In his artist’s statement he writes that he does not attempt to answer questions, but that he does hope to spark some dialog. Tonight is an opportunity to hear him expand on his work and take part in the conversation.
In addition to Monument, Gua is also exhibiting his Pop Hybrids, portrait montages that cleverly meld cultural icons like The Davids 2.0 (David Bowie and Michelangelo’s David), shown below. With their tongue-in-cheek aesthetic, these candy-colored works stand in striking contrast to Monument's somber tone. And yet, like two radically different guests seated next to each other at a dinner party, the pairing makes oddly good sense. The genius of each personality is illuminated by the juxtaposition. Loss. Humor. Life is full of strange contrasts. How we balance them is part of the quest.
Troy Gua, Davids 2.0, acrylic and resin
Another event of note is an opening reception from 5pm-9pm at Two Vaults Gallery (602 South Fawcett) where artist Marsha Glazière presents a new collection of large paintings.
A few weeks ago, when I stopped in at Two Vaults, I was treated to a sneak preview. One of Glazière’s large canvases, The Way Home (shown below), had just been delivered and was leaning against the wall. Viewing the work at ground level, I found the large-scale work to be all encompassing. The vertical mixed-media strips in the foreground recall a gate — a point of entry and an invitation to step inside the landscape of the artist’s imagination.
Marsha Glazière, The Way Home, acrylic, mixed media on canvas
Glazière’s show is inspired by an eight-year exploration, which began in 1996. She refers to it as her ‘artistic detour’ between Northwest Washington and Northeast Florida. These journeys, she writes, gave her fresh eyes for the landscape of the Pacific Northwest. With mixed media and metaphor, the artist shares her journey with nine of her latest works.
Photo by Paul Uhl
And last, but certainly not least, is a big party at Speakeasy Arts Cooperative (746 Broadway) on antique row. The co-op has been open for a few months, but tonight’s grand opening makes it official. The evening’s festivities include special music performances by Voxxy Vallejo (Gene Vallejo shown above), Stephen Bucklew, Angela Jossy, Paul Uhl and Daniel Blue. 7pm-11pm. Here's a video flyer to whet your artistic appetites:
100th Monkey, the free, social gathering of artists and creative types goes down tonight in downtown Tacoma at Sanford and Sons from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. This networking event strives to ignite community-building at an organic, social level, while also giving local artists a chance to strut their stuff.
For example, tonight, an instructor from Poledello in Tacoma will be demonstrating moves taught in their pole dancing fitness classes.
Swing into fitness at Poledello in Tacoma
It's funny, because when we first began exploring SEO (search engine optimization) "keywords" for the development of CityArtsOnline.com, the issue of "pole dancing" being a keyword randomly came up in conversation. And we all guffawed and made jokes about that blog post that we knew in our hearts we would never have to write because, well...it didn't seem relevant.
Lesson: you never know, until you know.
To learn more about 100th Monkey and the great work that Tacoman Sue Pivetta does to keep it going, visit the organization's Web site.
Glass artist Darin Denison will be hard at work today in the Museum of Glass Hot Shop. And it's a good thing, as today is just the right sort of foggy, grey day to visit a museum. Stop by to check out what he's making.
The museum is open from 10:00am-5:00pm, with galleries, cafe, art-studio and store all fully operational.
Amalio Madueño will read at King's Books in Tacoma tonight at 7:00pm. His reading is followed by an Open Mic for poets. (Sign-up starts at 6:30pm.)
Amalio Madueño is the former president of the Taos Poetry Circus and led their Mexican Bob's Poetry Camp. He has published widely in journals across the United States and Europe. His first full-length work, Lost In The Chamiso, was published in 2006. A new collection of his poems, Bosque Stream, is due out Fall 2010.
"See this poet," says SPLAB.org, "If you have any love for the Southwest, or for Spanglish, or for the Black Mountain School of Poetry, or how a Native American perspective (or should I say Native Mexican) gets assimilated (or doesn’t) into the USAmerican way."
Also, check out City Arts Magazine's NOW listings to help plan your weekend, where you live. A sampling was posted on the CAB yesterday.
The visiting artists in residence at the Museum of Glass Hot Shop this week are developing an interesting concept: one that ties in themes of nature and memory into giant sheets of glass. From the Museum:
Glass artists Beth Lipman and Ingalena Klenell have embarked on a professional collaboration to develop a new exhibition, Glimmering Gone, which will open at MOG in October 2010. During this residency, the two artists will work together to create pieces for the exhibition that will comprise three vignettes of glass: Memento, or objects of desire; Landscape, large-scale components that will create a veritable glass curtain; and Artifacts, an installation of sandblasted black and white glass components bathed in light.
You can see the artists discuss the project in this video produced by the Museum.
Martin Blank's Fluent Steps at the Museum of Glass | photo by Jim Oliver
Or you can listen to the artists in person on Sunday, January 31 during their "Conversation with Artist" talk at 2:00pm, also held at the Museum's Hot Shop. You may also be able to visit them in the Hot Shop throughout the week, either in person or via streaming Web video. Details available on MOG's Web site.
The MOG makes an extraordinary effort to give audiences access to the process and people behind its collections. Take advantage if you can.
A letter from Advocate4Culture about what you can do to help get legislation behind arts funding this year!
Received January 20 at 9:33pm
Hey advocate4culture-ians! we need your help...
We continue into week two of the 2010 legislative session with two new House and Senate bills being introduced! If passed, these bills would become law that would ensure future public funding for arts, heritage and culture at current or higher levels than now. This would be awesome. The bills are being "heard" in committee next week. So at this stage we need your help to let your legislators know you support these bills and see if we can push them through this important step.
The most important thing you can do to show support at this point is to come to the bill hearings scheduled for next Thursday January 28, 2010!
8:00 am, O'Brien Bldg Hearing Room C House Finance Committee hearing for HB2912
10:00 am, Cherberg Bldg Hearing Room 3 Senate Committee on Economic Development and Trade & Innovation hearing for SB6661
Please email Advocate4Culture@gmail.com ASAP to let us know if you can make it and if you need a ride. We'll be leaving bright and early Thursday morning (at 6:30am) to make it down to Olympia in time for the first hearing, and should be back around lunchtime. We know it's hard to drag yourself out of bed and down to Olympia at such a crazy hour, but seriously this is the most important way for us to be heard and we will try to make it fun and easy for you (donuts and coffee anyone?)
Troy Gua's pop-eerie monument in Tacoma is a solemn memorial to the people affected by our contemporary wars
Last night I went south to check out what Seattle artist (and friend) Troy Gua has been up to over the last several months. He opened a show at Fulcrum Gallery of his recent, widely-popular pop hybrid paintings, plus a newer body of work titled Monument.
Fulcrum is a smart gallery just up the hill from downtown Tacoma. What once was the domain of the infamous Hilltop Crips now feels like a fresh, vibrant neighborhood.
I was amazed by the Seattle artist contingent (Shaun Kardinal, Sharon Arnold, Cristin Ford, Amanda Manitach, Kate Protage, Chris Sheridan, Laura Ward, just to name a few) who made the trip down to check out the show. It just goes to show how strong and supportive the Seattle art scene is becoming. Warms the cockles of my heart. (I've been trying to use that line for a long time.) Much fun was had: good conversation, a lively crowd and a live DJ spinning from the back room. Gallery owner Oliver Doriss throws a great reception.
The crowd in front of Gua's pop hybrid series
And Troy's pop hybrid pieces were lovely. But I was more interested in Monument. The nature of the work, and the choice of exhibiting specficially in a Tacoma gallery with Fort Lewis so nearby got me thinking about the current Iraq/Afghanistan wars. Especially the piece titled Monument: thirty-odd individual tile figures made in the style of generic bathroom men/women icons, but with missing limbs and parts, looming over a red glossy reflecting pool. It was beautifully eerie. Pop-eerie.
It is no small leap to view the reflecting pool element, as Troy put it, as a metaphor for blood. Not dirty, messy blood, but more of a glossy, manufactured blood, the kind of blood that might be government-approved. An effect only spoiled by the unfortunate exuberance of a patron, who, when walking up to Monument, perhaps hypnotized by the pop gore, tripped on the reflecting pool, knocking it over. How she missed the 4x 6 floor installation of such vibrant color is anybody's guess. I stopped trying to figure that sort of thing after my first three years of museum art-guarding.
Troy Gua with his Monument
Repairs were quickly made and I was able to look at Troy's two other installations, which both present mutilated plastic dolls (one in a sculptural assemblage of individually encased limbs, the other in very glossy series of portraits of the mutilated doll figures) as symbols for the broken bodies of modern soldiers. The effect is that of taking the very real pain and suffering of soldiers and packaging them in such a way that we end up just swallowing the product. Thanks government!
Or, as Troy puts it, "the work is a memorial to loss...terrific horrors that our service men and women are experiencing that I can scarcely imagine."
I applaud Troy for this exploration and fresh take on such a challenging subject; and especially for the bravery of installing a show such as this in the heart of a community so directly tied to and affected by the war.
You should go see this show.
—Ryan Molenkamp
Troy Gua's Monument is on display at Fulcrum Gallery through March 13. Hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 12:00pm - 6:00pm. Don't mist the Artist's Talk on February 18.
Ryan Molenkamp is a painter and writer living in Seattle.
A better name for this evening tour of art might be “Art Drive,” as my itinerary includes points beyond the official Artwalk map.
Cover to Cover: The Art of Shereen LaPlantz opens tomorrow at Collins MemorialLibrary at the University of Puget Sound (4:30pm – 6:00pm). The show illustrates diverse bookmaking techniques by the late Shereen LaPlantz (example below). Rochelle Monner, a local book arts advocate, inherited the artist’s sample book collection in 2003. This is the first time it will be exhibited. The reception includes informal presentations on folding and binding techniques by the Tacoma Book Arts Group. Read more about it when you pick up your copy of the January 2010 issue of City Arts Tacoma.
Celebrate the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at CD Forum at Seattle Center (3:30pm). Featuring artists Angelena McQuarter, Zorn B. Taylor, and Eddie Ray Walker as well as performing artists Sean Hopps, Sankofa Sings, Yonnas Getahun, Ela Barton, and Roberto Ascalon.
And in Tacoma, Dr. Dexter Gordon is keynote speaker at a celebration at Urban Grace Downtown Church in downtown Tacoma (2:30pm). The event includes poetry, spoken word, theatrical, and varied musical performances, plus a new theatrical piece written and directed by C. Rosalind Bell will be staged.
Joshua Kenji Fullmer, 28, moved to Tacoma four years ago from Southern California. He goes by his middle name, Kenji, because when he first moved here and was working at the YMCA, he says, he was surrounded by Joshua’s.
Now he lives in the North End by Bargain World — he gives me a heads up that they’re having a sale on MLK day — and spends all his days making art, having been unemployed for over a year now.
If you haven't seen it yet, the January 2010 issue of City Arts Tacoma starts off the new year right, highlighting important and new faces around the Tacoma art scene with a fresh look to our pages:
Visual Art, Turntable Music & a Few Cans of Pabst: the best party is at Hill Top's Fulcrum with viceroy Oliver Doriss.
Books to Read This Year (Two are Short and for Kids): Kristi Dopp of Garfield Book Company puts up her ante for the ten reads of 2010.
You Are Not Alone: the young Mahta Shakib uses his her installation Disturbia to help people connect through their anxieties and fears.
A Mayor on the Side of the Arts: the newly elected Mayor Marilyn Stickland talks influences and her plans for the Tacoma art scene.
Three Artists Confront Barbarism: art challenges social injustice at Tacoma Community College's gallery.
With More Inside: a premonition of budget cuts and what Arts Day is all about, Lisa Fruichantie's costume shop, poetry from Michael Spence, photos of Shereen LaPlantz's handmade books, local arts calendar, a bunch of smiling arts fans and more.
Pick up a free issue all around town and check back atthe CAB for the lastest art news and everything local.
Watch the evolution of True Grit by Jeremy Gregory
detail from "Fat Racoons," by Jeremy Gregory for City Arts
Since City Arts went monthly in July 2008, we've showcased one of our best Tacoma discoveries, artist Jeremy Gregory, in his own monthly alternative comic, now titled "True Grit." It explores the infamously "gritty" side of Tacoma's identity in Gregory's unique color pencil style, which takes him hours to complete by hand.
But, like the pages of City Arts themselves, True Grit is not in the same place today as it was in the beginning. The comic has seen quite an evolution in the past eighteen months — due in part to change in editorial staff and vision, but mostly to Gregory's creativity, flexibility and developing talents. So, in the spirit of our "Resolution Issues," Gregory has graciously assembled a slideshow just for you that shows all of the past episodes of his comic, in chronological order leading up to the most recent — plus some sketches that give insight into his process.
In addition to developing a portfolio of professional illustrations, Gregory has shown artwork at Fulcrum Gallery, Artifakt and Color Theory Collective in Seattle. Be his friend on Facebook, Myspace or Flickr.You'll soon find that the "N" in his middle name secretly stands for "nice."
We also support your e-mailing him the details on all of your upcoming paid artist commissions.
Pick up issues of or subscribe to City Arts Tacoma to follow future episodes of "True Grit."
