Art and Photography Blog

Photos from Seattle: Wallingford and Fremont

Here are some images from two of my favorite neighborhoods in Seattle, Wallingford and the adjoining Fremont. They are full of arts and crafts homes and Fremont borders Lake Union and has the Gas Works Park on the shores. The QFC supermarket at the corner of N 45th Street and Wallingford Avenue N "may be regarded as the center of Walingford; its large WALLINGFORD neon sign (see below) is made in part from letters in the old FOOD GIANT sign that adorned QFC's predecessor for decades." Wikipedia comments of Fremont: "Sometimes referred to as "The People's Republic of Fremont"[2] or "The Artists' Republic of Fremont,” and at one time a center of the counterculture, Fremont has become somewhat gentrified in recent years. The neighborhood remains home to a controversial statue of Lenin salvaged from Slovakia by a local art lover who was teaching in the area at the time." 

                                                                            

Photos of Lake Union, Seattle

Lake Union is a landmark of Seattle with many houseboats, views of the city, the Gas Works Park, and sea plances. We even had a great meal on the shore as a multitude of sail boats cam eout at sunset. 

                                                   

My Favorites from the Seattle Art Museum

I spent some good time at the Seattle Art Museum in August. Here are some of my favorites. 

                                        

Photos from Taming of the Shrew, Volunteer Park Seattle

We watched Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew in Volunteer Park as part of a Summer series they run every year. Here are the highlights of a great performance. 

                                                       

 

Photos from Volunteer Park, Seattle Washington

Volunteer Park is a wonderful place located at 1247 15th Ave E.  Volunteer Park is home to the Volunteer Park Conservatory and the Seattle Asian Art Museum. They are both pictured below. There is also a great collection of trees. They do Shakespeare play outdoors. I will present images from one, Taming of the Shrew, tomorrow. 

                                                    

Photos of Groceries in the Central District, Seattle Washington

I was struck by the products and produce offered in a grocery store in Seattle's Central District. I always enjoy exploring grocery stores when I travel. Here is some of what I found. I wish I was there long enough to enjoy everything. 

                                           

Karen Ay’s October London Art Exhibits

My London friend, Karen Ay, is showing at two upcoming shows in London.  I have written about her on numerous occasions. See for example, TangentProjects is going to Venice with Invasive Alien Species, and Great Upcoming London Sculpture Show. She combines a sense of humor with art that makes you think but does not dictate the process. 

Karen also has a new blog, Worth a Look, which deserves just what the title suggests. 

Her new work, Terra Infirma  will be at The Multiple Store: Multiplied Contemporary Art in Editions Fair at Christie's South Kensington, 85 Old Brompton Road, 
London SW7 3LD
,  October 12 – 15. Admission is free. As Karen describes it, “The contents of a pocket world atlas, hand cut into tiny pieces, are contained in a glass sphere that rotates. The fragments overlap, intermingle and scatter, creating incongruous associations and connections as they circulate. Localities, once easily defined, become fluid; our understanding of territory is disrupted, reinterpreted, redistributed, repositioned.” Below is an image.

In addition, her neon installation neon installation, YesYesOhhYes, shown below, will be in the group show, ALTER
at VEGAS Gallery, 
Private View:  Thursday October 11^th.  The shows runs October 10 - 3 November 3.  The VEGAS Gallery is located at 274 Poyser Street, London E2 9RF.

Interesting Show - Parts of a Whole - Sweibel and Butler

My friend Liz Sweibel and Ben Butler are presenting an interesting art show: Parts to a Whole. It opened on September 22 at the Medicine Factory, located at 85 Virginia Ave. West, Memphis Tennessee.  As the invitation describes it, “In Parts to the Whole Butler and Sweibel present sculpture and drawings referencing ideas of gathering, systems, materiality and form.  Sweibel and Butler both create their work through an accumulation of parts.  However, the methods and sensibilities with which they approach the material yield very different work.”

I have covered Liz’s work before and she does very thoughtful works that allow you to think. See for example, Many Kinds of Nothing Creates a Nice Art Space and Liz Sweibel’s New Art Web Site and Blog. Below is one of Liz’s works from the show.

The site goes on to describes her work as follows: “Sweibel, like Butler, also arrives at a formal conclusion through the act and labor of making.  While Butler’s work references order, classification and systems, Sweibel works from a more visceral  - yet still formal - place, referencing more poetic ideas of absence, longing, and relationship.  Sweibel writes, “My pieces are intimate records of activity that draw attention to attention - given received, withdrawn, absent.  The visual and visceral impact of each tiny point of contact, overlap or disconnect are what the work both reduces and expands to.  It matches my experience of the world as the accumulation and juxtaposition of small decisions and acts that seem simple but aren’t.”

If you are in the Memphis area, I certainly encourage you to take in this show

 

Photos of Downtown Seattle

Here is Seattle, Washington in August, the ideal time to visit a great city. This is the first in a series on the area.