Sightlines

Recent Sightings

Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008. "River of No Return" is the title of Laura McPhee's show at the Gibson Gallery. Yesterday afternoon she talked to us about her show. For two years she lived in Custer County in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho and used an 8 x 10 view camera to photograph the landscape and ranchers and field biologists who were tracking the re-emergence of a wolf population.

Her large prints (50 x 60) are gorgeous. Interestingly, she made a point of saying she hasn't moved into the digital world--yet. Before her talk I had a chance to tell her how much I admired not only her work, but her father's writing. I said I'd been a fan of his work ever since reading "Survival of the Bark Canoe" back in 1975.

From the Gibson to the Western Bridge Gallery...quite a change...  At the Bridge we caught several videos, all part of the show, "Multiplex." Fortunately most of the videos were  accessible, understandable and engaging, in contrast to many "art videos" that completely baffle or annoy me.

In the evening, we checked into the Northwest Film Forum to catch "The Cool School." No, not a film about my high school, but a fast-paced, very informative documentary about the art movement in LA that began in the 50's. The Ferus Gallery became the focal point for artists like Frank Gehry, Robert Irwin (whose work, "Nine Spaces Nine Trees" I blogged about recently), Ed Ruscha and Ed Kienholtz.

A flyer describes the film: it..."shares the untold story of a group of scrappy artists that shook up the dull tastemakers, got arrested for obscenity, and ultimately established the importance of West Coast art."

The show runs through the 28th. Cheers.

A Model World

Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008. Remember HO gauge model trains? The ones that run on inch-wide track and instantly bring a smile as you watch them chug through miniature towns and mountains.

At the WA State History Museum there is the largest model train layout I've ever seen. It's 25' x 95' and features replicas of Tacoma buildings and businesses on the 1950s.

It's a permanent exhibit, and a full-on delight for kids of all ages. And ya gotta love the train names: The Northern Pacific, the Great Northern, the Union Pacific. Cheers.

Remembered Light

Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008. The title of today's post comes from an exhibit at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma. A postcard description reads:

"A breathtaking exhibition of glass art featuring shards of stained glass from cathedrals and synagogue damaged during World War II and the personal reflections of the U.S Army chaplain who collected them. These stunning works of art reflect the despair and the hope, the destruction and the renewal that Chaplain Frederick McDonald experienced as he traveled through Europe...from 1944 to 1945.

For 55 years the glass fragments remained stored under McDonald's bed in a cardboard box. Thanks to a fateful dinner with friends and the ensuing friendship with glass artist Armelle Le Roux, the shards of stained glass have been transformed into beautiful glass art through which light once again shines. "

One of the pieces is from the Russian Chapel in Wiesbaden, Germany. An inscription on the glass reads in part: "Bombs damaged the window on the night of Feb. 1 when a third of the Wiesbaden disappeared in twenty minutes time... A cleaning woman told me she was rushing to a shelter when the blast blew the child from her arms whom she never a saw again."

Another exhibit at the Museum is "The Art of the Stamp." Thanks to Seattle Judy for telling me about the show. There are 100 works of original art which were used to create the stamps. Bet you didn't know that the Elvis Presley stamp is the most popular of all time, with sales of 500 million.

To round out our trip to Tacoma we had lunch at Harmon's brewery across the street from the Museum. Harmon's used to be furniture factory. Five signature brews on tap, and t-shirts for sale, one of which says, "No crap on tap."

Back to the light... Yesterday we caught up with the Montana (Helena) artist, Anne Appleby who gave a talking tour of her work at the Kucera Gallery. A flyer describes her work:

"Appleby's subtly modulated paintings reflect the... nature of horticultural cycles and the ineffability of seasonal changes.

Layer upon layer of oil paint, each subtly different in color, are successively brushed smooth until Appleby reaches the depth and luminosity she needs to complete her ethereal depiction of a specific plant, season or experience. Each seemingly monochromatic panel reveals a great degree of variation on closer inspection."

In this photo she is standing with "Magnolia." I have one of her prints--"Sweet Pine"--and after many years it's a source of calm and delight.

"My paintings aren't about the other world. They're about our place in this world. What nourishes the soul is the experience of being in the body"  -Anne Appleby

"All Things Move Towards Their End"

Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008. The title of this posting comes from lyrics by the singer Nick Cave.  The photographer, Camille Seaman, uses it to describe icebergs melting and falling away.

Her show at the Photographic Center Northwest called, The Last Iceberg is gorgeous. Sheila Farr of the "Seattle Times" described it the images as "operatic." Yes. In her review she describes one image:  "The remains of a looming iceberg drift against a smoldering sky in a sea of icy debris. The image is utterly still, but seems cataclysmic. I could hear the gloomy chords of Wagner's "Gotterdammerung" playing in my mind as I looked at this show..." Operatic indeed...

Another show to catch is at the G. Gibson Gallery--Doug Keyes' Becoming Language. This Seattle-based photographer shoots multiple images onto a single large (6 x 7) negative. The prints are large-- 40 x 50" and they feel both grand and intimate at the same time. Dense with detail, but with a lightness, a sort of transparency. In any case, they are quite engaging. The show continues through the 16th. Cheers.