Corporate Art, Izenmania Style

I don't generally consider myself an artist, at least not in the conventional sense (by conventional I mean visual... I participate The Arts, primarily as a musician). I'm a mediocre sketcher at best, and I rarely draw anymore, with occasional exceptions. I certainly don't paint or sculpt or anything. But heck... sometimes an idea just sort of strikes you, and you run with it.

So SiteCrafting, where I work, is getting new business cards. This, combined with the fact that I never ever give out business cards, means I have a whole crapload (probably in excess of 500) of outdated cards. It seems a mighty waste to throw them all out. So I grabbed a stack (about 105) and brought them home, and here's what happened...

Izenmania: Now With More ART!

This fine piece of Tacoma cartoon commentary (originally seen here) is now a permanent fixture in my home:



It looks down at me from above my computer/blogging station/recording studio to inspire my own personal blogger uprising.

The Tacomic birthday party at the Helm was, like so many of these little gatherings, a joyous cluster of the Tacoma blogland community... everyone from TacomaChickadee to TacomaMama to Girlfriend In Tacoma, plus of course Clan Freitas, the Urbanist, and His Nachoness himself. And many others that I am leaving out because I only feel like making so many links per entry.

There were also quite a few people walking by, presumably leaving Barber of Seville, who peered inside and then scampered off, clearly not brave enough to join us (probably because by the time they got out the show was winding down. I do wonder, however, if maybe a sign on the street that said "ART SHOW: More then 100% free!" or something to that effect might have drawn strangers into what may have looked like kind of a private party (what with everyone talking to everyone as if they knew each other)

Freedom Of Art In Tacoma

A couple different diatribes have come up recently in the Tacoma blogland, and they've got me thinking a bit (as I am wont to do, from time to time).

The first is a Matt Driscoll interview with Girl Trouble's Bon Von Wheelie over at Spew. The main focus of the interview is on the world of pay-to-play, and the battle against it. This is something I know a bit about. This Shirt Is Pants played a few shows for Big Time Entertainment, one at Studio 7 and three at Hell's Kitchen. We, I think, had an advantage over some bands, in that we knew exactly what we were in for. A couple of the guys had worked with them before, and so we were under no illusions. But we were also one of the older bands on the bills (in our early 20s)... I saw a lot of junior high and high school kids desperate for a chance to play on a stage. It's likely that they ended up there the same way we did: we could get a show at a decent club with no resume, no demo. That's the attraction, even if the end result is an empty pocket and a sour taste.

Honestly, in those shows, the worst part was not Big Time themselves. The worst part was the treatment from venue staff, particularly at Hell's Kitchen. The sound techs were well aware what kind of show they were doing, and it showed. They clearly didn't give even the slightest crap about the quality of the show. The lease was paid, and it was their job to watch and make sure nothing exploded. And I really think they were missing out on a great opportunity. Yeah, there were some crap bands. But there were also some remarkably talented kids. And how many of these kids were discouraged by poor treatment from venues? This is the biggest harm that I saw come out of pay-to-play.

The second blog that caught my eye was a rant about the lack of genuine art in Tacoma from Voronoff the GhostCritic (also known as Aaron Trotter). Growing out of the aftermath of Steve Craig's passing, Trotter's vision is of a Tacoma where artists nurture each other, where art happens spontaneously at the true whim of the artist, rather than living on conventional gallery walls.

I went out and did ArtWalk Thursday night. I had (embarrasingly) not once set foot in the new Tacoma Art Museum or the Museum of Glass, after a childhood of going to the TAM three or four times a year. So I finally went to both. I started out with a lap around, and they are pretty cool buildings. But upon entering, I found myself utterly unimpressed. I am by no means an art critic, or a visual artist, so maybe I was missing something, but I've seen a decent amount of art. I've seen art that made me think, made me wonder, genuinely grabbed me by the [insert anatomical bit of your choice] and made me feel. And this weren't it. Oh sure, there was a lot that was pretty, that held some level of aesthetic, but that, to me, does not make art worth my time.

The only work that I saw that genuinely gripped me in any way was one large piece by Mary Mann at the UWT Art Gallery. It wasn't visceral or anything, but at least it caught my eye and my interest.

The fact is that both of these articles speak to the same issue, the same need. For any artistic community to flourish, be it visual, musical, theatrical, anything, it needs both artists and patrons. Artists can come together and work, draw and paint, play and sing, encourage and inspire each other, but all that creates is art for artists, and that's simply pointless. Art is a means of communication. Artists can talk all they want about not caring what people think of their art because it's personal expression, but the fact is that they wouldn't be expressing at all if there wasn't something they wanted to get out there. And if they are limiting their audience to simply other artists, then they are, frankly, useless. The best thing a song can do is reach the heart of a non-musician. The greatest goal of a painting should be to grip the soul of a passer-by who has never once laid brush to canvas.

Unfortunately, to do this there must be an outlet. This is why musicians need concert venues, and why making these places utterly uninviting to the unknown band can utterly kill a local scene; why artists need galleries, and why restricting them to a few contracted and conventional painters rips the soul away from an art community. What Tacoma lacks is any other option, though. A place where unknown artists can walk in the room and slap something on the wall. A place where a few friends can get their bands together and put on a free show for the rest of their friends. A place where we aren't restricted by ticket fees for all but a few brief moments. People people shouldn't be appreciating art in two-hour-a-month increments, but in every moment that they have available. Musicians should be living music, whether they are sitting at work programming computers or sitting at home blogging nonsensically. And artists should be living art. But more importantly, everyone else should, too.

So what do we do? Does a property owner downtown step up and offer his space, as Voronoff suggests? Do established local artists who needn't worry about their ability to get shows like Von Wheelie carry on crusading against pay-to-play? Or do all the people who suffer most, the people who are being fought for, step up on their own?

I don't really know what I'm suggesting. I'm more fishing for ideas than anything. There is always talk of co-op galleries, musician-run venues, but they all suffer from a lack of groundswell and group organization. A co-op can only survive with a large number of people to spread the load. Likewise, regardless of intentions, two or three local musicians starting a venue often fail because two or three people who just want to play music are rarely capable of managing an operation like that. But we need something on all fronts. Something to maintain the creative fire that keeps starting, sputtering and dying. There are sparks where there ought to be continuous flame.

Anyway, I think I'm done for now. I fear that if I go back and read this I will discover that it actually makes no sense whatsoever. (I also fear that I may have only written it as an excuse to speak academically and seriously about people called Voronoff and Von Wheelie). So I shall defeat my fears by NOT going back and re-reading it. If it is nonsensical then so be it. I spend much of my life trying to confuse people anyway, so it's all good.

Art Your Little Heart Out, Tacoma

Like art? Movies? Music? Theatre? Then Tacoma's the place for you this weekend. There seem to be a remarkable number of different events all converging on these next few days. I'll do the highlights, and let you look into particulars yourself (lunch break isn't THAT long, after all)

Art

What's today? Thursday. Which one? The third one, of course! That means it's ArtWalk time in downtown T-town. Per usual, all the museums, galleries, etc from one end of downtown to the other are free to all. Highlight this time around? I'd say the Renoir as Printmaker exhibit at the TAM. It opened on the third Thursday of January, but I was on my way to Toronto, so I missed out.

Music

Everyone's blogging about it. It happens every year. If you don't know about it, you probably just aren't paying attention. Wintergrass!

One of the largest bluegrass festivals in the country, this marks the first year for the festival in the Hotel Murano. Which means very little, because it's been in the same building (the former Sheraton) for years. Mostly just means that there will be much more glass surrounding everyone. Already this morning I could see people hopping on the Link or walking up the hill carrying guitars, fiddles, mandolins and what-have-you.

My act of choice for the weekend? Pearl Django. I've heard these guys' spin on the hot jazz genre a few times before, and they are beyond solid. They'll be at the Marriot at 5:50 on Saturday, and the Varsity Grill stage at 7:45.

Theatre

The Northwest Playwright's Alliance are having their first fully-staged festival over the next two weeks at Theatre On The Square. I spent four summers volunteering at the now defunct Pierce County/South Sound Playwright's Festival, and it's great to see something step in and fill the void. This year's festival features three full-length plays and a number of shorter pieces. And fortunately for those of you distracted by other art forms this weekend, everything is running again next weekend, as well.

My play of choice (if I only go one night): Brent Hartinger's Geography Club. Hartinger's novel of the same name achieved 1) a lot of critical acclaim and 2) a place on a number of school banned book lists for "promoting the unsafe activity of meeting people on the internet to young people" (translates roughtly to "Crap, if we say we don't like it because it's about gay kids, they'll jump all over us. What other excuse can we whip out?").

Movies

To top it all off, the Grand Cinema is hosting their annual Oscar Party at the Rialto on Sunday. Anything make this more special than previous years? Well, for one thing, four of the five best picture nominees have been at the Grand in the past year (heck, three of them still are). But more on that later.

Also running at the Grand is the opening of animated film Persepolis. A French language film about the revolution in Iran, it promises to be very interesting fare.



That's all I've got for now. I'll come back later and turn more of these things into links.