SAM History, Digitally Preserved

Last month’s "SAM History, Digitally Preserved" program included rare & astonishing glimpses into the institutional history of the Seattle Art Museum. A 4Culture Collections Care grant from provided critical resources to reformat home movies, local broadcasts, artist lectures, performances, and more. My personal highlight was seeing some installation footage of Isamu Noguchi's "Black Hole Sun" at Volunteer Park. Thank you Traci Timmons, Hannah Palin, Marie Williams Chant, Moving Image Preservation of Puget Sound (MIPoPS), and UW Special Collections. More info: bit.ly/SAMHistory.

Q+A session following the screening of the films.

"A Visual Archive" Exhibit at KEXP

Just in the nick of time, we were able to quickly tour “A Visual Archive” exhibit at the phenomenal community-focused KEXP Gathering Space. The exhibit is sourced from Light in the Attic Records, a label that specializes in music reissues, in many cases of obscure or overlooked music. Curated by photographer and director David Black, the show includes rare photographs of a number of performers, including Patti Smith, Sly Stone, The Shaggs, Betty Davis, Mark Lanegan, and many others.

What struck me most were the images of local artists. Light in the Attic Records previously had released Wheedle’s Groove, which reissued limited-run Seattle funk and soul songs spanning from the 1960s-1970s. The compilation included one of my father’s favorite bands, Cold Bold & Together. One of the claims to fame for this band was that a young Kenny G was in the group (in addition to making and wearing synchronized outfits).

Promotional photo for Cold, Bold & Together.

What the record label has done so well is further contextualize previous eras and movements of music. On a local level, the Wheedle’s Groove compilation helped me understand the 25-30 R&B area clubs regularly featuring these live acts that further cemented Seattle as a music-friendly town. Many of the buildings are gone now, and there is some ephemera around (such as gig posters). By identifying, preserving, reformatting, and reissuing the recordings, the music lives on and provides a window to better understand the arts of the time, beyond Quincy Jones, Jimi Hendrix, and more well-known acts.

The exhibition is next headed to L.A.

Here is an interview with the curator.

View of the gallery of images in the exhibit.

All photographs taken by the author and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Letting the Light In: Art on the Seattle Waterfront

Image via Friends of Art on Pier 86 website

On the brisk Friday evening of December 21st, we attended the “Let There Be Light” Closing Viewing Party. Hosted by the Friends of Art on Pier 86, the event included a vibrant video art piece heralding Seattle’s history, along with anticipating the future. Created by the artist duo Hexagon Misfit, the piece was projected over 200 feet tall & onto the head house of the Pier 86 Grain Terminal. Incredibly, the terminal still functions and is operated daily by the Port of Seattle.

In speaking with artist Craig Winslow, he explained drawing inspiration from images of Seattle’s past. Photographs depicting the area over time were projected onto the facade.

A collaboration between Craig Winslow and Chris Rojas, the Pier 86 projection mapping explores the past, present, and future of the Seattle waterfront and the Pacific Northwest people.

via Chris Rojas/YouTube

Utilizing visual mapping techniques, aspects of the architecture were also superimposed onto the building. Some of this work reminded me of the Borealis light festival at MOHAI back in October.

The event took place at Expedia’s offices on Elliot Ave, providing great views of the video art, although it was even more compelling viewing from outside. As we all look to a changing downtown Seattle waterfront, one in which artists will have permanent works on display according to the city’s art plan & vision, I look forward to what the Friends group has in store for the future!