Article by Małgorzata Stanek

Still in the world, but not of the world
– Adam Mickiewicz from Dziady (“Forefather’s Eve”)

November is a month of solemn and important celebrations in Poland. November 11 is Polish Independence Day and early November is dedicated to honoring the departed. Specifically, November 2 is All Souls’ Day called Zaduszki in Polish. Zaduszki can be translated as “a day of prayer for the souls”. The eve of this holiday is known as All Saints’ Day. On these two days families visit the graves of the departed, lay flowers and light up candles. The cemeteries emanate otherworldly and solemn beauty as the sea of candles flickers as far as the eye can see. The words of Polish Romantic poet, Adam Mickiewicz from Dziady (“Forefather’s Eve”), aptly capture this atmosphere: “still in the world, but not of the world”. There are many folk traditions related to Zaduszki. It is said that on this day the spirits of our forefathers come to inhabit the world once more.

Thus, on November 2 in Lublin, an interesting annual event, now in its third year, is held. Translated roughly into English as “Souls ardently in tears”, it is an open gathering for singing traditional songs accompanying death.

The gathering is open to all, regardless of singing abilities. You are given a singing book – which you can pay for what you will – a token to help the organizers cover their costs. The songs come from traditional repertoire and speak about death and what comes after, they offer a moment to meditate on death and mortality. The lyrics are characterized by solemn beauty. There’s a distinctly poetic feel to them that sweeps you into their meditative mood.

The songs deal with a sense of paltriness of worldly things, show the departing soul saying farewell to their family, the village – they give voice to the dead. Some of the songs are prayers for them. However, the organizers say that while singing the songs, they also think about the living, to help them go through difficult moments. 

One of the organizers thus speaks about the songs: “They are very varied. Some talk about death in a literal way, reminding us about the decomposition which awaits us at the end; other use more delicate comparisons, focusing on the spiritual side of the process. It’s interesting that melodies which are used for these songs aren’t always as clam or sad as you might think. Frequently, we encounter dance tunes and only the lyrics remind us that it’s a song about a death. I think that this ambiguity and changeability of “moods” makes people want to get to know more songs. Every song brings in something new, even though it deals with a subject as old as death.

The group gathered in the cemetery filled with ancient graves – the resting places of people who came before us and are a part of the history of every day. The singing began right after dark. The voices carried above the lit-up graves, resonating with honesty and the sombre mood of the moment.

Even if your own individual singing isn’t particularly good, the group’s shared voice sweeps you away and your voice melts into the others. You distinctly feel a part of a community, it is a strongly shared experience. The organizers highlight that it is an important aspect. One of the initiators of the event recalls that he had to sing such songs alone on the occasion of one funeral he attended and that it’s really difficult because one singer focuses all the ritual tension on him or herself. For this reason, community is important. Moreover, the group of attendees increases every year and the sense that singing gathering rather than a concert becomes stronger every year – say the organizers. 

And even if your singing might not be the best, when it joins the others, what in the end comes through is one voice, singing as one, in honor of the dead. It’s a strongly reflective and moving experience.

Article by Miranda Caravalho

Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana – MACLA is a squat building on the tail end of the SOFA District in San Jose that’s painted in shades of steel grey and fluorescent pink. In the first half of the building you’d find the headquarters for MACLA’s programs, from which over 30,000 children, families and young adult get indispensable experience in visual, performing and literary art. But if you go past the first set of doors and onto the second, you’ll find MACLA’s studio with their current solo exhibition: Carlos Rólon’s Classic Tracks: Migrating Rhythms.

Enter the room. It’s not big, but it’s very open, with white walls and vaulted ceilings. But most of the white has been covered up by a mosaic of vinyl record covers, affixed to the wall in lines of faces and names that tower up to make a barricade. They’re mostly Spanish artists. Perhaps you recognize some of these album.

The room can be easily experienced in about twenty minutes. You can circle slowly around the murals and the checkerboard walls of record covers, or maybe stand in strange reverence in front of the sculpture made from working speakers. Or maybe you stray to the back of the exhibit and discover the small party that awaits there.

It’s a traditional travel cart with a spinning disco ball hanging from the woven roof and casting moving fish scales of light across the walls. And below that, embedded into the wood of the cart, is a turntable. There are more covers in small shelves, Ray Barretto, Roberto Blades, and De Todo Un Poco. It’s a weird intimacy, as if you’ve broken into someone’s house for the sole purpose of leafing through their music collection. Eventually you find the record that’s already placed on the turntable – Prince’s Purple Rain.

Play it. Turn it to side B and put it on the blank space in between “When Dove’s Cry” and “I Would Die 4 You”. With such a small space the music fills the room in a massive wave of sound. Others might stop to look, and some might even twist their faces slightly at the sudden noise. Or maybe you’re alone, just you and Prince.

I hope thats the case. I hope you’re alone with the music as your eyes drift again across the towering walls of album covers. These are the songs and artists brought from the culture of migrating immigrants. Every album has countless memories stuck to them like ghosts. A record that may mean nothing to you may have been someone’s first dance at their wedding. It could’ve been what their mother sang to them as a child, or what they heard through a open window as they left their home for the very last time.

When you’re immigrating you’re leaving everything you’ve ever known behind. But the things you’re able to take with you – your music, your clothes, your food and your language – that becomes the type of home that lives in your blood.

My grandmother is a first generation immigrant that spent time as an infant in a Japanese internment camp. Her parents refused to teach her or her siblings Japanese, and when their radio was on it was almost always playing country-western music. With the politics of the time they thought it would be best to keep their heads down and make a new life for themselves.

But when I was a child, she used to take me to the annual Cherry Blossom Festival held in San Jose, where I’d eat shaved ice and pet the dogs under clouds of pink petals. And even now she still makes inari sushi better than any restaurant I’ve ever been to. It’s impossible to miss – she’s definitely held onto something.

And what about you? Do you remember the meals your family made, the ones you learned to make yourself and for your loved ones? Think about the words you spoke to each other, the ones of sorrow and joy, and the stories told to you at night when you couldn’t sleep. And maybe it was a rainy morning, or starry night, or a warm afternoon like the one it was right now – but there was music, wasn’t there. Whether it was a radio or the tinny headphones of an old walkman, it was there and it left a shadow on your heart.

That’s not what’s playing now, though. Right now the synth of Prince is fading, and before the next track starts you lift the needle and put it back in its place. And with nothing else to explore you walk back out into the day, the words that song in your head making your mouth shift into long-lost shapes.

Article by Małgorzata Stanek

Imagine spending a sunny August afternoon in the streets of a charming Old Town filled with colourful stalls, the hustle of bustle of various languages (Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Slovak) and traditional music. This is what happens in mid-August in Lublin, Poland.

Lublin is a charming city in eastern Poland that has much to offer. Beautiful sites, places of remembrance, pleasant, calm atmosphere, residents passionate about their heritage and many fascinating events that take place all year round when many of the residents as well as tourists gather together in celebration of culture, art and tradition and of a sense of age-old community.

Photo: Bartek Żurawski, Organizer’s materials. The Jagiellonian Fair, main square, Old Town, Lublin.

One beautiful annual event is the Jagiellonian Fair, now in its 12th year. The Jagiellonian Fair is, broadly speaking, a meeting with traditional culture of Central and East European countries in many forms: concerts, workshops, presentations but also direct meetings with another person. The event historically refers to 15th century fairs that took place in Lublin. Lublin, located on the crossroad of trade routes, attracted traders and merchants from various corners of Poland and Europe. The event aims at showcasing the most beautiful, authentic aspects of traditional culture of this area and how it inspires more contemporary forms of art, or how they can engage in a dialogue and draw inspiration from one another.

The event focuses around a craftsman’s fair – wooden stalls scattered around the Old Town erupt with colour. The organizers highlight that unlike in many other similar events, the stalls at the Jagiellonian Fair cannot be simply bought – the artists are hand-picked; the organizers strive to invite only those artists who represent genuine local or family traditions. We meet around 300 of them from various countries (Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Hungary, this year even Sweden), always kind and eager to tell us about their craft, what drove them to begin, to show and explain the skills. They are happy to answer any questions, they are happy to demonstrate and explain their work, including at various workshops they run.

Photo: Jakub Bodys, Organizer’s materials.

You can learn from them – they are happy to teach us so that the tradition and awareness of it live on. Their stories are varied, interesting and usually do highlight one fact – they carry their crafts in their heart. This openness, honesty and authenticity strongly resonates. As I walk among the stalls, listening to their stories, observing the skills and admiring the meticulous work, work that is the result of absolutely pure passion and love, I feel moved to tears. It is pure delight to meet them and learn what it means to have a genuine passion and love of traditional handcraft, to be reminded of a certain lifestyle, values and to feel like a part of a warm-hearted community.

Photo: Gutek Zegier, Organizer’s materials.

The variety of items on display (and available for purchase) range from traditional pysanky eggs, lace and embroidery, through decorations (including pająki traditional, spider-like ornaments that used to be hung in households), toys, unique instruments, blacksmith’s wares – and many others. There is much to feast your eyes on – and the stories of the artisans fill the hearts too.

Photo: Gutezk Zegier, Organizer’s materials
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Photo: Gutek Zegier, Organizer’s materials.

Photo: Gutek Zegier, Organizer’s materials.

Photo: Gutek Zegier, Organizer’s materials.

Photo: Gutek Zegier, Organizer’s materials.

Photo: Gutek Zegier, Organizer’s materials.

Photo: Gutek Zegier, Organizer’s materials.

Every year, the festival focuses on a different theme. This year, the main theme was lace.

There were several exhibitions dedicated to this delicate and meticulous craft. One, entitled “Her majesty Koniaków lace” featured lace from Koniaków, a village in southern Poland known for its lace-making traditions and even finding new applications for this meticulous art, including g-strings. There was a lace umbrella and lace wedding and cocktail dress on display, among other things. Another lace-focused exhibition was a presentation of the organizers’ field research trip and their interviews with lacemakers. Lace was also the inspiration for a mural that adorned one of the event’s locations – the building where the office of the organizers is located, a delightful, peaceful, green-filled patio where workshops were held during the event. Moreover, a pająk referring to this year’s theme was hung in the ancient entryway to the Old Town – the so called Cracow (Krakowska Gate), an architectural symbol of the city built as part of its fortifications during the reign of Casimir the Great in 14th century. The pająk hung at homes was the guardian of good fortune and providence of the household; hung in the Gate, it brings joy to the city.

This year’s pajak was made to reflect the theme of the Jagiellonian Fair – lace.

Photo: Bartek Żurawski, Organizer’s materials, Cracow Gate – entry way to the Old Town, with pająk.

The Jagiellonian Fair is also very much about celebrating traditional music. There is plenty of music! As we walk among the stalls, for instance, a traditional band may suddenly gallantly surprise you with a spontaneous mini-performance. One of the projects associated with the Jagiellonian Fair is the Jagiellonian Fair Orchestra – open to all enthusiasts of traditional music who also wish to hone their music skills. The Orchestra hold rehearsals throughout the year and perform at the dance parties during the event.

Photo: Bartek Żurawski, Organizer’s materials.

The dance parties are a fantastic opportunity to dance through the night to the tune of lively, fiery music. Sometimes, the band starts going so fast, it becomes hard to keep up! If you feel insecure about your dancing skills, you can always join dance workshops that teach the repertoire played at the parties, but it’s also fun to just hop spontaneously as you like. Trying to keep up with the rhythm can be a real challenge though! Aside from dancing, there are also presentations and workshops dedicated to traditional singing techniques and old song repertoires from various corners of eastern and central Europe.

Furthermore, the bands perform not just at dance parties or in the streets. There are also concerts. One of the concerts is called re:tradition, during which popular performers meet with traditional village musicians, practising authentic traditional music. They rehearse together and learn from one another. The result is an absolutely arresting dialogue between tradition and more modern sounds.

Photo: Bartek Żurawski, Organizer’s materials.

The village singers stand in the highlight, not quite used to stage performances, evident in how microphone-shy they can be at times. They present their musical skills, telling various tales through their art. This year, one of the ladies sang out the haunting, tragic story of the Ulma family – her own relatives. The Ulmas were a family living in south-eastern Poland during the Nazi occupation. They gave shelter to Jews, were denounced and subsequently murdered one early morning – first the Jews, then the Ulmas, including the pregnant mother of the family. Reportedly, she started giving birth at the moment of execution and the baby died too. The song, performed in a traditional singing technique, was a genuinely heart-rending experience.

Photo: Jakub Bodys, Organizer’s materials.

It’s worth noting that re:tradition was performed in the courtyard of the Lublin Castle that served as prison at various times, most infamously during the Nazi occupation. Just before the Nazi withdrew from Lublin in July 1944, the remaining prisoners (around 300) were murdered.

Photo: Jakub Bodys, Organizer’s materials. Raabygg’s concert during the Jagiellonian Fair.

There are also individual concerts featuring foreign bands playing their roots music, or mixing it up with personal ideas and arrangement. This year, the festival introduced the Norwegian Raabygg – a trio of delightful girls. The girls spun folk tales illustrated with their enchanting music. It was an intimate affair performed on a small stage in the Dominican Monastery, a quiet setting, slightly removed from the hustle and bustle of the main artery of the festival. The big stage in Lublin Castle courtyard also featured the Cypriot Monsieur Doumani whose simple but energetic, honest arrangements easily reached the heart and Violons Barbares consisting of musicians from Bulgaria, Mongolia and France who swept us along on a musical journey featuring a combination of music traditions from their countries. All concerts during the Jagiellonian Fair are unique experiences, an opportunity to take in an incredible richness of themes, techniques and approaches. Most of all, it’s always full of heart.

Photo: Marcin Pietrusza, Organizer’s materials. One of the games available at the Jagiellonian Fair Playground, a zone for families to spend quality time together, recalling traditional games.

Other than concerts, workshops, exhibitions and meetings with people and tradition, there is also a place for families to spend quality time together, playing traditional games. The Jagiellonian Fair Playground, located in a huge green area directly below the Lublin Castle, offers a variety of large-scale games, some more familiar than others. Among others, you can play tic tac toe using large wooden noughts and crosses, but there is a variety of other traditional games all families can enjoy – together.

Photo: Marcin Pietrusza, Organizer’s materials, the Jagiellonian Fair.

Article by Khatija Hussain

The Queen’s House is one of London’s most historic buildings and one of the only few remaining in Greenwich, London. This beautifully creamed stone paved palace brings the rich history of the lineage of the royals and how the monarchy was passed onto the Queen today. Some visitors have reported of a ghost that lurks in the Queen’s House, a photo was captured in 1966 of a hand but nothing further has been discovered until 2002, when a worker reported a figure dressed in a grey/white dress passing though the walls.

The Queen’s house was built in 1616 by Inigo Jones for the Queen Anne of Denmark, but it was put on hold once the queen had passed. In 1635, the Queen’s House was finished for Henrietta Maria, the wife of Charles I.

Although, Henrietta lived here until 1642, she was able to experience the house before she was sent into exile as her husband Charles I was executed for treason and starting the civil war.

The House holds over hundreds of paintings collected over the years and artwork created recently to celebrate the house’s 400th anniversary. The Queen’s House was closed off in 2016 to be refurbished to match the style of the original décor of the house. Inigo Jones’ architectural design was inspired from his journey from Italy and designed one of the first geometrical floorings along with the stunningly blue Tulip Stairs, which was the first geometric self-supporting spiral stair in Britain. This is where the supposed Queen’s House ghost was reportedly seen.

Each room in the Queen’s House presents paintings of the members that once stood in the house and the finest seaman in Britain. The King’s presence chamber is decorated with royal blue walls and outlined with a rich gold plated carved designs throughout the ceiling and corner of the room. This room hangs the portraits of the king and his courtiers who were royals, philosophers and naval officers.

The top left is a portrait of Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Teddeman. The canvas below is of Vice-Admiral Sir William Berkeley. The top right is Vice Admiral Sir Joseph Jordan and the portrait below is Sir Jeremiah Smith. They were created in 1665/1666.

The gallery has many beautiful artistic works, some created were described as pen paintings displayed in the King’s antechamber. The pen paintings were drawn by the famous Dutch artist Willem van de Velde, the Elder. He was one of the artists to sketch naval battles that he had witnessed. The small room was darkened with grey walls to enhance the sketches and give the viewer a clearer visual of what each detailed mark of the naval ships looked like.

The pen paintings by Willem van de Velde, the Elder were of ‘The First Battle of Schooneveld 23 May 1673’ This was sketched in 1684 (the bottom left). The second sketch was of ‘A Kaag and a Galjoot Close to the Shore with Witte de With in the ‘Brederode’ Leaving the Vlie, 9 June 1645’ (bottom right). The pen painting above was of the ‘The Battle of the Sound, 8 November 1658’. This was fully drawn in 1660.

The Queen’s Privy chamber is filled with portraits of the Tudor Family, the Stuart Family, and the Hanoverians. Each royal family had their turn in ruling England in their own way whilst working with parliament.

The gallery hosted a talk in the Queen’s Privy chamber by a volunteer named James Ears. He delivered a fantastic detailed and informative talk on these three bloodlines. Discussing how each member in these families came to power. The Tudors time was before the Queen’s House and Queen Elizabeth I was just shy of her 70th birthday before she had passed away and remained childless with no one to pass the throne onto. James I of England (6th of Scotland) was next in line for the throne. He was known for being influential and was quick with settling deals with parliament and others. James I was the transition from the Tudors between the Stuarts. The story of how the Hanoverians took the throne continues to be how the monarch is run today by her majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen’s House last room ends with a very detailed painting on the roof of many influential figures in history. This gallery has so much to offer, it is a lovely day out for taking the family and learning something new about England. The queen’s house is not the only place to visit, with this historical site, the Maritime Museum is nearby along with the Royal Observatory. These monuments are the last original historical buildings left in Greenwich that make up some of the history of London and the current royal family.

Article by Malaka Sanders

The UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) is celebrating the multidisciplinary work of Chilean-born artist Cecilia Vicuña until October 14. An artist for 40 years, Vicuña’s practice incorporates performance, video, found object sculptures and text. A children’s event, Gallery + Studio: From Dream to Play: The Art of Cecilia Vicuña for ages 6 to 12 on Saturday, September 8 at 11:30AM and 1PM, will draw inspiration from her work for a hands-on artmaking workshop. Interviews with the artist are included in the exhibition and excerpted from the book Cecilia Vicuña: About to Happen, co-edited by Julia Bryan-Wilson, professor of modern and contemporary art at UC Berkeley. A program of six of Vicuña’s reflective film shorts plays on a loop in the newer, thirty-three seat screening room at BAMPFA, the smaller of two theaters at the museum.

Vicuña has lived in London and Columbia and now divides her time between New York and Chile, after first leaving the country in 1973, the year of the military coup led by Pinochet. She uses natural materials in her sculpture – such as wool, stone and wood – and extreme weather conditions, such as high winds and heavy rain, in her videography to reference the movement of ancient people discussed in her poetry. A few of the short films showcase Quipu, defined as “knotted strings used by the Incas and Andean civilizations to keep records” by Esperanza Huayama and Teódula Pusma of The Quipu Project. An abstract version of a Quipu is seen in the short film Umbilico, a silent, mostly black and white film in which the artist is seen unfolding a gigantic and bright red knotted rope down to the ground from the top of a building and along her path on a surprising journey.

In the short film Quipu Austral (Southern Quipu), shot in Sydney, Australia the colorful, twenty-five foot lengths of wool that can be seen withstanding the elements in the film are now standing at the BAMPFA. Vicuña designed the un-knotted, gargantuan ropes that form this piece as an interactive expression of Quipu, saying of the outdoor installation of the cords in Australia, “As people enter the Quipu and walk within it, they become the living knots.” In describing this piece, she continued, “The Quipu connects the ancient traditions of the Southern Andes in Chile, and the Aboriginal art of Australia.” The use of natural light and wind to animate the wool in the film can be appreciated upon observing those same vibrant but now still wool cords hanging in Berkeley’s double height, open concept gallery space. Vicuña’s piece is a towering and powerful statement on displacement and the sculptural architecture of the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, with its generous proportions, complements it well. The small screening room is an attractive and intimate environment for the immersive sounds and images of the accompanying short films.

History, as a fabric of inclusion and exclusion, did not embrace
them. (The history of the north excludes that of the south, and
the history of the south excludes itself, embracing only the
north’s reflections.)

From Quipoem by Cecilia Vicuña

The artist’s lastest book, New and Selected Poems of Cecilia Vicuña is available at the BAMPFA store.

Article by Miranda Caravalho

I don’t dream well.

It’s a side effect, I think, of one of six medications I take. When I go to sleep my dreams are usually loud and fast and vaguely upsetting. To put it kindly, a dream journal was never something that interested me. But my close friend has spent the past six months messaging me when she wakes up just to tell me, in whatever detail she can remember, whatever she dreamt about the night before. It’s how, she tells me, she chooses to say “good morning”. So recently, I’ve been inspired to do the same.

But there’s an important quality of dreams: they erode, very slowly, until you’re left with a cupped palmful of rock and silt. As I write this, I had a nightmare earlier in the week that left me shaken for the whole day – and now I can’t remember a single detail about it. I had another dream, a better one, but as hard as I think I can only remember the dining table from my childhood and the color yellow. Dreams dissolve, they evaporate back into the clouds of your subconscious to be mixed up into another strange rain the next time you set your head on the pillow.

And it’s not just dreams, it’s memories too. Think about Won Ju Lim, the artist who made the leap from living in Los Angeles to Berlin, Germany, and found herself almost madly homesick for the place she left behind. So from almost six thousand miles away, Lim made herself another LA from basic materials like glass, light and shadow. But in doing so she made something that wasn’t quite a city, and not exactly a complete work of imagination. What she had done was an amalgamation of dream and memory, a collection of the basic sense stimulation of what, to Lim, made up Los Angeles. That’s how California Dreamin’ was brought to life.

You enter California Dreamin’ through a black curtain. It’s about half the main gallery of the San Jose Museum of Art, which has been completely blocked off from any light or sound from the outside world. What that results in is the chance to walk through someone’s mind and step foot into Won Ju Lim’s own perspective. You can see her city through her eyes, and feel the sheer power of her wanting, her pining for something that may or may not have ever existed.

The exhibit is not without the foggy unreality of dreams. The piece that stuck out the most to me was “Piece of Echo Park”. Its a multimedia sculpture that depicts the mountainside of Echo Park. There are houses. Trees. It’s a fairly realistic topographical depiction of the region, that is, until you circle the mountain range and see it slowly dissolve into what looks like dripping wax. It gives the appearance of the mountain being alive, with a skin of greenery and architecture that covers flesh and blood. It’s both haunting and strangely reminiscent. I think we all know a certain place that just seems to pulsate with life.

California Dreamin’ isn’t a big exhibit, but in its narrowed scope its managed to create a very vivid and refined experience. Though sculptures and projections she has created something that gives the chance for anyone to experience living in another country and longing for your home. There’s no way of knowing how much of what she chose to represent made itself known through the sounds and smells of Berlin in 2002, but it’s undeniable that she focused on what she did for a reason.

And after sixteen years that experience has been brought to America for the very first time. In that time period, things have changed. Lim is now and Assistant Professor and the Chair of Sculpture in Graduate Studies at Boston University. She has homes in both California and Massachusetts. It would be fascinating to take another walk through her mind right now and see what shapes and colors now make up her vision of Los Angeles.

Lim has created in California Dreamin’ a small trip that is absolutely worth taking. It’s one of the first exhibit’s I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing that allowed me to just stand there, looking at nothing in particular, and still be absolutely immersed. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. So why not experience it for yourself?

You’ve spent your whole life living in your dreams, it’s about time you visit someone else’s.

JUN 22-SEP 30: Won Ju Lim: California Dreamin’ | San José Museum of Art, San Jose, CA

Reviewed by Meaghan Alfonso

NOV 17-MAR 31: Opulent Mobility 2017 – An Online Art Exhibit

Disability shouldn’t be a burden or something to look away from. Since 2009, Opulent Mobility’s unique exhibit started with the artwork of A. Laura Brody, a professional costume maker and designer. She first developed Opulent Mobility as a series of artworks before expanding in 2013. Opulent Mobility gives easy access to its audience by posting its exhibits online. And its sound clip descriptions make it incredibly accessible for people who have trouble seeing. For OM’s 2017 exhibit, 9 talented artists have contributed artwork inspired by the world of disability. All of them have created beautifully gorgeous pieces, but I do have some favorites that I will share with you today.

My first artist that I want to share is, of course, A. Laura Brody herself. She has created some inspiring work that represents what it means to have a disability in her own eyes. Her first piece shown is called “The Kali Walker“, and its made of an aluminum walker, re-purposed leather, and hardware. Kali, the Hindu Goddess of time and empowerment, is presented in front of the walker. Also a demon slayer, Kali is such a powerful symbol and embodies what it should mean to people who have a mobility problem. Brody quotes that, “Disability and aging are demonized in our culture as tragedy, weakness, and something to be feared. Kali in her walker represents a different truth—that time catches up to us all, and that strength and ferocity are not measured by physical ability.” The symbolism in this piece shows such wonderfulness and creates an uplifting feeling, that we shouldn’t be scared of the future– of what is to come when getting older.

Fang-Wei Hsu, one of my other favorites, is an illustrator and writer from Taiwan. Her piece, “Flamboyance New Life“, is very elegant yet fragile. Made from an abundance of materials (Aluminum crutch, ribbons, organza, feather, fringes, netting, gold and silver metals, Swarovski crystals, acrylic found objects, LED lights and battery), this piece shows her relationship with disability and her identity being a disabled person herself. Hsu says in her artist statement that, “Art making is not simply an internal conversation or emotional outlet, it conveys my perspectives of life” which I believe is true for most artists. Art mimics life and vice versa, so having pieces being created like Hsu’s is so inspiring to see.

Lastly, Katherine Sherwood’s “Maja“, is aesthetically pleasing and nostalgic in way. This piece is part of a series she has called Venuses of the Yelling Clinic, and painted on the linen backs of Art History reproductions made in 1950-60s. The linen backs are all tiled together, and she has painted a silhouette of a “maja”, so to speak, right on top of the linen backs. Using a yellow and black color palette, Sherwood has created a beautifully large scale painting that is hard to forget. Because it is not extensively detailed, you are able to retain the information given. It is a naked woman laying next to a cane. But who is this woman? Your mind starts to create some ideas of what she should look like, but either way she is beautiful.

The symbolism and creativity of each piece are so different from one another, yet the same. I respect Brody for creating an exhibit that might not be for everyone, but there is definitely a voice in it. I know that I have only talked about a few artists here today, but the the other talented artists are definitely one to check out! Disabled or not, you will enjoy talking a look at these lovely pieces and maybe take something else “home” with you other than the art.

NOV 17-MAR 31: Opulent Mobility 2017 – An Online Art Exhibit

article by Amanda Alfonso

Although the Henry Art Gallery seems somewhat small, it manages to pack five little exhibits. It’s also easy to find, being connected to the University of Washington. While every current exhibit on display at the moment strikes interest and inspiration – one intrigued me in particular, and that was Doris Totten Chase: Changing Forms. I had never heard of Doris Totten Chase until this exhibit but what attracted me most to it were the eerie sounds emanating from the corner of the gallery floor. I had it set in my mind, after viewing two of the exhibits, that I would head home – being tired from having walked all day. I decided instead to keep walking through, and picked up a pamphlet on the way.

The exhibit is interactive and invites you to watch different experimental videos that explore shapes, movement and sound. Using technology available at that time, the videos span from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s – and it’s pretty obvious. The videos display either shapes – usually rectangles or circles – spinning forward or backward with layers of different colors. They’re entrancing to watch, especially with the eerie compositions in the background. Some of them feature dancers or actors, moving their bodies in different neon colors or reciting a monologue. The compositions score them moving at first a full-bodied outline, then transitioning into impressions as if dissolving into a thermal image of themselves.

The exhibit also displays Chase’s paintings, which display mostly disc outlines, almost looking like springs in movement (the pamphlet states that “circles would remain a constant throughout her career.”) And although these are also intriguing, there is something about the videos that are particularly striking, mostly because of how much time has passed, giving the videos, I imagine, a different context and reaction. Maybe what was once viewed as only experimental or avant-garde when they were first projected, could now be called nostalgic (in terms of technology) or even dystopian – like watching Bladerunner in the 21^st century. In fact, her videos even look like something that could be taken and placed in some technology-driven dystopian film.

I was glad to continue on to the exhibit and become inspired by an artist of many different mediums – and who was also born and raised in Seattle. The exhibit will be on display until October 1 and entry only costs $10 (even less for students!) – and while at the Henry Art Gallery, I highly suggest exploring the other exhibits, which are equally worth checking out.

article by Amanda Alfonso for ArtsEarth

Interiors could be called a multi-faceted exhibit reflecting the artist herself. Within two separate rooms at the Frye Art Museum, Amie Siegel – a New York-based artist – displays a solo exhibition of films. Entering the first room, you witness a 16mm film projection of a woman roaming around multiple locations where she passes and stops to pose with sculptures. Polaroids are displayed with her next to each sculpture, smiling into the camera like a tourist. It’s an introduction to themes touched on in the following film projections Provenance (2013) and Fetish (2016).

It’s clear that the exhibit is mostly about objects and the value that we as art consumers, put on them. Provenance, to put it simply, shows us the process in which modern furniture comes to find a home – starting first with being stripped apart, then remade, then sold, then displayed like a piece of artwork itself. What’s most striking about the films are its subdued nature. There’s something affecting in the way Siegel uses dolly shots to show a piece of furniture’s final home – or contrasting them with their original location – cutting at one point from the bare frame of a couch, to sitting completed in a white-walled office. Provenance is shown in a series of projections so that the audience is aware of the process – and I definitely found myself fascinated by the idea of cultural value – and what we deem as valuable. In the last stage of Provenance, I was taken aback; Siegel shows the work you are witnessing in the moment, being auctioned off – and you’re suddenly made aware of your whole viewing.

Fetish touches on a similar subject and is probably more overt. The film shows a man in white protective gloves delicately dusting a series of miniature statues from different countries. He does it with such care and patience – and lasts close to twenty minutes to a half hour. Fetish has a slightly amusing and cheeky feeling to it, possibly because there seems to be a reference to the connection between valuable objects and the way women are seen in society. Siegel does a clever thing of cutting quickly to an old illustration of a woman being auctioned off. In the illustration, a man grips to her tightly to make sure she doesn’t run off – and you can see that the sleeve of her dress is falling from her shoulder. Just like the chair being stripped bare and remade to be housed in a place of luxury, it was a moment of both shock and revelation.

For fans of both art house films and multimedia arts, Amie Siegel’s work will expand your mind and surprise you in the subtlest way. While it might require a bit of patience for those not used to watching art films, it’s definitely worth the time. The Frye Art Museum is free and also includes a great house gallery of paintings owned and acquired by the museum founders Charles and Emma Frye.

• May 20-SEP 3: Amie Siegel: Interiors – Exhibition | Frye Art Museum

article by Greg Cutler | photos by Jon Bauer – The Soiled Dove Gallery

I am writing this review while the event is still going on (June 23, 2017). My overall review is that you should definitely go see it! (June 30 and July 1, 2017)

First of all, I’m impressed with how many people got dressed up in period costume for this event. Well done. I don’t have 1800’s clothes, but I wore a tuxedo with a long coat and a nice black and white striped tie. You don’t have to get up in your getup, but it was nice that there were many people who did. I will admit, that now, I want an 1800’s outfit for sure. [Historical Emporium]

I have a car and I drove myself to the event. Traffic getting from San Francisco to Alameda was minimal. It took me 35 minutes. There is a HUGE parking lot right in front of the tent. You will see the tent. It is also huge.

The location is not the greatest. I think if it had been in Golden Gate Park or something a little less influenced by the 20th century, it may have leant more to the illusion. Those Naval airstrips were not there in the 1800’s. They are old, but they’re not that old. The old saloon outside is a nice touch. If they had come out to serve us drinks in it, that would have been superb. I’m sure that is because of liquor laws or some other city ordinance. I sat on a chair on the porch when I arrived and talked to some very nice guests. Everyone was in the mood to see an interesting show, that is not in dispute. The anticipation was palpable. We had no idea what to expect. I actually expected it to suck. Boy, was I wrong!

The tent is impressive. I have no idea how tall it is, but it is tall. There is a whole world inside. Around the inner walls are art galleries with fantastic painting and photography for sale. There are little seating areas where one may lounge. The bar is located back there as well. Clockwise from the entrance was a platform with a bandstand, the stage, and a building with doors along the top floor that made up the brothel known as The Soiled Dove.

The first band, Cosa Nostra, plays on the stage until people get their drinks from the bar in the back and get settled into their seats. You can choose to sit anywhere and the servers help you find a good spot. The servers are also the performers and they are all in character.

The next band, Jazz Mafia is phenomenal. I appreciate good jazz and those guys are tight as a tick. And I mean that in a good way. If you believe Jelly Roll Morton who is quoted as the inventor of Jazz in 1902, the periodness is sort of weird at first, but you get over it. The original score to the entire show lends itself to jazz and jazz is related to Dixieland and Dixieland is related to Ragtime and Ragtime was definitely a thing during the Gold Rush, so let’s let it slide for the sake of a really entertaining and rollicking good time. The Lady Gaga, Bad Romance cover was very Westworld-esc. I’m not sure, but I think I was actually craving some actual ragtime. A creative interpretation of the Entertainer might not have hurt. The keyboardist could definitely handle that.

The circus-type acts in the show are like watching America’s Got Talent on Steroids, with a San Francisco Gold Rush theme IN San Francisco. Sorry, Simon. Maybe if you see AGT in person, it makes all the difference. At The Soiled Dove, watching someone fall from 100 feet above your head, end-over-end, suspended only by a piece of fabric is much more impressive in person than it is watching it on TV in the comfort of your living room. If they go “splat”, they will do it live in front of you. And they perform all around you. They are not just on the stage. They are on the sides and suspended in the air. Events take place at the bar behind you. Cowboy Girl the sharpshooter deserves a special mention, as do all the people she shot at (or at balloons that were in close proximity).

If I had not been sitting at the table, I would have missed out on the meal. And oh, what a meal it was. I’m a carnivore, so I had the beef. Emma Nation (get it?) comes out and describes each course in the dinner is not joking around when she describes how they must have cooked that meat for a very long time, because it was delicious. The salad and desert were excellent as well. Work of Art catering did an amazing job.

Monarch did an excellent job of keeping bar. At these types of events, the bar is pretty crucial. The drinks are pre-mixed by the bar and they are all fantastic. I sampled a few. They have beer too, of which I did not partake.

I won’t go into too much detail on the acts. I already talked about the band; phenomenal. The acrobats were amazing. The synchronicity between the dancers, acrobats, and aerialists was perfection itself. The strength, poise, grace, beauty, musicality, and shear athleticism of the aerialists and dancers was a sight to behold; male or female. As they spun above my head, the aerialists looked like they were having the time of their lives and it was infectious. They looked as if they would sprout wings and fly right out of the tent.

I would not want to mess with any of the women on that stage. They are strong!

Oh, and Mz. K. That’s all I gotta say. You have to go see her for yourself to know what I’m talking about.

The costumes are incredible. And there are so many costumes! If you like period costumes, that alone is a reason to go see The Soiled Dove. The sets are also amazing, solid, and accurate to the period.

The actors are always in character. Both Happy Jack (the first main character) and Vegas Trip (the main EmCee) do an excellent job of narrating and keeping the story moving along. Happy Jack is apparently based on a historical figure from the Barbary Coast; Happy Jack Harrington. Pretty much everything that happens to him in the show happened in real life, so pay attention.

All of the actors’ banter (written and improvised) was on constant display. The show is also musical and the actors can also sing. Every little micro-interaction (and they are going on all around, all the time) is captivating. So much fun to watch!

With any live performance, something always goes wrong. Katy Stephan’s microphone didn’t work at first, but the excellent crew resolved it in a matter of minutes and she carried on. I will say that Katy’s piano could have been mic’ed. It was a little hard to hear. Ahhh… Mz. K.

Speaking of Mz K, I was curious how, in this day and age, they would handle the debauchery. There was nothing weird or awkward about any of it. The people performing are beautiful (as I have already said), but they are real. They are right there in front of you. You can talk to them. If you want to eat or drink, you HAVE to talk to them. They are not objects. And they are talented. So the audience expressed such a high level of respect toward the performers that obliterated any weird creepy feelings that may otherwise have been exhibited. It was fun! Go see it!

• JUN 30 & JUL 1 | Vau de Vire Society: The Soiled Dove
• ArtsEarth Gallery | The Soiled Dove – Under the Tortona Big Top