Report: Arts, culture add $500B to nation’s GDP
“Creative industries led by Hollywood account for about $504 billion, or at least 3.2 percent of U.S. goods and services, the government said in its first official measure of how the arts and culture affect the economy.”.– Brett Zongker, Seattle Times | December 5, 2013
Shooting and Capturing: Matika Wilbur’s Fight Against a Hundred Years of Native American Photography
“Matika Wilbur is the kind of photographer who calls ahead. She laughs loud and makes friends easily and sleeps on the couches and floors of her subjects. If she gets sick, like she did this past August, after too many nights with no sleep, driving through the American West with her camera, she is offered an actual bed, and actually takes it. In August, it was Steven Yellowtail who insisted she take his bedroom and he would sleep on the family couch. He’d never met her before. He only knew she was a friend of his older sister’s and that she was doing something she wouldn’t be able to do unless she had couches and beds and floors to sleep on. What she’s doing is spending several years—as long as it takes, and as long as the grant money and Kickstarter funds last—visiting and taking pictures of every Native American tribe in the United States.” – Jen Graves, The Stranger | December 4, 2013 | Photo by Matika Wilbur
Kimsooja: A needle woman piercing the fabric of life
“When the artist Kimsooja sat one day mending her bedding with her mother, she had a revelation. As the needle pierced the silky fabric, she could feel everything from the universe pass through her body to the needlepoint travelling through the fabric. So begins the journey of orchestrating a symphony of rich, vivid colors.”– Kazuko Nakane, The International Examiner | December 6, 2013
Fred Bassetti, architect and shaper of Seattle: An appreciation
“Fred Bassetti was central to the shaping of Seattle’s skyline and self-image, a player in protecting the Pike Place Market (“an honest place in a phony time”) from the ravages of urban redevelopment and the man responsible for distinctive quality architecture on college campuses across Washington.
An architect as well as a civic activist through five decades, the Seattle native died Thursday at the age of 96.”
– Joel Connelly and Aubrey Cohen, Seattle PI | December 5, 2013 | Photo by Joe Mabel
200-hour rehab saves SAM’s prized Pollock
“Seattle Art Museum chief conservator Nicholas Dorman has spent a year painstakingly examining and cleaning one of Jackson Pollock’s most significant works, “Sea Change,” which SAM is to have back on display soon.” -Robert Ayers, Seattle Times | December 7, 2013
Clyde Petersen on ‘Torrey Pines,’ Star Trek, and Shouting at Richard Simmons
“Clyde Petersen is making a movie about the time his mom kidnapped him.
“I know it’s like, ‘how can your mom kidnap you?'” Petersen laughs. “But when you just take off on a road trip across the country with your kid when legally they’re supposed to be with their dad and you tell nobody, it’s pretty much a kidnapping.” – Kelton Sears, Seattle Weekly | December 5, 2013
Reign Supreme brings international break dancing talent to Seattle competition
“When you hear the words “Seattle” and “hip hop,” it’s possible that a red-haired emcee rocking your grandpa’s hand-me-downs comes to mind.
But thanks to events, such as the Reign Supreme break-dancing competition, Macklemore isn’t the only one making a name for hip hop culture in the Emerald City.” – Gabrielle Nomura, NW Asian Weekly | December 6, 2013
It’s Your Last Week to See A Gargantuan, Blackened, Indoor Forest Made of Paper
“About a month ago I went to the Hoh Rainforest for a piece I was writing at the time. While I was there I came across an enormous fallen tree, wider than I was tall. The tree was big enough for me and the friend I went with to walk on top side by side.
Over at Suyama Space in Belltown, two artists managed to recreate the overwhelming immensity of the Hoh Rainforest with their installation Drawn From The Olympics(which we also wrote about here). It’s closing this Friday, and definitely worth a visit before it gets stuffed in the world’s largest recycling bin.” -Kelton Sears, Seattle Weekly | December 9, 2013 | Photo by Kelton Sears
Meet Emery Jones, boy science wonder
“There’s a new hero for our time, whose adventures rival those of Harry Potter and who uses his imagination and intelligence to solve problems such as how to bring a school bully back from the Triassic period after he tampers with our hero’s time machine. He’s Emery Jones, the curious science genius of Moms Mabley Elementary School.” -Robin Lindey, Crosscut | December 10, 2013
Selected upcoming events around Seattle
November 23 – January 12 | James and the Giant Peach | Seattle Children’s Theatre
December 14 – January 4 | Cristin Ford, Planar Visions | Length by Width by Height Gallery
December 12 | The Laurelton: No Place Like Home | Vermillion Gallery
December 14 | DIY Holiday Fest | The Vera Project
December 14 | Holiday Bazaar Gnar | InartsNW
December 20-21 | Indie Book Fair | A/NT Gallery
December 18-23 | That Perfect Gift | Alki Arts at the Harbor Steps
For great gift ideas check out our Holiday Gift Guide!
