Modernism in the Pacific Northwest: The Mythic & the Mystical

Left: Modernism in the Pacific Northwest Brochure Cover (with detail of Moving Moments [1970] by Mark Tobey)
Center: Signs and Messengers [1967] by Mark Tobey
Right: Crane Holding a Snail and Dancing [1945] by Morris Graves


The exhibition Modernism in the Pacific Northwest: The Mythic & the Mystical contains many interesting pieces from the Marshall and Helen Hatch Collection. The Hatchs started collecting Northwest art in the 1970s and donated the collection to the Seattle Art Museum in 2009. They knew many of the artists personally. The artists included in the exhibit are Mark Tobey (1890 – 1976), Morris Graves (1910 – 2001), Kenneth Callahan (1905 – 1986), Guy Anderson (1906 – 1998), Tony Angell (1940 - ), George Tsutakawa (1910 – 1997), and Philip McCracken (1928 - ). An interesting note is that many of the artists included in the exhibit worked at or for the Seattle Art Museum.

Subtitles like The Mythic & the Mystical could be enough to put you off from seeing this this exhibition, but don’t. It’s actually an interesting exhibit. It makes up for the bit of a snooze that was the last exhibit at SAM: Miró: The Experience of Seeing – Seattle Art Museum.

What is modernism? As one site put it, “modernism is notoriously difficult to define clearly because the term encompasses a variety of specific artistic and philosophical movements…”. I think this aspect defined in the Wikipedia page for Modernism is a pretty good starting point for the purposes of this exhibit:

“[modernism] includes the activities and creations of those who felt the traditional forms of art, architecture, literature, religious faith, philosophy, social organization, and activities of daily life were becoming outdated in the new economic, social, and political environment of an emerging fully industrialized world.”

As for dates, modernism began in the late 19^th century and carried on into the 20^th century. The artists in this exhibition began creating art in the 1920s onward, developing a variation of Modernism that employed the symbolic abstract art of the Native Americans of the Northwest and Asian art. For a brief period, Tobey, Morris, Graves, Callahan, and Anderson were at the forefront of Modernism before the spotlight shifted east to the New York artists, like Hans Hoffman (1980 – 1966) and Jackson Pollock (1912 – 1956).

Favorites

Mark Tobey is an artist we’ve always been aware of (as good citizens of the Northwest), but finally in this exhibit we were finally able to develop an appreciation of his work. Examples of his work in the exhibit include the busy urban scene of E Pluribus Unum [1942] (Tempera on paper mounted on paperboard), the Asian-influenced Broadway Girl [1957] (Sumi ink on paper), his calligraphic-like Signs and Messengers [1967] (Tempera on board), and Moving Moments (detail) [1970] (Oil on canvas), which appears on the brochure for the exhibition.

Morris Graves was definitely the artist we were most intrigued with in the exhibit. Many pieces on display powerfully express his views about war, for example, confusion and devastation in Oh, Where are the Bright Birds [1944] (Charcoal, ink, and transparent and opaque watercolor on Japanese paper, mounted on linen), and hope at the end of the war with an unlikely dance (peace) between a crane and a snail in Crane Holding a Snail and Dancing [1945] (Opaque and transparent watercolor on gold-toned paper).

Is Moor Swan [1933], an earlier piece featuring a black swam, a metaphor for being gay? We knew Graves was gay (through information at the exhibition) and later learned (according to this article: Gay Mystic Painters) that Tobey and Anderson were also gay.

Perhaps two works by Graves that really stood out where: Spring with Machine Age Noise [1957] (Sumi ink on Chinese paper) and Spring with Machine Age Noise, No. 3 [1957] (Ink, transparent and opaque watercolor on paper). The description to these works includes this: “There is a strip at the bottom of some of the paintings with a little indication of the movement of spring, but the rest of the painting is given over to noise –discordance- nature violated – aggressive machine noise.” YES! Perhaps someone to consider for my Just-Say-No-To-Noise club (a la Noise and Nuisance; Bronzino to Babbage).

Finally, we’ll mention Leo Kenney who, as an information card put it, “painted his own lamentation for the end of the world and then his own retreat into the realm of imagination under the influence of mescaline.” It shows in works like Metamorphosis [1948] (Ink and gouache on Chinese paper) and Voyage for Two [1953] (Gouache on Chinese paper).

Left: Modernism in the Pacific Northwest Exhibit Wall
Center: Broadway Girl [1957] by Mark Tobey
Left: E Pluribus Unum [1942] by Mark Tobey

Left: Moor Swan [1933] by Morris Graves
Right: Oh, Where are the Bright Birds [1994] by Morris Graves
Left: Spring with Machine Age Noise [1957] by Morris Graves
Right: Spring with Machine Age Noise, No. 3 [1957] by Morris Graves

Left: Metamorphosis [1948] by Leo Kenney
Right: Voyage for Two [1953] by Leo Kenney

A Visit to the British Natural History Museum

Central Hall: Stitched Photo; Darwin Statue; Diplodocus; A Monkey Looks Down on Darwin


The Natural History Museum in Kensington has always been a must-visit museum for us, so when we finally got to spend a few days in London, it was at the top of the list of things to see. And, it did not disappoint. Entering the central hall and walking around the diplodocus is worth the price of admission alone (oh wait, it’s free to enter). Be sure to climb the stairs and get as high as you can to get great views of the hall. From on high, you can really appreciate the details of the construction and design including some 78 monkeys climbing three of the arches, some looking down into the hall and at the statue of Darwin. And, look up because there are plants on the ceiling! The ceiling panels “show plant species of economic importance in Britain, such as tea, coffee and cotton.”

The museum opened to the public in 1881, but the museum collection goes back to 1753, when Sir Hans Sloane (1660 – 1753) left his collection to the nation. It was Richard Owen (1804 – 1892) who took charge of the collection and persuaded the Government to fund the current building. It was designed by Alfred Waterhouse (1830 – 1905) in the German Romanesque style, with substantial input from Owen. On its opening, the museum was hailed as ‘a true temple of nature’ and ‘the animal’s Westminster Abbey’.

The statue of Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) – for now – sits serenely watching over the central hall, glowing in white marble. Richard Owen, who opposed the theory of evolution by natural selection, stands in dark bronze in an out-of-the-way location under a stairwell. I believe the statue of Owen was facing that of Darwin’s bulldog, Thomas Henry Huxley (1825 – 1985). No rest for poor Owen. Richard Fortey, in Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum, says: “Oddly, the dark bronze of Owen seems more out of place, as if its metallic heaviness were symbolic of the arguments lost to the presiding genius of Darwin, beatified in marble.” The statue of Owen looks like a statue of Darth Vader on first glance.

Right: A Group Poses Next to Darwin, Girl Sneaks a Peak at Darwin; Right: Statue of Richard Owen Looking Like Darth Vader
 


But one can’t stay in the central hall forever as there are many things to see. In our 6 hours of meandering around, including a break for lunch, we hardly scratched the surface of the museum. To help you organize your visit, the museum has a color coding scheme of blue, green, red, and orange zones, each representing a theme. It’s worth consulting the floor plans before visiting so you can make the most of your time there. Some things we saw and recommend:

Green zone

• Central Hall - discussed above.
• Minerals - Wow. The room is overwhelming, but is a good look at how the museum appeared to the first visitors in 1881. From the information board in the room: “This gallery houses the Museum’s scientific collection of minerals, which is one of the finest and most comprehensive in the world. Some 12,600 specimens are on display here, representing over 2,000 of the 3,700 known mineral species.” Be sure to go all the way through to the end of the room to reach The Vault, which contains rare and beautiful specimens.

Blue zone

• Mammals (blue whale) - The centerpiece of the room is the blue whale model. I think I read somewhere in the gallery that the model is considered to be a bit wider than a normal blue whale. Still, very impressive.
• Dinosaurs - I found this room a bit confusing, hot, and claustrophobic. The museum has constructed a one-way path that culminates with an animated T. rex. It felt a little contrived, like being in a big dinosaur-mambo line, a big tease to the beast. I suppose it’s the only practical way to control the flow of people. And, you just have to go to this room if you visit the museum.
• Speaking of dinosaur, Sir Richard Owen coined the term meaning “terrible lizard”.

Orange zone

• Darwin Center – An eight-story, cocoon-shaped structure that houses working spaces for staff conducting research and museum space. Go up to the top to enter the cocoon. It doesn’t have the immediate impact as the blue whale or the T. rex, but does have beautiful exhibits and intriguing spaces when you take the time to explore it.

Red zone

• We whizzed through this part because we were running out of time. We would not recommend starting with these galleries if you are on tight schedule.

Mammal (Blue Whale) Gallery: Both Ends


Left: Ceiling Panels Depicting Plants;  Right: Central Hall with Diplodocus


Left: Red Zone; Right: Blue Zone - Dinosaur Gallery



The Mineral Gallery and Information About the Layout
 

More Photographs of the Central Hall of the British Natural History Museum: Monkeys, Beams, and Arches
 

 

NW 65th Street and 7th Avenue NW Graffiti

From the article Seattle's secretive graffiti world steps out of the shadows, the work is described as this:

Adjacent to the Ballard Goodwill, in an overgrown, fenced-off lot, there is this wall. From left to right are the works of Video, Huemr and Weirdo. On the left, "Video" has signed his name in curvy blues and purples. In the center, "Huemr" leaps out from sunset reds, yellows and oranges. On the right, “Weirdo” is emblazoned in surreal, futuristic letterforms that seem to materialize out of a mist. Their marks may be indecipherable to some, but there is method to each type of madness. Each lettering style adheres to a unique set of rules, patterns and techniques. When you understand the conventions, the symbols, the letters, become more apparent and recognizable.

On this bright Sunday morning, the abandoned lot adjacent to the fence containing the images is full of purple vetch (Vicia), dill (Anethum graveolens), alfalfa (Medicago sativa), clover (Trifolium), and hawkweek (Hieracium).

Other Photographs of the Fence

London Graffiti and Street Art Tour

Left: Paul Don Smith; Center: Pure Evil “Keith Haring”; Right: Steam 156 Sticker
  
We took the London Street Art and Graffiti Tour a few weeks ago while in London for a few days. The tour provides a fascinating glimpse into a fascinating aspect of London culture. We highly recommend the tour. Our only regret is that we didn’t sign up for the longer tour. We only did the two hour tour and we never made it over to Brick Lane (and we’ve been kicking ourselves for it ever since).

We met the tour guide Frank (aka Steam 156) at Old Station near coffee shop in Shoreditch neighborhood neighborhood of London. At the end of two hours, I’m not sure we were really grokking the subtle difference between street art and graffiti, but we were loving it anyway and we were able to start telling different artists styles.

Artists we saw on the tour – and, by not means, at all complete are shown below. Enjoy!

Ben Wilson [UK] – you’ll never look at gum on the sidewalk the same way again.

Ben Eine [UK] – It’s all about the lettering. “Worth More”

Paul Don Smith [UK] – stencil-based work, that is everywhere when you start to look. For an explanation of the black banker silhouette image that he uses as a tag, see interview London Art Spot: Paul “DON” Smith at the Little London Observationalist (great title).

Teddy Badden – Like dogs? Check out his work.

Conor Harrington* [Irish] - historic and hypermodern work. Bio.

Gregos [French] – sculpture, faces.

Andy Seize [UK] – bright colors, superheroes, cartoons.

Otto Schade* [Chile] – surrealist images.
Mobstr – It’s all about the words.

Banksy – We did not see any Banksy work on the tour. It was either removed or blocked from view.

Endless [UK] – cultural references. Left: Shoreditch; Right: Soho

Invader [French] – pixelation with tiles.

Stik [UK] – Well, stick-like figures.

Left: Cityzen Kane [UK] – sculpture, interview, YouTube channel.
Right: ROA [Belgium] – black and white animals.

Left: Phlegm [UK] – monochrome images of elongated creature in fantastical settings.
Right: Pez [Spain] – happy, smiling fish. www.el-pez.com and Lily Mixe [French] – patterns, sea creatures.

Left: C215 [French] - stencil work.
Right: Jana and JS [Austria/French] (partnership) – stencils, people.

Alice Pasquini* [Italy] - people, and to my eye, it’s about the eyes.

Swoon* [USA] - life-size wheatpaste prints and paper cutouts of human figures.

Bortusk Leer - happy monsters on newspaper.

Pure Evil – aka Charles Uzzell Edwards - Crying pop stars, nightmare series.

Left: RONE [Australia]
Right: Mysterious Al [UK] – street franks (Frankensteins).

Left: Scatterugly (aka Mala influncia) [Mexico] – the not-so-pretty side of life? See this interview.
Right: Faith47 [Cape Town, South Africa] – urban image, human condition.

Left: 616 – reminds me of fish.
Right: Burning Candy Crew - UK’s most prolific nonconsensual painters and decorators. Composed of DSCREET , SWEET TOOF , CYCLOPS, TEK 33, LL BRAINWASHED, CEPT, GOLD PEG, MIGHTY MO and ROWDY.