An inadequate but sincere thank you, on Thanksgiving
As far as I can figure, I have the Snohomish and Puget Sound Salish people to thank for allowing me to live here. I would also like to thank the Hibulb Cultural Center for teaching my family about these peoples.
On Thanksgiving Day (such as it is), I would also like to thank the Duwamish people, the traditional stewards of the land that hosts my friends, art events and privileges I enjoy in Seattle. If you’d like to acknowledge artists descended from Chief Seattle:
consider visiting the exhibit “We’re Still Here” at Seattle’s Central Library (through December 15th)
consider buying artwork from the Chief Seattle Club booth on December 7th.
You can also show your support year-round by donating to Real Rent Duwamish. Contributions go toward sustaining Duwamish people and culture, which is more difficult without federal tribal recognition.
Larry Calkins: a lot of Lincoln, a lot to think about
Abraham Lincoln: you know him, you love him, right? Well, maybe not. You don’t know Lincoln like Larry Calkins knows Lincoln.
The sixteenth American president is all over Gallery IMA; not surprising once you learn Calkins “love[s] Lincoln because he is like a god, something other.” Even some of the non-Lincoln pieces seem to take on his features: the tall, rigid chair of the sculpture “Writing Desk,” the dark patches on “Moon Boat” that look vaguely like a face in a tintype photo.
It seems apropos that the artist centers Lincoln in a way that calls up images, and nightmares, of childhood. Even now, schools present Lincoln to kids as the guy in the stovepipe hat who freed the slaves. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and led the Civil War — but only after enslaved people had led massive rebellions or freed themselves. Later, he successfully pushed Congress to pass the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery nationwide… which is great except for that little loophole prisons often use to exploit inmate labor.
Such a larger-than-life reputation makes me think of Seattle’s own image to people living outside the Northwest. Seattle still gets a lot of mileage out of being A Progressive City in a blue state. The reality is more complicated, especially for brown and black people. Given the chance to end a ban on affirmative action, this blue state decided, “… nah.” Recently, a teen author was even more blunt about being a person of color in Seattle schools: The book is titled “You Failed Us.” Larry Calkins’ work is thought-provoking, but perhaps only to those ready to do some more thinking.
The value of throwaway photos
What good is a digital photo if it never leaves your camera?
Forget about digital cameras — when was the last time you actually printed out a smartphone photo? Delete, delete, delete. Paradoxically, I’m finding throwaway photos make it easier for me to be a working artist.
My smartphone has become my other short-term memory bank. Before I leave the studio for the day, I now take a photo, then type a little text to remind me of where I left off. Even an image without text helps. It gets me back into the creative flow, even when days pass before I can continue a work-in-progress.
And that visual reminder saves time too: I don’t need to un-glue a collage element to fix a preventable mistake. As Jacqui Palumbo noted in a recent article: “We are taking more photos than ever today, but do we really value them?“ Oh yes, yes I do… especially when the rest of my life elbows its way past my studio practice. How do you use your ‘useless’ photos? Tell me on Instagram or Facebook.