Friday the 13th - "Vegetarians Beware"

South Seas Luau action on Friday the 13th? BLVD Gallery in Belltown is starting their new show off the right way with an opening luau on a night known for strange happenings.

work by Darvin Vida and Iosefatu Sua, opening at BLVD

BLVD gallery is proud to present TIKKKI, a show of new works by Iosefatu Sua and Darvin Vida that is a view of tikki culture from an authentic Pacific island perspective. The imagery for “TIKKKI” will revolve around the use of shameful imagery from Americas past wed with a Polynesian aesthetic to challenge and bring into sharp focus the disparity between reality and Tiki culture. Artist Iosefatu Sua first conceived of this concept as a response to what he viewed as a skewed and often condescending ideal of Island culture that is presented as “Tiki Culture.” Iosefatu desired to create a body of work that would expose the racial fetishism and cultural misappropriation that Exotica represents with its view of Pacific Islanders as Noble Savages and hyper sexualized Hula girls. These caricatures have nothing to do with the harsh reality of the rampant poverty and loss of culture in Islander communities and serve to perpetuate these circumstances by removing the focus on real people and supplanting the proud traditions with Kitsch and cocktails.

Coincidentally, a Seattle Art News source saw an entire pig being loaded into a restaurant in the ID this afternoon - as she was considering the pork no less. Yum? Not for dainty art types indeed. Luckily, I've spent more time on a pig farm than the average girl, which I hope has prepared me for whatever could be happening tomorrow night.

BLVD Gallery is located at 2316 Second Avenue, Seattle, Wa 98121. As long as you're there, of course you're going to Roq La Rue for the opening of "Kukula and Nicoletta Ceccoli," two artists who create paintings of young women in fanciful, melancholic situations.

Not too far away, the opening reception for “Up & Now 12th Annual Photographic Competition Exhibition” at the Photographic Center Northwest.

This annual juried exhibition draws entries from across the country and around the world, and remains among the most popular shows in PCNW's annual schedule. The competition is open to all photographers, all photographic processes, and all themes. The exhibition includes 25 photographers from the world, including WA photographer Charles Peterson. Juror Charlotte Cotton is Department Head and Curator of Photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

The PCNW Gallery is located at 900 12th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122.