Motel #1 Brings Down the House

Saturday night at the Bridge Motel was no scene for claustrophobes, that's for sure. The organizers of Motel #1 deserve a big round of applause for creating an event so novel that it attracted a crowd of hundreds. But, ultimately, the event suffered from the crushing weight of too many people crammed into too small a space.

Flattened Can Spiral, by Robert Zverina, midway through it's eventual trampling

I think we can all agree - it was crowded. Overcrowded. I really wanted to see the art, unlike many people who seemed happy enough to stand in the parking lot and drink. But I wasn't able to push my way into many of the rooms. I wasn't even going to deal with the 2nd floor balcony situation. The headlines were already running through my head: "Artists to Blame for Tragic Balcony Collapse in Fremont."

The Bridge Motel, 'dressed up' for its last night of existence

On the plus side, this was the most photographed event of the season. It was like the Emmys. So for those of us who didn't manage to actually SEE anything, or only caught little glimpses around the edges of other people, there are tons of photos capturing everything for posterity. The photos here are a few of my own.

room installation by Meghan Guthrie

I left around 10:30, thinking I could enjoy next week's Motel #2 at leisure. Change of plans! Apparently the Ambassador Motel, host location of Motel #2, has 'freaked out' and decided that, for some reason or another, they DON'T want 1,200 drunken art lovers jumping on the beds and smoking weed on their balconies. But the organizers have secured a new, top-secret location in a working motel on Hwy 99, 'the dirtiest, smelliest, prostitutest, violentest strip in Seattle,' and will launch the week-long festival of endurance pieces via webcam.

I think the picture says it all.