This Week’s Events: Sept 24 – Sept 30, 2007

Motel #2 is still continuing 24 hours a day through the end of this week (Friday to be exact). And the cat is out of the bag: the no-tell motel top secret location is Seal’s Motel, 12035 Aurora, Rm 16, as reported in other blogs of well repute. Attendees are asked to be respectful of the hotel and not disturb the guests.

As fun as driving on Aurora Avenue is, if you just can’t make it, performances are still streaming live on the web. I honestly don’t know which feels creepier – watching people through windows or watching people via webcam. Enjoy!

Thursday, September 27

Seattle Art Museum – “A Celebration of Family, Fortune and Piety: New Art Forms for the Renaissance Palazzo,” a Pivotal Perspectives presentation revolving around two ‘tondi’ (or circular paintings) currently on view at SAM. Roberta J.M. Olson, Curator of Drawings at the New York Historical Society and author of The Florentine Tondo, will discuss the history, style and profound associations of these unique circular paintings that held a magical appeal (even for Leonardo), as well as other exquisite examples of art made for the home. 7–8 pm, Plestcheeff Auditorium. $5 Members, $7 Nonmembers, $3 Students/Seniors, Free to Decorative Arts and Paintings Council members. Call the SAM Box Office at 206.654.3121. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis and reservations are released ten minutes prior to start time.

Howard House – “Matthew Offenbacher: Captain of a Huckleberry Party” in the Front Gallery and “Robert Yoder: Air Supply” in the Center Gallery. Opening Reception from 6-8 pm. The show will continue to November 10, 2007.

“Coronation” by Robert Yoder and “Some Rothko Problems” by Matthew Offenbacher, both opening at Howard House.

Artist Trust - “Moving Forward: Resources for Artists,” a free workshop for artists working in all disciplines. Miguel Guillen, Information Services Manager for Artist Trust, will discuss the essentials of presenting your work; how to get informed about the funding and exhibition possibilities available to Washington State artists; and information on professional resources, health care, insurance, emergency assistance, and legal services available to artists, as well as various Artist Trust programs. The workshop will take place from 6-8 pm at The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St NW, Room B, Olympia

The Frye Art Museum – “New Works Reading Performances,” featuring Frances McCue reading poetry inspired by Franz von Stuck's painting Sin and Stacey Levine responding to the art of Patricia Piccinini in a new prose work. This event inaugurates a series of quarterly readings by writers who explore the stylistic relationships between works of art in the Frye Collection and in special exhibitions and the literary arts. 7 pm, Free admission and parking. Seating for gallery presentation is first come, first serve.

CoCA – “CoCA Cabana with Dr. Sketchy” at the Shilshole Bay Beach Club. What is Dr. Sketchy, you ask? “It’s a collection of the most dazzling burlesque dancers, the most bizarre circus performers, and the most rippling of boylesque." For this event, artists get to draw Dr. Sketchy models for three hours. Interspersed with posing are ridiculous drawing contests where you can win fancy prizes. Artists who attend the event and draw pictures will also have the opportunity to have their creations posted on the CoCa website. 6-9 pm, $10 (tickets available here). BYO sketch pad.

The Henry Art Gallery – “Open Rehearsal with Spectrum Dance Theater,” a special preview of Spectrum Dance Theater's new performance Interrupted Narratives/WAR. “Interrupted Narratives/WAR represents Donald Byrd's protest dance/theater expressing the horror and outrage of war, in the tradition of Kurt Joos's great anti-war ballet, The Green Table.” 7 pm at the Sculpture Court, Free Admission.

Lawrimore Project – “An Evening with Anne Mathern.” Join Lawrimore Project and artist Anne Mathern at 7pm as Anne deftly excises the "in" from "inscrutable" with relation to her current exhibition, "Moses Lake." Also, enjoy the World Premiere of a new Anne Mathern video, featuring everybody’s favorite fantasy metal band Doomhawk.

'Doomhawk' performs at Lawrimore Project

Friday, September 28

The Henry Art Gallery – “Come Together with Harrell Fletcher,” an event created by Portland-based artist Harrell Fletcher that brings people from different areas of a community together to exchange perspectives with one another. The Come Together event taking place at the Henry will include presentations by Fletcher and members of the Seattle community who have been affected directly by the Vietnam or Iraq wars. 6:30 pm, Free Admission.

Saturday, September 29

Museum Day - Museum Day is a nationwide event where participating museums and cultural institutions across the country offer free admission, allowing for one day only the free-admission policy of Smithsonian's Washington, D.C.-based facilities to be emulated across the country. Find a list of participating regional locations here and find your free Museum Day pass online at the Smithsonian website.

Tacoma Art Museum – New exhibition “Cecilia Beaux, American Figure Painter” opens, featuring fifty paintings and drawings by one of the most acclaimed American figure painters of the turn of the twentieth century, including her masterful portraits of high society, as well as her more intimate works depicting friends and family, landscapes, and still lifes, many of which have rarely been seen. TAM is the only West Coast venue for this exhibition, which runs through January 6, 2008.

Howard House – “Matthew Offenbacher & Robert Yoder” Artist talk, in conjunction with their new exhibits at Howard House. 12 Noon, Free Admission.

Photographic Center Northwest – "The Second Annual PhotoVision Awards," a gala dinner and auction recognizing internationally acclaimed photographer Keith Carter of Beaumont, Texas. The evening will include a three-course dinner, live art auction, and a program honoring this year's PhotoVision Award recipient. All proceeds will benefit the ongoing programs of the Photographic Center Northwest, a non-profit photography school, gallery, and community resource in Seattle, WA. An online catalogue of auction items can be seen here, Tickets are $140 each, and may be purchased at PCNW, by calling (206) 720-7222 ext. 10, or at Brown Paper Tickets.

Sunday, September 30

Seattle Art Museum – “Poet of the Ordinary: An Afternoon with Photographer Keith Carter,” a Creatively Speaking lecture. The Seattle Art Museum and Photographic Center Northwest are pleased to present a talk by artist Keith Carter on the occasion of his 2007 PhotoVision Award. Called "a poet of the ordinary" by the Los Angeles Times, Keith Carter has taken haunting, enigmatic photographs that have been widely exhibited in Europe, the United States and Latin America. 2 pm, Plestcheeff Auditorium, SAM. Tickets are $5 for Photographic Center Northwest (PCNW) members, SAM members and students; $8 for all others. Purchase lecture tickets at Photographic Center Northwest or call (206) 720-7222, ext.10.

Tacoma Art Museum – “A Conversation with the Quilters of Gees Bend,” an exciting opportunity to hear from four quilters from Gee’s Bend, Alabama, as they share stories with visitors about their isolated community in rural Alabama and ornate quilt art. Their work is part of the exhibition “Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt,” on view September 22 through December 9, 2007. The women also will be available to sign copies of the exhibition catalogue. 2 pm, $5 for members and $15 for non-members (includes museum admission).

SOIL – “2007 Art Auction” featuring ‘explosively exemplary art by SOIL and friends of SOIL.' This year’s theme is ‘SOIL TOIL,’ so, in addition to fantastic art, SOIL members each offer a unique service for auction. A preview catalog can be seen here. The auction will be held at Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave South. Doors open and silent auction begins at 3:30 pm, the live auction begins at 5 pm. $10 admission.