Visual Arts
If last year’s selection is any indication, the
collection of visual art exhibits slated for this year’s
Bumbershoot should be some of the most exciting material
seen locally this year. Bumbershoot always seems to attract
a certain level of curatorial acumen and this year looks to
be no exception. Along with some intriguing sounding
interactive audio/visual installations by six different
artists and a graffiti art showcase, "Aperture
Magazine" has collaborated with Photographic Center
Northwest to bring their 50-year retrospective to Seattle.
It will include work from Diane Arbus, Sally Mann and Nan
Goldin, among many others. This is definitely a world class
show and, with 170 photographs, should not be missed.
Probably the most exciting and sublime work will be from
one of the more interesting and sophisticated artists
working in this city today. Jodi Rockwell’s work was
exhibited at last year’s Bumbershoot and was, to my mind,
some of the most arresting I saw there. I kept going back to
look at it again and again. This year she will have an
entire room to herself. It will be refrigerated and house
red ice and salt sculptures which will slowly melt over the
course of its display. Whatever their eventual form, it will
be great. Everyone should make time to check this stuff out
some time during their visit. It’ll definitely be worth
it. —Kristopher Monroe
Literary Arts
Although the lit stuff at Bumbershoot doesn’t always
top the list of “things to do” for most festival goers,
this year really does have some pretty amazing things going
on. In addition to the top-notch conglomeration of dozens of
small press vendors, zine publishers and spoken word
performers, this year’s focus for Bumbershoot’s literary
arts is comics and the Graphic Novel. There will be panel
discussions with Harvey Pekar (“American Splendor”),
Gilbert Hernandez (“Love & Rockets”), Peter Bagge (“Hate,”
“The Bradleys”) and Jessica Abel (“Artbabe”).
Definitely some heavy hitters. There will also be a
multi-media performance by local comics artists, a manga
workshop and a couple of events designed around the idea of
the “spontaneous” creation of graphic works, like a live
“24 Hour Comic” project.
If comics aren’t your thing, Ursula Rucker will be
doing a spoken word performance and Neal Pollack will be
conducting a spoof talk-show with collaborator John Hodgman.
Writer Jonathan Raban and International World Champion Slam
Poet Buddy Wakefield will also be in attendance, as well as
Krist Novoselic, plugging his new book, “Of Grunge &
Government: Let’s Fix This Broken Democracy!” There will
also be a graphic novel exhibition, displayed on video
monitors. I’m personally interested in seeing what this
24-hour comic (created “live, by teams of artists”) is
all about. As John Lydon once said, “The written word is
alive.” —Kristopher Monroe
If nothing else, come check out the Ink Spot and see what’s
going on in the literary world. Oh, and Tablet’s a
sponsor!
Writing With Light
Chris Nelson breaks your heart. One of the most affable
and genuine human beings you’ll ever encounter; you just
want him to succeed. Luckily, he does. A man with many hats:
videographer, graphic designer and carpenter, Nelson has
built staircases for friends and photographed the Fourth of
July fireworks for Washington Mutual Bank. Still, he
maintains his sense of integrity. When offered a position to
document marketing campaigns internationally, Nelson turned
it down, choosing to complete his degree.
He found his passion on a lark, taking a photography
class for fun. He credits his love of his work to his
mentor, Chris Simons, at Shoreline Community College. In his
early black and white work, Nelson focused on landscapes.
“Trees are patient, people are not,” he says with a
laugh. In addition to his assisting with the production at
Bumbershoot, Nelson is negotiating for a new show at a yet
undisclosed gallery near Greenlake. —Ty Garfield
1 Reel Film Festival
The 1 Reel Film Festival is alive and fatter than ever. With
over 150 selections to be screened, curator Warren Etheredge
has amassed an impressive collection of live-action,
animated, experimental and documentary short films and music
videos. Etheredge claims he watches each of the over 16,000
submissions in their entirety as a matter of deference
toward the film’s creators. While he admits it’s not
always a cakewalk, he manages to find more gems than
expected.
Not even the most committed film fanatic will be sitting
in the Intiman’s darkened theater their entire visit to
Bumbershoot, but, given the sheer diversity of the
programming, there seems to be something for almost
everyone, no matter what their interests. Along with shorts
from the “Daily Show”'s Matt Unger and one from a
co-creator of “The Simpsons,” there will be Katrin Bowen’s
“Almost Forgot My Bones,” an official selection at
Cannes, and numerous offerings from award-winning filmmakers
from around the world.
As with any festival this big, the individual selections
are going to be hit or miss, but with so many choices there’s
always going to be something to like. From what I’ve seen
so far, the animated shorts appear to be far better than the
live action shorts—perhaps because animation is given more
to the short form than a live action narrative—but the
animated shorts I saw were absolutely amazing. The program
is divided into one hour presentations with themes like “Old
School/New School,” “Lechers & Lotharios” and “Life,
Liberty, Whatever…” The films are all short enough that,
if you don’t like something, all you have to do is just
wait, you might like the next one. —Kristopher Monroe
Most films will be screened at the Intiman Theater. The
Best of The Fest will screen Monday evening at 5:30pm. Check
bumbershoot.org for more info.
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