DB: Hip and Chic
This weekend I had the pleasure of wandering about in the rain through the strange and vibrant Fremont neighborhood of Seattle with a mentor and friend in the music industry. I hadn’t been back there in a while, not since I would faithfully set up a booth bright and early Sunday mornings for their hip and chic outdoor market. Everything about this neighborhood screams progressive arts community, and as we pass the borrowed statue of Lenin we share a laugh at the christmas-lights star placed on the top of his head. It feels free and fun here, the fronts of the shops painted in rich independent tones or embellished with nonsensical NASA surplus. Even the grey drizzle can’t mask the feeling of inspired fun lingering in the steam pouring out of restaurant roofs.
The hip and chic market is freeking expensive, however. The stall tenders aren’t apt to haggle, so I don’t buy much of anything. I saw those boots last week at the thrift-store on So. 72nd for a tenth of the price … you rag pickers must be put out by eBay. That’s the funny thing about these progressive “arts” communities. The second you get a PCC everyone feels justified tripling the price of their cheese.
Wandering about downtown Tacoma is a little different scene. Take Market street from The Swiss to The Murano, for instance. All I can see is large flat grey empty concrete angular shapes. Rather Communist Russia of us, I will admit, but a far cry from a huge bronze piece of three dimensional propaganda.
My friend and I wandered to the taco-spot down the street to sit inside and compare song stories over Mexican fare. He starts telling me how last week someone put an orange road cone on Lenin’s head and how at first he was annoyed but then he saw how funny it was, how easy it was for it to be funny. Can we please get a statue of a horrible dictator who has killed millions of people? Tollefson Plaza is far too serious.
I may not be the only one to have suggested this, but seriously, we need some irony here. Perhaps the native-american woman holding the phallic symbol with the fish in her hair wasn’t the worst idea ever … we just weren’t looking at it through the right lens. Maybe it will inspire people to get a little more creative with the exterior of their small business. So far the (ridiculously popular) Irish and Tex-Mexican bars are the only people who have any sort of decorative theme that can be seen from the street.
Stalin? Mousillini? Pol Pot? Bono? Pope Jean Paul Eggs Benedict? Lighten up Tacoma and paint something red. It’s good for business.
Filed under: DB
45 comments
T Thorax O'Tool January 13, 2009
Kim Il-Sung?
Only problem is that Fremont is a decidedly artsy community. Folks know that when they pass thru. That Lenin statue would not still be standing if it were in Ravenna, Green Lake, Queen Anne of the Financial District.
If we put up a statue of Mao in Tollefson plaza as it is today, we’d probably have Homeland Security harassing everyone withing a 3 mile radius… too many people of a uber-serious nature pass thru that corridor.
I’m not saying a random statue of $dictatior$ is a bad idea, just that unless we want a backlash, start a little smaller and work up to the bronze Hideki Tōjō
T Thorax O'Tool January 13, 2009
apologies for the double post, but in true T’OT fashion, I just thought of something more to add…
Why don’t we have a decidely artsy part of town? The closest analogs I can think of are near the UWT or St Helens… but those areas aren’t exactly ready for prime time yet.
We always say we want art and artists, the city says it wants art and artists, etc, but yet we don’t just go out and do it.
I know plaster… anyone know bronze? Let’s get crackin’ here. If we don’t go out and make or get what we want, no one will give it to us.
2 253lover January 13, 2009
There is a sweet piece of iron work, that also doubles as a beer garden, by Tacomas own Joe Miller in front of the Top of Tacoma… it incorporates Tops and even a secret 253… If you haven’t seen it you should check it out.
T Tora! Tora! Laura! January 13, 2009
Artists are doing the work but Tacoma needs to step up, show up to our shows, and buy our work.
And I don’t want to hear the tired argument that original art is not affordable!
You only have to look at how many galleries have opened and closed in Tacoma in the past ten years to see that gallery owners eventually tire of putting on good exhibits only to have the pocket cookie stuffers and people looking for free wine show up.
And no matter how much people say that they love art, love doesn’t pay for art materials or the space for galleries to hang good work.
R RR Anderson January 14, 2009
I blame the commies.
R Roland January 14, 2009
We have a statue of Henrik Ibsen in Wright Park, I like that one. Playwright. Wrote sympathetic women characters.
But Daniel, I don’t think you can say Lenin “killed millions of people”. I think you’re confusing him with Stalin.
If I remember correctly, after the assassination attempt on Lenin, he authorized the formation of the secret police, the Cheka. They killed off the Czar’s family, and then kept going and killed thousands, not millions, during Lenin’s time in power. Not that thousands don’t matter, but it’s a far cry from millions, and not unusual for any leader of a country during that time.
I believe the largest number of deaths during Lenin’s time were due to the civil war going on, and while you can “blame” Lenin, I don’t think it was in the millions, and civil wars are a bitch, and not quite the same as secret police killings.
Because if that’s your standard, you could call Lincoln a mass murderer. Many have I suppose.
Anyway, compared to Stalin, Hitler, the KMT, Mao, and good old Colonialism by the “nice” western powers like Britain, the US, France, Holland, etc., Lenin was a rank amateur at murder.
E Erik B. January 14, 2009
Yes, we had race cars zooming around the Tacoma Dome in the 80s and now we can’t get it together enough to fill Tollefson Plaza. Sad.
Clearly, something is lacking.
Not enough humans downtown. There’s only some many ways to arrange the same people who hang out downtown.
R Roland January 14, 2009
@ Tora! Tora! Laura!
I’ve recently had a particular interest in the subject of selling original art, and I agree with T!T!L!‘s comments, but would like to add a bit.
The market for original art in the Northwest sucks. It’s not just Tacoma. I’ve been spending a lot of time with art dealers and gallerists, and pieces sell for half here what they would sell for in markets like Los Angeles or San Francisco or Miami.
Why?
I don’t have a definitive answer, but I think we are a relatively immature culture here in the NW. DON’T GET MAD… It’s just as true in Seattle or Portland as Tacoma.
We don’t define ourselves with art. Historically, we’re an engineering culture here in the Northwest. Someday? Maybe. Maybe never, I don’t know.
But the simple truth of the matter is people don’t value it highly, so artists can’t make a living easily. That part of the equation is pretty simple.
Some day we’ll figure out here, as a culture, that original art truly enhances our lives in a way that can’t be replicated by anything else. But that day isn’t today.
Part of it is that people just haven’t been exposed to much original art, I suppose.
Anyway, I could go on and on, but it makes me kind of sad.
D Dave L. January 14, 2009
Interesting back-story on the Lenin statue. Parts of Fremont, particularly by the cut, are nothing like they used to be, The troll is one of the places I always show out-of-state visitors. BTW, with art walk coming up, Laura is absolutely correct
The TGP course had about a six-block long straightaway one block up from Portland Avenue on E. 25th Street. Cars heading west would turn up “A” Street for one block, then Head East to “D” Street. Then up the hill and counter-clockwise around the Dome and back down again, curving down “G” Street with a sharp turn back onto E. 25th. Pedestrian bridges would let people in and out between heats.
D Dave L. January 14, 2009
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Lenin_(Seattle)
M Mofo from the Hood January 14, 2009
AMERICA. Love it or Leave it.
D Douglas Tooley January 14, 2009
We could use a Suzie Burke in Tacoma, Fremont’s largest property owner and probably the brightest business light in that City with any integrity.
But, FWIW, I don’t think she’d wear a traffic cone…
T Thorax O'Tool January 14, 2009
Anyone know how to reach her?
Maybe if we picked her brain, we could get some helpful tips/ideas/advice
S Sandy January 15, 2009
How about a bronze of the ever hopeful, ever tenacious Elmer Fud? (Sometimes my “inner Elmer” manifests the following equation: “kill da waaabit” = “sell da arrrt”)
S Soeleventh Tacomaave January 15, 2009
Mofo @ 12:
What the hell does that have to do with anything?
Were you detecting an anti-American feeling hidden
between the strands of this thread?
You sir, oft sound like a bible thumping redneck homo gangster yuppie.
Which is hard to immagine, I know.
The rainbow is wide, and contains all shades.
Tacoma is totally pinko commie, btw. We need to paint a giant red star on the top of the dome….so they know where to land and set up headquarters when they come for our oil and hamburgers.
M Mofo from the Hood January 15, 2009
@16 Soeleventh Tacomaave:
In your mind, what does anything have to do with anything? Take two hits of windowpane acid and write me in the morning.
T Thorax O'Tool January 15, 2009
@ 12 and @ 16…
Now imagine that exchange, only for real (assuming the mentioned above are playing around) and on a much larger scale.
THAT’S why just going out putting up a statue of Mao in Tollefson tomorrow may not be such a good idea.
Start small and work up to the statue.
Speak of, who else is down with having the bronze likeness of Hadrian grace our Fair City?
T Tora! Tora! Laura! January 15, 2009
Thorax, you are soooooooooooo esoteric and avant-guard. I say we erect a monolith carved with a special mystic sub-routine.
T Tora! Tora! Laura! January 15, 2009
I meant to say BASIC special, mystic, sub-routine.
M Mofo from the Hood January 15, 2009
Who all wants the Ten Commandments posted on Tollefson Plaza? C’mon y’all. This city is half past time for a revival. C’mon! It’s time to fight the good fight.
There’s a lot of people rebelling against what they don’t understand. A lot of people have never heard truth and when it comes their way they scream like a (deleted for the sensitive folk). I’m talkin’ about the free citizens out there who consider themselves classless. Uh huh. And where did those people get their ideas? From folks like me that can sell ‘em a slogan and a t-shirt—-and a tootsie pop for the road (so’s I can remind ‘em what their mouth is for).
T Thorax O'Tool January 16, 2009
T!T!L!… can you imagine it?
A huge sheet of metal emblazoned with more Goto’s and INPUT’s than the average mere mortal could handle!
Just picture the Kryptos sculpture @ the CIA… only in BASIC
I think we got a good idea for a joint project now ;)
Who’s in?
T Tora! Tora! Laura! January 16, 2009
I Like it!!!!!! I think we should also add a reflecting pond in the shape of a manssiere – once I figure out what one looks like…
R RR Anderson January 16, 2009
after a brief reflection I feel my last comment may come off as a little dark.
I blame my democracy now podcast.
BUSH IS A WAR CRIMINAL! STOP THE MURDER IN GAZA!
T Thorax O'Tool January 16, 2009
Hey!
That’s it! For our statue, we can get something so offensive that it’s patriotic!
A life-sized bronze George W Bush.
Some will be thrilled, others revolted… just like with the Lenin statue.
R RR Anderson January 16, 2009
more better: name the upgraded sewage treatment plant the “George W. Bush Memorial Sewage Treatment Plant”
M Mofo from the Hood January 17, 2009
It just seems to me that Tollefson Plaza would look much more inviting if it was heavily populated with mannequins—-pleasant faces and svelte bodies conservatively dressed like the kind you see at Macy’s.
R RR Anderson January 17, 2009
i still like your tollefson basket ball court idea mofo
M Mofo from the Hood January 17, 2009
20-foot tall chain-link fence. A couple of surplus single pole hoops. A water fawcett. Open 24-hours but no special lighting other than what filters in from pre-existing sources outside the perimeter.
U um January 18, 2009
DB is Tacoma’s very own Sarah Palin.
R rick January 18, 2009
Having moved a couple months ago, I no longer take exit 133 to get home, but instead, exit 300B in Oregon. And, I’ve not read THIS blog since I moved. So, I feel a bit like the guy that sends his ex-girlfriend a 3am text [I still love you exit 133… sorry I slept with your sister!].
Alas, the planets have aligned and I, former chief TO’T antagonist can for once support a TO’T statement (@26). Good for you, Thorax. I’ll be there for the GW statue unveiling, and will subsequently be arrested for public urination on said statue.
T Thorax O'Tool January 18, 2009
@ Rick
To that, sir, I tip my hat.
M Mofo from the Hood January 19, 2009
How many people want Tollefson Plaza to display a bronze statue of King George III?
(That would be so ironic and progressive and beyond profound.)
M Mofo from the Hood January 19, 2009
King George III?
Sounds a bit un-American you silly f’er.
M Mofo from the Hood January 19, 2009
@35 “Sounds a bit un-American…”
Oh no, not at all. A statue of King George III would be art if I say it’s art. Besides, I’m a citizen of the world. Classless and free.
A altered chords January 19, 2009
I think it’s tragic that mofo feels the need to carry on a dialogue with himself on this blog.
Mofo – dude – you need to get out more.
Must be a Gemini
M Mofo from the Hood January 19, 2009
It is a fact based on evidential appraisal and logical judgement that I am a Gemini. However, I am not just a Gemini. I am an artist and I am NOT as was inferred at @35, a silly f’er.
M Mofo from the Hood January 19, 2009
@38: Based on the empirical evidence, I would say that there is a high probability that you are a silly f’er. However, I will allow a 3% margin for error.
M Mofo from the Hood January 19, 2009
@34: You’re proposing a statue in Tollefson Plaza U.S.A. of a monarch? How exactly does that contribute to critical thinking and education and the honor and glory of our population?
You’re not a silly f’er. You’re far worse. You’re a Seattlite!
M Mofo from the Hood January 19, 2009
@40: I am not a Seattlite. I was born a Gemini. Do you think anyone would choose to be a Seattlite? I accept that some people are Seattlites, but I do not endorse their behavior. Let the Seattlites have their Seattlite symbols and parades—-in Seattle.
M Mofo from the Hood January 19, 2009
You low down stinkin’ Seattlephobe!
M Mofo from the Hood January 19, 2009
@42: Right. So what are you? A self-appointed pseudo-mental health expert?
M Mofo from the Hood January 19, 2009
Could we just get back on topic? This is getting crazy. Who wants Tacoma to display statues of dictators?
A altered chords January 19, 2009
I do not want a statue of a dictator in Tacoma.
Why mimic a Seattle neighborhood.
Put in a statue of Albert Einstein.
M Mofo from the Hood January 19, 2009
@34: You think a statue of King George III would be beyond profound?
Let’s not confuse profundity with obscurity.
T Thorax O'Tool January 20, 2009
I went crazy once.
They took me away into a padded room.
I loved that room.
I would sit under a tree sometimes.
I loved that tree.
When I died, they buried me under that tree.
I loved that tree.
I went crazy once.
They took me away into a padded room.
I loved that room.
I would sit under a tree sometimes.
I loved that tree.
When I died, they buried me under that tree.
I loved that tree.
I went crazy once.
They took me away into a padded room.
I loved that room.
I would sit under a tree sometimes.
I loved that tree.
When I died, they buried me under that tree.
I loved that tree.
I went crazy once.
They took me away into a padded room.
I loved that room.
I would sit under a tree sometimes.
I loved that tree.
When I died, they buried me under that tree.
I loved that tree.