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visit the Free Wall

Submitted by enpen on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 8:21am.

Unfortunately I'm not somewhere with the capability to upload my pictures right now, otherwise I could show you all precisely why you should visit the Capitol Theater Free Wall today, so these words will have to suffice.

To all Olympians interested in visual aesthetics, visit the Free Wall behind Capitol Theater today. The art is awesome.

edit: here it is

enpen's blog
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Best Art in Oly

Submitted by olyruby on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 8:50am.

is usually found at the Olympia Film Society Free Wall.

ps the link to the Capitol Theatre Free Wall doesnt work (site not found)

FREE THE WALLS! love, etc olyruby

thank you

Submitted by enpen on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 9:06am.

For the heads-up e-mail last night, Ruby. It made me all kinds of excited to stop by it on my walk into work this morning.

Regarding the fire: I didn't notice it right away but while showing somebody the picture on my camera they immediately picked out that the fire is an immolation. My level of respect for the piece just jumped about 20 notches higher.

Yeah, but...

Submitted by Phil Owen on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 1:54pm.

...did you NOTICE what the Dalai Lama is holding there?! Unbelievable.

The Canaanite's Call

Now

Submitted by Guglielmo on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 2:32pm.

THAT I like.

Immolation

Submitted by SBA on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 3:09pm.

Theres three countries and a continent hiding in the burning monk.

good eye

Submitted by enpen on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 11:21pm.

It all started popping out the moment I read your response. Thanks.

why?

Submitted by shackdaddy on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 3:27pm.

Um... why is that cool? Sure, it's edgy and well-executed, but that doesn't give it any sort of moral cred. I find it mainly sickening, and I DO have a sense of humor.

seeking shalom,

Dave Shackelford

Well...

Submitted by Guglielmo on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 3:37pm.

Would you rather see something that's at least "edgy and well-executed" or just more big, fat, colorful, overlapping letters with excessive highlights and sparkles? That's a false dichotomy I know. But I'm just sayin'...

just registering my surprise...

Submitted by enpen on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 11:40pm.

I'm slightly surprised that when you look at graffiti you're seeing "big, fat, colorful, overlapping letters with excessive highlights and sparkles." The artistic process is shared regardless of medium and the sheer number of hours it takes to develop some of these skills can be staggering. For example, I don't much care to listen to Steve Vai's music as it's a lot of excessive highlights and sparkles to me, but damn if I don't see and respect the process it took him to get there. If we artists are knocking each other down when we're all just a bunch of fools compelled to pursue some flighty muse, who's going to stick up for us?

But I do see a lot of

Submitted by Guglielmo on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 11:08am.

"big, fat, colorful, overlapping letters with excessive highlights and sparkles," which is why I was so pleased to see somthing that wasn't a collection of big, fat, colorful, overlapping letters with excessive highlights and sparkles. But, yes, I certainly appreciate the time, effort, and skill involved.

moral cred?

Submitted by enpen on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 11:27pm.

It's cool because that's my subjective experience. If we're talking about a spectrum here, "mainly sickening" isn't even visible for me. Curiosity is way up there, along with appreciation for the skill, time and process it must have taken to get to this point. And I don't understand how a sense of humor relates to it...

What do you think of Kara Walker?
My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love
photo courtesy of Walker Art Center

My first reaction was

Submitted by Guglielmo on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 11:18am.

"those are funny." Then I read about it, and now they're not. Now that's funny.

Here's a cool one on

Submitted by Guglielmo on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 3:46pm.

the wall on the West Bank.

-

Submitted by Rob Richards on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 3:55pm.

The "Pretty Pictures"

Submitted by Guglielmo on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 4:35pm.

make the wall look even sadder I think. But I can see why folks there don't need to be reminded of that.

BANKSY did a number of

Submitted by Rob Richards on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 3:55pm.

BANKSY did a number of pieces on that wall, the people had some pretty mixed reactions. Such as, "It's beautiful, but we hate this wall, we don't want it to be beautiful."

I didn't see...

Submitted by olyruby on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 4:48pm.

...the figure in the fire until I saw the photo, either, that is not the first time that I saw something at the wall and took a pic but didnt really SEE it until I looked at the photo, weird about how we look, see, understand...the image is disturbing, makes me stop and think and wonder, which is what art should do. love, etc olyruby

amen

Submitted by enpen on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 11:28pm.

[...]

I'm torn on.....

Submitted by oysterpreserve on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 7:20pm.

I'm torn on this one, on one hand this is a great piece, one of the best I have seen on the walls around town. On the other I have a great respect for the original image of the burning monk. I studied photojournalism in school the first time around, and that image is what sparked the first true emotion from a photograph, I will always remember that day.

But when it comes down to it Art wins, this piece is great and not just because there are no overlapping letters. I personally enjoy the use of colors, shapes, dimensions, and creativity that you find in just a couple of overlapping letters. And don't forget the sparkle.

A lot to this one...

Submitted by Phil Owen on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 11:43pm.

The whole world is portrayed in the immolation, from different angles and in pieces.

Enpen, both the humor and the sickness in this piece are to be found, in entirety, in the marshmallow that the Dalai Lama is cooking over the burning dude. Stomach turning and funny at the same time. A pretty twisted piece.

The Canaanite's Call

This piece may be a slam on religion...

Submitted by Phil Owen on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 11:55pm.

It seems to me that the artist may be trying to say that (religious) people are trying to find happiness at the expense of a world that is going to hell around them. I may be reading too much into this one, but that is what stands out at me.

If so, this really is a brilliant piece, and relevant (though maybe it goes a bit far... the Dalai Lama in particular is no stranger to activism, and if I recall the monk who set himself on fire was protesting the persecution of Buddhists in South Vietnam). I'm reminded of a Buddhist allegory of the person facing extraordinary danger (falling from a cliff with alligators and tigers beneath??) while desperately reaching for a honey comb.

The Canaanite's Call

It's just a ride...

Submitted by Rob Richards on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 12:18am.

At the risk of being nit-picky, the way Alan Watts tells it, which is the best version I've heard, is much simpler. You eliminate the "hot lava" beneath (alligators and tigers), and the person is simply pushed from the cliff at birth. At the same time, a giant rock is pushed, the rock is a symbol for religion in this case. The "average" (whatever that means) person is falling, can't stop themselves from falling, yet cling to the rock for dear life. The idea is that the mere perception of security that the rock provides makes the fall more comfortable. I think Watts' point in the telling (and I can make you a copy of this lecture if you like), is that the more enlightened person would recognise the rock as a placebo and simply let go, and, as Bill Hicks might put it, ride the ride. There is a bottom for us all, it is death, we'll all get there no matter what we do. The point, I think, is to make the most of it while we can, and let go of those external things that may appear to provide guidance and trust ourselves. I believe we already have all of the answers we seek, it's a matter of finding a way to digest our experiences and allow them to inform our thought processes, therefore dictating our reactions to the variety of stimuli we encounter in our lives.

I think it's a different

Submitted by Meta Hogan on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 9:10pm.

I think it's a different story, with a different point. The one Phil is trying to tell goes like this (the REAL version): An ancient parable tells of a Buddhist monk who is chased by tigers to the edge of a cliff. As they close in, he spots a small bush growing at the very edge, grabs it, and jumps over. As he hangs there, the tigers paw the ground above but can't reach him. Looking down, he sees more tigers below. Then he notices a mouse gnawing on the slender root that holds the bush. As the bush slowly gives way, the monk spots a berry on it. With a delighted smile, he picks the berry with his free hand and eats it slowly, enjoying every morsel. In reality, we are all caught between tigers above and tigers below, but like that monk, we can and should live fully and with delight in this moment, in spite of it all.

an excellent reading...

Submitted by enpen on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 8:11am.

Its subject matter involving two different Buddhism paths narrows it a bit for me from all religious people.

I particularly enjoy that the U.S. is upside down and at the bottom of all of the burning...and now back to work.

Whose upside is down?

Submitted by Sarah on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 8:21am.

Maybe it isn't upside down.

Now that's interesting. I

Submitted by Rob Richards on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 9:33am.

Now that's interesting. I wonder if someone would be able to find places as easy on those maps.

agreed...

Submitted by enpen on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 10:42am.

...but then what about Africa? Or Iraq?

In some of those map projections

Submitted by Guglielmo on Mon, 08/06/2007 - 9:02am.

It looks like the hemispheres are about to kiss, their lips seperated by a cold, thin Bering Sea.

ewwy gooey goodness

Submitted by enpen on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 5:11am.

I completely agree, Phil. I was angling toward the you-don't-have-to-think-this-is-funny-to-appreciate-it conclusion.

Glad you got a complete shot

Submitted by chaney on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 9:56am.

Glad you got a complete shot of this. It was a little covered up when I found it. I've always heard a mixture of gasoline and human flesh makes the best fire for roasting corn syrup.

OFS Free Wall

Submitted by olyruby on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 5:48pm.

the link: Capitol Theater Free Wall still says: page not found

strange

Submitted by enpen on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 10:00pm.

I'm not sure why, but it seems like when you're following some of the internal OlyBlog links I make you're getting routed through drupal.zhonka.net. This is where my current internet literacy hits a wall and I stop understanding why a leads to b.

At any rate, I'm going to try to avoid this problem all together. Is the link fixed for you now?

Hurrah

Submitted by olyruby on Mon, 08/06/2007 - 8:35am.

the link is fixed!

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