City Departments
Mike McGinn, Mayor
4/24/2012 4:00:00 PM
Performance artworks celebrate power of water for Seattle Center's The Next Fifty
Performances are part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the 1962 World's Fair, run May 4 to 27 for The Next Fifty's 'Sustainable Futures Month'
SEATTLE — The Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs will present three performance artworks that illustrate how local artists are contributing to the discussion about our local waterways for The Next Fifty, the 50th anniversary of the 1962 World's Fair. The performances are part of six environmentally themed temporary artworks commissioned by the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs and celebrate The Next Fifty's "Sustainable Futures Month." The performances are free and run May 4 to 27 at Seattle Center. See below for specific dates and locations.
Stokley Towles, Stormwater: Life in the Gutter
Stokley Towles' one-man performance Stormwater: Life in the Gutter reveals the world of urban rainfall and traces its travels from the clouds to the city's streets, homes and businesses and the sewer lines below. Towles weaves interviews, observations and historical research together with images, props and humor to talk about runoff, offering a gutter's eye view of Seattle's drainage system and the people who manage it.
The nearly one-hour performance will be at 7 p.m., Fridays, May 4, 11 and 18; and 1 p.m., Saturdays, May 5, 12 and 19 at the construction trailer at the north end of The Next Fifty Plaza, between Center House and the Experience Music Project. Performances will also be 6 p.m., Friday, May 25 and 1 p.m., Saturday, May 26 at SIFF Cinema, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N.
Stormwater: Life in the Gutter was first performed throughout the city in fall 2011. Stormwater is the third in a series of performance pieces Towles created in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU). The performance is funded by SPU 1% for Art funds and 4Culture.
Mandy Greer, Mater Matrix Mother and Medium Performance
Mandy Greer, choreographer Jessica Jobaris, performance artist Saskia Delores, harpist/composer Monica Schley, dancer Andrea Ives and video artist Rodrigo Valenzuela will create a multimedia performance alongside Greer's artwork Mater Matrix Mother and Medium at Seattle Center's DuPen Fountain and Alki Courtyard. Beginning just before dusk, 7 p.m., May 5 and 6, the performance will be a luminous exploration of the three states of water. Attendees should meet at Kobe Bell, south of Intiman Theatre; Key Arena, northwest corner, street level; or the Poetry Garden on the east side of Fisher Pavilion and look for a performer in a blue costume to join a procession to DuPen Fountain.
Greer's crocheted artwork Mater Matrix Mother and Medium will be on view through May 31. The evolving artwork is attached to trees and columns, creating a 250-foot "river" that sits seven to 15 feet off the ground. Commissioned with SPU 1% for Art funds, the artwork celebrates the splendor of Seattle's urban creeks and raises public awareness of environmental stewardship, especially as it connects to SPU's work.
SJ Chiro, Britta Johnson, Susan Robb, Luke Sieczek and Rick Stevenson, Water Calling Short Films
The Water Calling short films are part of a series of temporary public artworks commissioned in 2009 with SPU 1% for Art funds. The projects reflect SPU's management of the complete cycle of hydrology for Seattle's water resources, from drinking water through drainage, and Restore Our Waters, the city's initiative to protect and restore Seattle's urban waterways.
Temporary artworks also on view at The Next Fifty celebration include Adam Frank's CURRENT, a real-time map of Seattle's hydroelectric generation and energy use. The approximately 45-foot-wide by 30-foot-tall mural is illuminated by light projected directly on the interior north face of Seattle Center's Center House through June 4. Frank is artist-in-residence for Seattle City Light through 2012 to bring awareness to conservation and sustainability.
Stacy Levy's Straw Garden: from Wattle to Watershed is composed of wattles—tightly wrapped straw and coir cylinders and mats used to aid in re-vegetation and erosion control on steep hillsides-arranged in configurations that resemble Baroque garden formations and planted with native perennials and annuals. The sculpture morphs into naturalistic patterns that resemble water as it moves across the landscape at Seattle Center's Broad Street Green through Oct. 21. Straw Garden is part of the Broad Street Green-Green Infrastructure Project, addressing protection of the water quality of local waterways, and is commissioned with SPU 1% for Art funds.
Parking Squid, by artist Susan Robb, provides parking for eight or more bicycles within the tentacles of a deep-sea creature. Designed to fit in one parking space as part of Seattle Department of Transportation's (SDOT) on-street bike parking program, this galvanized steel structure will provide bike parking for The Next Fifty celebration at Seattle Center's Harrison Street entrance through Oct. 21. It will later move to a permanent home in the city's right-of-way. Parking Squid was created with SDOT 1% for Art funds.
For more information about the performances or temporary artworks, visit www.seattle.gov/arts. For more information on The Next Fifty, visit www.seattlecenter.com.
The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs promotes the value of arts and culture in communities throughout Seattle. The 16-member Seattle Arts Commission, citizen volunteers appointed by the mayor and City Council, supports the city agency.
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