Seattle Street Art Book Vol. 1

I encourage you to check out the picture-licious Seattle Street Art Book Vol. 1 by august tarantino and his lovely site of a similar name:  http://www.seattlestreetart.com/   And just this summer 2012, Vol. 2 is out... a continuation of the work.  Check the website to get a closer look and order these coffee table beauties.

The book is 50 pages and 100 images, offered cleanly and without comment, covering some of the most prominent and interesting Seattle street artists around... Phaedrus, No Touching Ground, Baldman, Little Bird, PG and HBF Crew... and many more who's nomikers I don't even know!

A "Visual Time Capsule Beyond Graffiti" this book is an all-images book capturing work from the aesthetic to the political. You could cut pages from these books and past them directly on your wall, they are so rich.

It would be nice to read a little more detail of the artists, their motivations and tribulations perhaps, or some more context for the art itself.  But despite that these are books you will certainly treasure and enjoy sharing with your friends.

(disclaimer: this book and my blog are not associated, save for a love of street art in Seattle.)

The Owl Tree

A large collaborative project involving around dozen street artists on a doomed building here in Seattle, The Owl Tree started as a wheatpasted tree installed on a lonely wall on Capitol Hill. Since that time, some three-plus months ago, various artists have perched their particular bird (or other figures) in the branches, making for quite a motley flock. The building upon which the birds have roosted is not long for this world -- destinted to be demolished for a new high-rise apartments-with-retail building to go up in 2008 -- so get a look while you can. Or if you don't know where the site is, check The Owl Tree Flickr pool for images and updates.

Stop Sign Cozy

Warmth at last for these new cold fall nights. Poor thing, standing out in the elements so long. Certainly a little material comfort is welcome while on duty.

This wonderful Knitta cozy appeared a couple weeks ago at 20th & Jefferson, and it's a swell piece. Tonally appropriate, the green works well with the red/white stripey post and now-classic logo design; not to mention the grass below. Note especially, the piece is held on with little ties (traditionally zip-ties) that are actually knitted in and knotted! Just lovely. Here's hopes that it lasts the entire season.

God of the Jawas

The importance of leaving rusting idols in the Tatooine desert appears threefold: One, to alert other wandering tribes of Jawas that this indeed is a good travel route, as pioneered by a particular tribe (indicated by the style of the idol, and inscriptions); Two, to designate an area of resources; and Three, to indicate a territorial boundary. Boundaries are shared and very flexible by default; a tribe wandering into another tribe's idol-dotted area is under no threat: Jawas always share all resources with their own kind, sometimes to a fault. The 'boundary' is more a designation of the hostmanship is as you travel through this particular land. Further, each "idol station" is a sort of folk worship altar, where each passing Jawa tribe will stop, place offerings, and potentially rest a few days. As has been noted earlier by Brunson (1997), Carpith (2024) and Xenuduin (2319), these idol stations are found in locations with useful desert resources: water, shade, low wind, physical protection, high magnetic potential, and quality food opportunities. These idols eventually do rust and abrade away in the contant winds, often leaving a stain in the ground or wall nearby. Skilled Jawas can interpret theses stains and deterime the tribe which erected the previous idol. If left untended for a long enough period of time, another Jawa tribe may claim the area and assume host responsibilities. Usually this happens after the initial tribe has been contacted to confirm their disinterest in the location, but occasionally the initial tribe cannot be located and does not come back to maintain the spot.

The White Knitta

Spotted on Pike Street, Capitol Hill, this graceful Knitta work adorns a bus schedule sign in front of the Cha Cha bar. More sophisticated than the previous pieces posted here, the rolled collar and slouchy fit are a nice counterpoint to the hard gray steel and right angles. The red accent stitching balances the white/gray tones and livens the piece up considerably. The placement at a bus stop improves chances that it will be seen by many. Let's hope it'll survive the demolition of the entire block as developers make way for a retail/condo edifice.

Other Knitta work in Seattle news:
The Stranger
Design*Sponge
Seattle Times
please insert caffeine

Previous Knitta posts on Seattle Street Art:
Knitta Mountain
Knittagain!

Flower Children

A very ludic arrangement and a glorious solution to a broken figurine. I cannot say more, so I will only quote Björk's song,

Venus As A Boy
his wicked sense of humour / suggests exciting sex / his fingers focus on her / touches, he's venus as a boy

he believes in beauty / he's venus as a boy

he's exploring / the taste of her
arousal / so accurate
he sets off / the beauty in het / he's venus as a boy

he believes in beauty / he's venus as a boy

The Head on the (Garage) Door

An excellent use of spraypaint stencil to improve an otherwise boring garage-front on 21st near Union. Small enough to be unobtrusive, yet bright enough catch your eye. Nice color tones too against the garage grey, and well-framed.

House of Small Statues, Part Last

You can spend an entire afternoon discovering all the tiny figures and colorful additions in this yard. One can only imagine what the inside of the house looks like if the outside is this wonderful. Would that we all had the time and inclination to create this much artwork everywhere. Sculpture Park be damned, THIS is public art!
Mixed media of stone, wood, brick, tile, concrete, sparkplugs, tools and more; Devil's bursting through windows, cats arched in horror, little workmen tromping through the snow, colored cogs rising like bubbles of thought along the walls... even the garage roof support (not pictured) is a detailed hand with Wonderful use of color and texture throughout, and hilarious faces wherever you look. Fantastic worthy art by any account.

• *
  
• House of Small Statues, Part Four
  
• House of Small Statues, Part Three
  
• House of Small Statues, Part Two
  
• The House of Small Statues
  

Lincoln's Big Head

There's something about being head of state that gets you recognized in crowds. Being head of the household, not so much, but you do get respect. Being just another big head on the street, however, probably causes car accidents. Regardless, this is one of the better bits of yard art around the city. It looks like Abraham Lincoln, although it could be someone's granddad, an early Seattle settler perhaps. He must have been a fellow of some stature to merit such an incarnation.

House of Small Statues, Part Four

Devil on the rooftop, kicking up snow. Hammer in hand, and wings all aglow. Sparks from his head, leaping to flight. Stealing through souls in the perilous night.

• House of Small Statues, Part Last
  
• *
  
• House of Small Statues, Part Three
  
• House of Small Statues, Part Two
  
• The House of Small Statues
  

House of Small Statues, Part Three

The Tileman, waving to his compadres and greeting all guests. And.. is that cake in his hand? He fits right in to his surroundings, as if the space had been waiting for his presence. How wonderful to have all these little people populating your tiny square of the city forest.

• House of Small Statues, Part Last
  
• House of Small Statues, Part Four
  
• *
  
• House of Small Statues, Part Two
  
• The House of Small Statues
  

Giant Bugs

Fresh this weekend, this gloriously detailed winged-insect (tsetse fly? fanged-wasp? martian devilbug?) on the window of the defunct "Premier Auto" storefront on the corner of Pine and 11th was found when the wheatpaste was still damp Friday evening. Clearly the new modus operandi of some street artists around here: pre-designed paper prints that are pasted up quickly. Very effective for high-traffic areas, and especially this one since it's a mere block from the local police station. More! Encore!
(see the flickrstream for exact map locations of most of the art here.)

House of Small Statues, Part Two

A man of mortar and brick, and another denizen of the House of Small Statues. Looks like he'll survive the next earthquake, never notice it, just continue to guard his corner of the yard. His tile cap bill is a nice touch. Is he actually the gardener?

• House of Small Statues, Part Last
  
• House of Small Statues, Part Four
  
• House of Small Statues, Part Three
  
• *
  
• The House of Small Statues