ARTWALK

The child and I created our own art walk over the past few days. We visited galleries and installations in various neighborhoods of Tacoma.

THEATER DISTRICT

Our first stop was the Urban Art Installations of Tacoma Contemporary in the Woolworth's windows at 11th and Broadway. We also visited the Tollbooth Gallery, the "world’s smallest gallery dedicated exclusively to experimental video and wheat-pasted paper fine arts," which sits directly in front of the Woolworth's windows, but it seems to be defunct, or, at the very least, neglected.


(1) Tacoma Contemporary in the Woolworth's windows and the Tollbooth Gallery.



Clockwise from upper left: (2) elaborate papercut flora by Celeste Cooning; (3) plastic forms by Justin Hahn; (4) clothing sculptures by Dana Brownfield; (5) acrylic paintings by Kelsey Parkhurst.


(6) Tacoma Contemporary's mission statement: "Tacoma Contemporary is a non-profit organization that advances contemporary visual arts in Tacoma, providing opportunities for artists to present innovative works that engage our community with high-quality arts experiences."



Clockwise from upper left: (7) mixed media sculptural forms by Melissa Balch; (8) Key of Sea, 2004, painted sidewalks next to Tacoma Contemporary by John Runnels; (9) "breast forms" by Melissa Balch; (10) colored adhesives by Issei Watanabe.

My favorite pieces were the various windows containing the papercuts of Celeste Cooning. Most of them were white against a dark blue wall, which really made them stand out. At the bottom of a couple of windows the paper cuts were purposely pooled into piles, some of which had been colored with paint. The effect was of the seasons and decay. The child seemed especially enamored of the windows by Melissa Balch, Dana Brownfield, and Kelsey Parkhurst who collectively examined female clothing in their themed works.

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[Artwalk 2 - Convention Center/Central Downtown]
[Artwalk 3 - Univeristy of Washington, Tacoma]
[Artwalk 4 - Museum District]
[Artwalk 5 - Antique Row & Hilltop]