In 1979, through the Seattle Arts Commission, I was awarded an 18-month Artist-In-The-City Grant through CETA funding. I photographed the wall surfaces in the Denny Regrade (now referred to as Belltown), an area just beginning to experience major redevelopment and displacement. I worked closely with and was supported by the community council, individuals living in the area, and small merchants to create two photographic murals documenting exterior walls that were about to vanish. I installed the walls on the exterior of two buildings in the area, thereby returning the art to the community and the environment from which it originated.
The first photographic mural is from the exterior of Egberts, a furniture store at First and Bell. In this mural, I tried to capture the beauty of the decaying wall which would someday be painted over. The second mural is a collage of photographs of the old advertising and graffiti in the area. This was installed on the wall of Consolidated Printing, which was across the street from the Egbert Wall.
Each piece also plays on the idea of expansion and contraction, a process inherent to the materials walls are built from. The first mural documents a single wall from a myriad of different perspectives, creating multiple views and expanding the wall into what feels like multiple walls. The second mural documents multiple walls, capturing the feel of the neighborhood through dozens of images, which are then distilled and condensed into one mural, displayed on a single wall.
The murals were heavily coated with a durable acrylic finish, but still meant to weather and deteriorate over time as actual walls do.
Artist in the City CETA Grant, Silver Prints, Oil, Waterproof Acrylic, 4′ x 8′, To be installed on exterior wall, 1980
Artist in the City CETA Grant, Silver Prints, Oil, Waterproof Acrylic, 4′ x 8′, Installed at 1st and Bell, Seattle, WA, 1980
Artist in the City CETA Grant, Silver Prints, Oil, Waterproof Acrylic, 4′ x 8′, Installed at 1st and Bell, Seattle, WA, 1980
Artist in the City CETA Grant, Silver Prints, Oil, Waterproof Acrylic, 8′ x 8′, Installed at 1st and Bell, Seattle, WA, 1980
In 1979, through the Seattle Arts Commission, I was awarded an 18-month Artist-In-The-City Grant through CETA funding. I photographed the wall surfaces in the Denny Regrade (now referred to as Belltown), an area just beginning to experience major redevelopment and displacement. I worked closely with and was supported by the community council, individuals living in the area, and small merchants to create two photographic murals documenting exterior walls that were about to vanish. I installed the walls on the exterior of two buildings in the area, thereby returning the art to the community and the environment from which it originated.
The first photographic mural is from the exterior of Egberts, a furniture store at First and Bell. In this mural, I tried to capture the beauty of the decaying wall which would someday be painted over. The second mural is a collage of photographs of the old advertising and graffiti in the area. This was installed on the wall of Consolidated Printing, which was across the street from the Egbert Wall.
Each piece also plays on the idea of expansion and contraction, a process inherent to the materials walls are built from. The first mural documents a single wall from a myriad of different perspectives, creating multiple views and expanding the wall into what feels like multiple walls. The second mural documents multiple walls, capturing the feel of the neighborhood through dozens of images, which are then distilled and condensed into one mural, displayed on a single wall.
The murals were heavily coated with a durable acrylic finish, but still meant to weather and deteriorate over time as actual walls do.
Artist in the City CETA Grant, Silver Prints, Oil, Waterproof Acrylic, 4′ x 8′, To be installed on exterior wall, 1980
Artist in the City CETA Grant, Silver Prints, Oil, Waterproof Acrylic, 4′ x 8′, Installed at 1st and Bell, Seattle, WA, 1980
Artist in the City CETA Grant, Silver Prints, Oil, Waterproof Acrylic, 4′ x 8′, Installed at 1st and Bell, Seattle, WA, 1980
Artist in the City CETA Grant, Silver Prints, Oil, Waterproof Acrylic, 8′ x 8′, Installed at 1st and Bell, Seattle, WA, 1980