Sitting here watching a PBS shlockumentary on Liberace, and i don't know whether i find him and his outlandish costumes ridiculous or amazing, and if amazing, whether ironically or seriously. I used to dismiss him outright, but jeez: first of all i play piano and sing too, and moreover i have been going hog-wild lately getting crazy costumery at thrift stores for a gig as a greeter at the Oregon Country Fair next weekend. When joe and jane public (and their kids) get off the shuttle busses for their day of fun and zaniness, there i'll be, looking dare i say flamboyant (although i have a redneck costume too) welcoming them. Sure, its just a role, but it puts me in a place where Liberace, or later-model Elvis, or any other loonily but creatively clad entertainment personality becomes a model rather than an object of derision.
I'm in Seattle, the main thing i've been doing is attending the wedding (and related activities) of my good friend Mr. Matthew Howard Gould to Jennifer Paget. I confidently predict that this is a marriage that will last. They are both too intelligent and grounded and values-driven (and Catholic) for any other result. I was a groomsman so wore a tuxedo, let me tell you i looked pretty sharp. The bride and groom looked splendid of course.
Also hung out with my friend Sung Kim who recently moved into a collective creative space called Luscious. They've got a great thing going there, their intent (already realized at their opening event last thursday) is to be a space where artists can come together to collaborate in ways that put them outside their ususual modes. The space itself is in an old-school brick loft building, very unrefurbished, at 3rd and Jackson. Most of the building is filled with non-yuppie creative people, a more rare kind of place in Pioneer Square these days than in years past. Used to be that most of the great old loft buildings were owned by an eccentric and benevolent absentee landlord named Sam Israel who had no interest in doing anything other than collecting rent and maintaining them in a satisfactory sort of circa 1948 condition. After he died in the late 90's, coincident with the ridiculous boom years, his heir company Samis Co. undertook the physical gentrification of most of the properties, displacing scores of artists. Nonetheless there's still lots of artists hanging on and even flourishing (creatively) in Seattle. Mild adversity helps a creative community. Helps forge purpose. Today there is some really outstanding stuff coming out of Seattle. Some of it, like the Degenerate Art Ensemble, may be setting new standards, on a par with or beyond anything coming out of New York, LA, or wherever else.
Posted by danreedmiller at July 7, 2003 12:49 AM