There’s a lot more to Bumbershoot than just music, and I thought I’d share my favorite picks in the arts, literature & culture category too!

‘F is for Food’: Our very first event of the weekend was to see author Kathleen Flinn, and Seattle chef extraordinaire Tom Douglas, chat about how the pursuit of  dreams, the best places to eat Northwest food, and their personal guilty-pleasure food.  I am most excited to read Kathleen’s book, “The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry”, a funny account of  her following her dream to attend Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. I hear that if the movie Julie & Julia leaves you wanting more, her book will satisfy your cravings.  (You can watch video clips of Tom & Kathleen’s funny banter on Daily Blender.)

 “Next Floor”  by Denis Villenueve, was by far my favorite short film in the  ”Best of SIFF” series. A group of opulently-dressed diners are gorging themselves on platters of grotesque exotic meats, while a small string quartet serenades and servants bustle about re-filling the platters.  With only the words “Next Floor” spoken, and some great special effects, this film really shows the absurd excess of abundance. This film won “Best Short Film” at Cannes Film Festival – and numerous other awards internationally. You can watch a clip here, but it’s really worth watching the whole thing if you get a chance!

“Last Stand” reclaimed corrugated cardboard and wood glue, by Karen Rudd Seattle, WA

“My art has focused on tree stumps and, most often, recreating the form from reclaimed corrugated cardboard boxes. I am not only reconstructing the organic form from its original material, but drawing connections between past and present by creating a historical subject in a ubiquitous and contemporary material. These sculptures, like much of my work, is a commentary on consumerism and natural resource use.

“Finding Away” One Year’s Worth of Ari Derfel’s Trash by Kuros Zahedi Bellingham, WA

“Finding Away is a single work of art created from a year’s worth of trash collected by Ari Derfel in 2007.  Ari’s decision to save his trash for 365 days gained national attention and has brought the phenomenon of trash into unusual focus. The trash was laboriously and totally transformed by Kuros Zahedi.  It was crushed, cut, ground, pulped and reformed into a metaphoric narrative of our true potential.  A host of human figures emerge from a menacing heap of trash, carrying armloads of waste to a dynamic and hopeful mural they are creating.  They are humanity, working together, and Finding A Way to a beautiful world.

Turning waste into a work of art represents what humanity is capable of:  transforming ugliness into beauty, the damaging into the beneficial, and the fragmented into the whole. ”

 

“Drawing Jam” presented by  Gage Academy of Art was back again this year with a HUGE drawing wall with and baskets full of free art supplies.  I appreciated how they offered an accessible and exciting way for all visitors to participate. Over the weekend, the wall filled with literally thousands of drawings, sketches, cartoons and quotes.  You could also draw, paint, or sketch a live model and then photograph your artwork in a professional photobooth.  

 “Dada Economics” presented by   Greg Lundgren’s Vital 5 Productions. “is the remarkable celebration and culmination of a unique artistic experiment. Created for Bumbershoot, the goal was to engage and inspire creativity and art making on a world stage.  Bumbershoot patrons had the chance to participate in the exhibition, creating works in fashion, architecture and photography.”  My personal favorite was the ‘architecture’ exhibit where you could create a 3D piece of art out of paper, glue and tape.