Pike's Place Market

This was not my first time at Pike's Place Market, but it was my first time there as a Seattleite and not just a tourist, which was cool because it allowed me to view the area with a fresh perspective.  Instead of looking at fruit and artwork and thinking, "I wonder how much it would cost to ship this home?" I was able to look at everything and go, "Hey, I bet I could walk down here to do some of my shopping!"  When the fruit vendor complained about all the tourists (especially the Nebraskans) who were ruining Pike's Place market, I could assertively say, "Yeah! Effing Nebraskans!" instead of clearing my throat uncomfortably and staring at my feet.  It was a cool feeling. 

My favorite thing about our quick tour of Pike's Place was the gum wall.  I loved it because it seemed like such a trivial thing that quickly spiraled out of control and is now a part of the history of Pike's Place.  I was very tempted to add my gum to the wall, but Allison wanted to get as far away from the used gum as possible, so we left fairly quickly.  It's still the thing that sticks in my mind.

My least favorite thing was the cheese store.  I hate the smell of cheese so much that I wasn't able to really appreciate the store for what it was.  We took our quick pictures, and then it was my turn to urge us to leave quickly as I tried not to gag. 

Seattle library

When I got to the top floor that us normal people could go to and i looked out. The view was great. I thought that it was amazing how far you could see, my personal favorite thing to see was Quest Field and Safeco. What kind of put me off was people not stopping for long periods of time to see the view. Most people just got off of the elevator, looked around, said, "Hmm... thats cool." and left. If they stopped and looked for a wile they would see the great architectural genius that the building is. The diamond shape design of the walls and the glass going to infinity. The Central Library is probably the most amazing building I have ever been in.

A Place Designed for Discomfort of Varying Intensities

Ascending stairs to the 4th floor,
Where meeting rooms are housed -
Suddenly, jarringly, stepping into what could be the set of a 1980s horror film,
Engulfed in powerfully vivid shades of pink, orange, and blood, blood red.

The winding halls
Too narrow along the curves
Intersect in inexplicably large spaces.
The ceiling
Slightly too low.
The brightly polished floor and walls
Reflect the eerie bloody light equally as well as
They amplify and reflect even the slightest sound.
Feet stepping, elevator dinging, throat coughing,
It all circulates and echoes back to me here.
Yet, nothing audible emerges from any nearby meeting rooms.
Confused by this paradox,
I admire the architect's supreme understanding of acoustics.

Imagination running rampant -
The stereotypical scene of a girl running
Panicked
Through the halls.
Looking back
To check for her pursuer.
My heart quickens with the contemplation.

My work may not be done here but
I certainly am.
Somber and subdued,
Squeaky footfalls reverberating,
Winding back toward where a safer place must exist.

One last observation -
Dragging fingers along the wall.
The paint has a lingering, hungering texture.
No amount of rubbing my hand on my pants
Can remove the feeling of that place.
It clings to me long after I
Descend the steps back into the world I knew before.

Making Visible the Invisible

As I stand in front of a line of screens, I assume they are a cataloging or informational installation. I am still looking for the art piece. The man behind the desk excitedly tells me that the screens are in fact the art piece. He describes how they cycle through the names of books checked out that day, the various numbers of items checked out and their categories, a stream of numbers from the Dewey decimal system, and a few other items of library data that scroll across the screen. As he talks, the timeline of book names and times begins to slide by. I take a few pictures, thank the man, and we walk away. I file away the "art" for later analysis.

The Seattle library is impressive in scope and appearance; it does not require art pieces to back up its artistic value. The "art" seems to bog down the library. Upon entering the library, visitors are struck by the highlighter yellow elevators, the blood red meeting rooms, the myriad rows of books and computers. In my opinion, the addition of the egg projections and the scrolling book names is superfluous and even detrimental to the atmosphere of the library. Jeremy, Xitlalic and I walked out of the library together, having secured our photographs and information, and we talked about what we had seen. I think it was Xitlalic who hit on exactly what I was thinking as we left: "The library is a place for books, not art."

Seattle Public Library

What a library!

Arriving at the library was a surprise. When someone says a field trip to the library, I just twirl my finger in the air...woo-hoo. But the archetecture was very complex from the start. Large glass windows surrounded the library encasing it in a complex triangle structure with awesome escalators!


And my adventure on the escalators brought me to the first piece of art that we needed to encounter. A sculpture entitled "Brain Cast" by Tony Ours. And if the sculpture isn't weird enough there is a small circle window that shows the red hallway behind the sculpture and who ever decides to poke their head through. But after the fun on the escalators we had to treck upstairs.




Disapointed with the picture? Well...
I was too! this is supposed to be a projection of stars or the solar system...or something, but apparently it's been broken for 7 months now. So on we went.


No this is not a nerd pointing at TV screen. This is a librarian pointing at a sculpture created by George Legreardy, the video screens give you a visual representation of what has been checked out, by who, what time and how often. The piece is entitiled "Making hte Visible the INvisible: What the community is reading".




No, Cassandra did not miss the shot, the floor is actually a work of art. Ann Hamilton created an untitled work that lies beneath your feet as you exit the library. Different languages and texts litter the floor with phrases that aren't all understandable, but they are interesting none the less.

Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market is a very bust place; littered with street performers and artisans; fish mongers and fruit vendors. Even numerous flower stands are surrounding you once you enter the market; even if you can't understand all the flower vendors through their accent :). Walking through Pike Place makes you feel like you have a real taste of Seattle, but most of the vendors call it a tourist hot spot. A lot of the fruit is imported but the fish is fresh of course. With what there is to offer at the market it seems odd that many vendors focus on the tourism, but i suppose its a little more expensive than a super market.

The Novel: Live!

Check out this article on The Novel: Live! We're going to be taking part in this project next week: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2012990358_litlife27.html?prmid=head_main