ARTS COVERAGE TO END ALL ARTS COVERAGE >>>
At this point it goes without saying. If you're looking for coverage of local arts in Tacoma, Olympia, and all points in between, the Weekly Volcano is THE place to find it. Our goal is to consistently provide the best local arts coverage possible to our fantastic readers -- always be on the lookout for ways to shine a light on all the awesome creativity we see around us.
Here's a look at the Volcano arts coverage waiting for you this week in print and online.
Authors have book readings. Painters have exhibitions. So why don't more indie moviemakers have public showings of their works beyond a film festival setting? Finding an appropriate and affordable venue is just one hurdle to overcome. The real struggle may reside within the artist himself: he thinks he hasn't enough films completed to sufficiently occupy an audience's time, and even if he does, who would care?
Olympia's Mutually Assured Productions doesn't have these problems. Instead the group secured a venue - the West Side Bar and Grill in Olympia - for Saturday, Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. For the past several years Mutually Assured Productions has been quietly at work, adding short after short to its stockpile. This weekend they show off the best in a roughly 90-minute program that includes The Van Job, A Bullet Riddled Atheist and The Man Upstairs, Senator Feelgood, and Pacifica: The Biggest Stick. The evening wraps with a premiere of MAP's latest, Missed Connection. ... -- Christopher Wood
VISUAL EDGE: 9th Annual Juried Exhibition at Tacoma Community College
"The Couple": Acrylic painting by Barlow Palminteri Courtesy the gallery at TCC
On the upside there are exciting pieces by Ron Hinson and Barlow Palminteri, whose two-man show at South Puget Sound Community College last year was probably the best of the year outside of major museum exhibitions. In this show, Palminteri has a painting called "The Couple," which is a cluttered studio scene with chairs stacked in front of easels and a barely seen artist dressed all in blue with paint brush in hand. The couple of the title is hinted at but not actually shown. Other than the artist, who is shown only from chest down, the only human presence is in the painting-within-a- painting of an artist's hand. There are two versions of this little painting, both stacked on chairs in the studio. At first glance this painting looked far more chaotic than the carefully composed pictures I've come to expect from Palminteri, but on closer inspection it becomes clear that a composition centered on the blue pants and shirt of the artist brings order to the chaos. ... -- Alec Clayton
ROTATOR celebrates its first issue Friday at Fulcrum Gallery in Tacoma.
ROTATOR, set to debut this week, is at once a periodical and a piece of art. Headed up by Lance Kagey, Tom Llewellen and the collaborative efforts of plenty of other local talent, ROTATOR will cover topics relevant to the Pacific Northwest, largely focused on urban life. Its creators refer to it as a "quarterly portfolio of Pacific Northwest anti-suburban arts and industry."
Aside from Llewellen and Kagey, ROTATOR will incorporate letterpress printers, illustrators, graphic designers, photographers and videographers. "Arguably some of the best in the region," offers Kagey. This ragtag collection of artists was brought together by a love of design and print. It's also true that many have worked together on other projects. ... -- Kristen Kendle
PLUS: More local theater coverage than you can shake a stick at
PLUS: Comprehensive South Sound Arts & Entertainment Calendar