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.
(CAMP 6: Clockwise JD Elquist, Stephen Jones, Barham Beiveis and Travis Pranger. Facebook photo)
New York is the Big Apple. Seattle is the Emerald City. Tacoma? The City of Destiny. A group of ambitious Tacoma residents are taking this epic moniker seriously. Welcome to Camp 6, an organized collaborative movement promoting the merchants, culture and style that make Tacoma what it is.
Fashion designer JD Elquist had a plan. Originally from Gig Harbor, he spent time in San Francisco, headed to New York, then landed in Tacoma with the idea that he would ultimately settle in Los Angeles to open his brand's storefront.
Sitting in the nascent Tacoma coffee shop Anthem one morning, Elquist was struck. In an instant, plans changed. ... -- Jenni Prange Boran
VISUAL EDGE: TENTH ANNUAL BIENNIAL AT TAM
(Artist Paul Kuniholm Pauper: "Cardboard Commandments, 2010." Single-channel video with coin mechanism, 4 minutes, 5 seconds, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist.)
The theme of the 10th Annual Biennial at Tacoma Art Museum is identity, described by the museum as "a vision of regional identity that revolves around how communities interact, intersect and overlap."
These interactions, intersections and overlaps extend in intriguing ways to resonances between the works of art, many of which are coincidental or are byproducts of similar interests and concerns by artists working in the same region and in the same time. Such resonances are highlighted by strategic placement in the gallery. For instance, images of redacted government documents face photos of censored writing in a book and of a redacted tattoo on a man's arm. The image from the book is an enlarged photo. Near it is the actual book displayed in a glass case, which sits in front of a series of photos of the edges of abandoned and empty commercial signs which, coincidentally, repeat the angular forms of Jeff Jahn's sculpture, "Canopy II" that hangs on an adjacent wall. Such juxtapositions can be seen throughout the show. They are the result of happy accidents and the keen eye of curator Rock Hushka. ... -- Alec Clayton
THEATER: CALIFORNIA SUITE AT TACOMA LITTLE THEATRE
Set in California, in Suite 203/204, the play is really composed of four playlets. Just like life, the action and dialogue encompasses a range of human emotion. For example, in Act 1, Scene 1, Hannah (Kathi Aleman), a visitor from New York, arrives to talk to her ex-husband, Billy (Paul Duke), about their daughter. While there are a few laughs, this is one of the two dramatic scenes of the show. - Joann Varnell
Part parody, part musical, Xanadu tells the story of 1980s chalk artist Sonny Malone and his involvement with the Greek Muses. Sonny is unhappy with his art and determined to commit suicide when he's visited by the Muses who travel to Venice Beach, Calif. to inspire him. Because of Zeus' rules, Clio (Leah Wickstrom in TMP's production) must disguise herself; she does so by wearing roller skates and leg warmers, sporting an Australian accent and calling herself Kira. ... -- Joann Varnell
MOVIE BUZZ: LOCAL FILMMAKER JEFF STILLWELL
The fun rolls on as Stillwell searches for an editor to help assemble Henryk. Despite all the new moviemaking experience under his belt, Stillwell still sees himself "first and foremost" as a musician. So he can't wait to begin crafting part of the film's score with a collaborator. .. - Christopher Wood
PLUS: COMPREHENSIVE ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR
PLUS: GENERAL HILARITY