Must-See Category

Gotta See This!

 Every now and then there is something we've just gotta see for the heck (or whatever) of it. It's fortunate if we happen to come across these moments several times in our routine week, year or life. They spark us, make us laugh a little, turn us away from the usual bla bla bla and make us look at our world of woes and serious preoccupations just a tiny bit differently. Maybe even hopefully, without unneeded sentimentalism.

Must-See Art

Individuals differ in their must-sees, of course But I'll venture that anyone affected by the culture around them will enjoy art that fits into a must-see sandbox. After all, it's the kind of box that, by its very nature, is big enough, wild enough, and diverse enough to appeal to loads of different folks.

I've written before about must-see Quirky Museums and Outsider Art. This time, thank you to RC for recommending the current show, Poke in the Eye, at the Seattle Art Museum (and thanks for thinking of me and some of my art when you saw it).  

credit Seattle Art Museum: SAM Stories, Jun 26, 2024, photo by Chloe Collyer

I'll be at the show soon, and have read up a bit on it now. Seeing the names of participant artists whose work I've enjoyed for years, like Roy Dean De Forest (his work is featured in the photo) and Fay Jones, makes me even more eager to see the show face-to-face. Their paintings are original, colourful splashes of in-your-face everyday reality, visions of contemporary life here that's been re-imagined and painted into enjoyable takes on the ordinary and familiar (sometimes, even the invitingly unfamiliar). Given these artists are included in the show, along with some of their contemporaries in different media, there are bound to be some wonderfully surprising pokes in the eye.

Here are some tidbits relating why it's a must-see Poke in the Eye, for me and, I'm sure, for some of you.

• "Playfully Irreverent and Intentionally Weird" (see)

• West Coast and Pacific Northwest Coast Counterculture Art Boom  

• Low and High Art Meet and Have a Ball

• Wit and Humour Play the High Stakes

• Colourful, Sometimes Outrageous but Good-Spirited Reminders of Why We Like Art

Party in Birdland by Janet Strayer

I know I need to be reminded almost daily not to take it all so seriously all the time... even if it IS serious! And especially, I need to remember not to take myself so seriously all the time: It gets ridiculous. Sometimes all we need is a good poke in the eye!