Slog - Comments on What's That Smell? http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell That was what I kept asking a friend who'd gone with me to the Bridge Motel Saturday night, where the soon-to-be-demolished landmark was full of artists and performers and audiences there to see off the building in style. Rarely does an art or theater event have such powerful smells. There's nothing abstract or indirect about a smell. In the rotting rooms of the low-budget paradise that was erected in 1954 for traveling salesmen and this week will be razed to make way for spendy townhouses, I detected: mildew, cherries, spraypaint, sandalwood and nag champa incense, sweat, semen, Elmer's glue, gunpowder,... Copyright 2008 Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:30:39 -0800 Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:34:42 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me Wow… we really have come a long way since this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Michelangelos_David.jpg
and this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mona_Lisa.jpg
It’s unbelievable what crap (literally) passes for art.

]]> You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806171 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806171 Arts Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:12:21 -0800 Comment by dk pan thanks for coming, jen...
just to clarify, the Motel series is the brainchild of myself, Mike Min, and Liza Keckler.

]]> dk pan http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806174 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806174 Arts Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:20:50 -0800 Comment by Katelyn The one pot mention inspired my chili and dumplings dinner tonight. Art, you just keep on giving.

]]> Katelyn http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806182 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806182 Arts Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:57:44 -0800 Comment by Pictures People take pictures like crazy everywhere now. I got a digital camera last year, and I take pictures of fucking everything. Like it's the only way I'm ever going to remember anything/.

]]> Pictures http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806209 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806209 Arts Mon, 17 Sep 2007 21:52:28 -0800 Comment by June Bee I can't go for the oversensory scene anymore. If I'd read the Phil Lesh memoir, which details his involvement/perception of the mid 60s acid tests, before this year.

There's some of my drawings from last year, as well as a song from 2004 - Harry Partch is the icing - at the old voxSite.

]]> June Bee http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806221 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806221 Arts Mon, 17 Sep 2007 22:35:26 -0800 Comment by arandomdude You got too much sex on the brain if you thought 'come hungry' in that context implied a sexual meaning.

]]> arandomdude http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806233 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806233 Arts Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:10:02 -0800 Comment by left coast The website says that the owners of Motel #2 freaked out, and now it's going to be completely virtual. I was looking forward to #2 as I drive by Motel #1 every day but was out of town last weekend. I really hope that Tubs is still on for Motel #3.

]]> left coast http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806281 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806281 Arts Tue, 18 Sep 2007 09:13:36 -0800 Comment by Romabella I was down at the scene on Saturday night along with the hordes of others to witness some sort of event. I had no real expectations. I was one of those who didn't get a chance to see inside the rooms because by the time I arrived it was way too crazy crowded.

But the experience really made me think and consider a bunch of things about art and Seattle after I got home. First of all, what was it about the event that attracted so many people? I was discussing with a friend and we both admitted that we were just fascinated by the building, having lived next to it in Fremont for years. And we also concluded that we just wanted a chance to go inside before it was demolished. That simple. Just to enter the motel. It was a fascinatingly horrible kind of place to walk by and drive be nearly every day.

So, not to take anything away from what appeared to be some creative installations and performances, I wonder if we need to have more opportunities to celebrate or mourn the end of buildings, not just great ones, but terrible ones too, with or without art and performances. Given the accelerating rate of building destruction in Seattle, it seems that our somewhat permanent surroundings have become temporary to the degree that it is very disturbing.

A second thought is just about the lack of real events, spontaneous unpredictable participatory events in the art and performance world. I don’t have any brilliant ideas to create such events, but just note that there seems to be a pretty healthy appetite for it.

On that note, I hope that someone is planning an event connected to the demolition of the Rainier Cold Storage in Georgetown. Anyone?

]]> Romabella http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806805 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/whats_that_smell#c806805 Arts Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:34:42 -0800