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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Visual Art Alice Wheeler ≠ Nirvana

Posted by on Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 12:31 PM

This is the last straw. Up right now at the dealer's choice show at Wright Exhibition Space in South Lake Union is a photograph by Alice Wheeler of Kurt Cobain wearing sunglasses.

I'm thrilled that Wheeler was selected for the show, because her photographs are electric and strange. The way they use color, movement, and voyeurism? Every one of them is alive.

SO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, CAN WE SEE SOMETHING BESIDES HER KURT COBAIN PHOTOGRAPHS, PLEASE?

Wheeler has plenty of subjects, not just the one. Here are a few.

wheel_redhed_hemp_72.jpg
Girl with Orange Hair, Hempfest

wheel_what_women_see.jpg
What Women See at Night

wheel_yellow_cityscape.jpg
Yellow Cityscape

She's represented by Greg Kucera Gallery but hasn't had a show there since 2003. I just called there; she's not on the schedule for 2009.

Say it with me: WE WANT ALICE!

 

Comments (15) RSS

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1
I will scream it loud and proud, Alice Wheeler! Her photos of Pike/Pine from the Nineties would be great to see about now.
Posted by It's Mark Mitchell on September 30, 2008 at 12:36 PM
2
Fair enough, but how is this the last straw? JG's outrage seems disproportionate. It's not like the galleries are burning Wheeler's non-Cobain works. Time to cut out sugar and caffeine?
Posted by Matthew on September 30, 2008 at 12:46 PM
3
I would imagine there might be a couple of people not familiar with the history of Wheeler. One Cobain photo for the sake of biography maybe isn't that big of deal...
Posted by Strangerr on September 30, 2008 at 12:48 PM
4
I would imagine there might be a couple of people not familiar with the history of Wheeler. One Cobain photo for the sake of biography maybe isn't that big of deal...
Posted by Strangerr on September 30, 2008 at 12:48 PM
5
Those pictures suck.
Posted by brave cyber warrior on September 30, 2008 at 12:53 PM
6
Is the driver in "What Women See" having a wank behind the wheel?
I agree with Jen; photographs of Cobain = instant turnoff, meaning I would never see the others. I like the others.
Posted by Fnarf on September 30, 2008 at 1:13 PM
7
You wouldn't like her if she hadn't taken pictures of Kurt Cobain.
Posted by T. Teller on September 30, 2008 at 1:14 PM
8
Hmmm, let's try a Venn diagram. The intersection of the sets of "photographers I like" and "photographers who have ever taken a picture of Kurt Cobain", previously believed to be empty, now turns out to have a single member -- Wheeler. I'm afraid this makes your proposition false, T. Teller.
Posted by Fnarf on September 30, 2008 at 1:29 PM
9
you might want to see if there's room for charles peterson in that diagram, fnarf.
Posted by paulus on September 30, 2008 at 2:07 PM
10
Alice Wheeler = Zeke
Posted by AliceWheeler=Zeke on September 30, 2008 at 2:20 PM
11
I checked: nope, no room for Peterson. No room for any rock'n'roll photography, in fact.
Posted by Fnarf on September 30, 2008 at 2:39 PM
12
Alice unbelievably talented. I can't even find words. These jpegs in this post don't even begin to illustrate her body of work... or how beautiful her actual color prints are. and #6 - I'm lucky lucky to own this print! It's big and beautiful and that man is indeed having a nice wank behind the wheel...
Posted by KELLY O on September 30, 2008 at 3:03 PM
13
Incidentally, this is the first thing that comes up when her name is googled: http://www.henryart.org/image/celebskin/wheel_kurt_mtv.jpg
Posted by Aaron on September 30, 2008 at 3:16 PM
14
So the cult of The Stranger loves this photographer...that can't be good.
Posted by Bellevue Ave on September 30, 2008 at 4:44 PM
15
Looks shopped.
Posted by Sirkowski on September 30, 2008 at 7:18 PM

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