Near the End of the Age of Petroleum, Part IV

One Man's Eyesore... Is Another Man's Art.

"Sometimes it's OK to let an old landmark go"

I saw the above article in the local paper the other day and my Eff-Stop klaxons went off. This cool old garage was due to be torn down the next day. I hopped in the Canonmobile and sped across the lake.

From the article:
"Tom Flood, a teacher at Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences (SAAS) [turned it] into an art studio, where kids from the Coyote Central after-school program built soapbox-derby cars (3,000 over 10 years, by Flood's estimate), and learned how to weld and build furniture. It was also the place where Flood created community art, like the metal tree in front of Madrona Elementary; works at seven other Seattle public schools; and at Childhaven."

"The garage also served as a shelter for a group of SAAS students who were brought here by teacher Roger Murray during the school's annual Seattle Challenge, which gives kids a three-day taste of homelessness."

Alas, the comments on the Seattle Times web article reflect not only the Philistine nature of the commenters as regards what constitutes art, history, and architecture, but a snarky attitude toward environmentalism and just about everything else. Reactionary Seattle at its best.

I find this "grafitti" cheerfully colorful, witty, and all-around artful -- not only compared to the typical indecipherable gang tags but more importantly compared to the ubiquitous and soul-numbing advertising that no one seems to mind covering every possible surface in our society.