Story by Scott Schaefer
Photos by Michael Brunk
On Thursday (Dec. 17th), “The Passage,” the large, two-piece Mother/Daughter sculpture by Dan Das Mann that anchored Burien’s Interim Art Space, was de-installed, hoisted by crane, lowered and secured on a flatbed truck in preparation to be carted away, en route back to its “home” in California after spending a year as the centerpiece to an innovated and sometimes controversial experiment in community art.
Co-Curators Dane Johnson and Kathy Justin were there, along with volunteers and hired workers who, over the course of the last two weeks, have removed all pieces from B/ IAS, the one-year art project in a space on SW 150th that once housed Bartells Drugs and its parking lot.
Now devoid of all art, the place will return to its empty parking lot-like self, the chunks of asphalt no longer representing anyone’s artistic vision, but rather an uncertain future for this lot. There will be no more controversial “naked lady statue” (“Paradigm Shift” by Mike McGrath), no more worries by the Fire Department about the use of fire as “art,” no more loud dance music blasting out of speakers, no more smashing pumpkins, and no more “art” here.
Will it house a new cinema? Another section of Town Square? A park of some sort?
Or perhaps…another, new art installation?
Only time will tell, and we here at The B-Town Blog would like to tip our collective hats to all the artists, volunteers, workers, students, community activists, city officials, gardeners, developers, visitors and observers who were all brought together by this idea, and who shared numerous joyous, fun events over the last year.
It seems like it was just yesterday that Photographer Francis Zera captured this time-lapse of the installation of “The Passage”:
Yet here we are repeating that scene, only in reverse – Photographer Michael Brunk stopped by over the last two days and documented the “de-installations” with this Photo Slideshow:
Also, as our salute to the ending of B/ IAS and the exiting of “The Passage,” we present an encore of our artist Danielle Burton’s vision of this sad ending:
And because we enjoyed covering the arts and events at this place, here are other Photo Slideshows and Videos we’ve posted about B/ IAS:
Click to View Michael Brunk’s Photo Slideshow
Click to View Scott Schaefer’s Photo Slideshow
Click to Play Michael Brunk’s SoundSlideshow
Click to View Scott Schaefer’s Photo Slideshow
On April Fool's Day, we showed off how much we suck at Photoshop with this lame doctored image of "vandalism" to The Passage. Everyone of course was fooled.
Read our previous coverage of B/ IAS here.
Driving past Burien’s Interim Art Space Friday afternoon, we noticed something was amiss.
No, nobody had cleaned up the chunks of asphalt that everyone complains about, nor had anyone covered up the nekkid lady sculpture.
Rather, a large portion of the colorful, big graffiti-styled painted mural had fallen over. This large piece was created by Sam “Sneke” Swanson and Iosefatu Sua at the 2008 Strawberry Festival, as an on-the-street “competition,” and was installed at B/ IAS in late July.
On Friday afternoon, about half of it was laying on its side.
Was this an act of vandalism?
Or merely from a recent windstorm?
Regardless, we just had to stop and take these pics:
We also sent an email query to Kathy Justin, who served along with Dane Johnson as Co-Curator for Burien’s innovative temporary art space, which will be taken apart over the next three weeks.
Kathy had this to say after we asked her what caused the mural to break:
It is from the wind. We are de-installing it tomorrow.
Kathy
So, the mural will be de-installed on Saturday, Dec. 5th, and we’re sure that if you’re up for helping, they could use some volunteer labor.
In the meantime, we’re going to sit in our cars nearby and cry…
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Mural Created At Last Year’s Strawberry Festival Installed At B/ IAS
- Photos of the Mural Being Painted at the 2008 Strawberry Festival
Sunday, Nov. 1st was a Day of the Dead for more than one way in Burien – it was also the last big event to be held at the Interim Art Space, which hosted “Night of 1,000 Pumpkins” as well as a Dia de las Muertes celebration.
Photographer Michael Brunk was there to capture both audio and photos of the day, which he’s combined into the following “SoundSlideshow”:
Click to Play Michael Brunk’s SoundSlideshow
Just when you thought that the fun with the skeletons and candy were done, today (Sunday, Nov. 1st) is the official start of Dia de las Muertes, an Hispanic celebration also known as “Day of the Dead.”
We here at The B-Town Blog love this celebration so much that we’ll be at Burien’s only known commemoration starting at 3:30pm, at the Interim Art Space on SW 151st just north of the new Town Square – it’s “Night of 1,000 Pumpkins”!
Sadly, this will be the final event held at B/ IAS before the dismantling begins and the space returns to an empty lot Dec. 31st – all the more reason to come up and celebrate one last time.
In case you’re not familiar with Dia de las Muertes, here’s some info from Wikipedia:
The Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos or All Souls’ Day) is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and by Latin Americans living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration occurs on November 1st and 2nd in connection with the Catholic holiday of All Saints’ Day which occurs on November 1st and All Souls’ Day which occurs on November 2nd. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.
Original Artwork by Danielle Burton. Click image to see large version.
The fun begins today at 3:30pm and goes until dark:
- Bring a carved Pumpkin (or more) with a candle to fill the site with 1,000 lit pumpkins (you can also carve one there)
- Bring something for the community Dia de las Muertes altar (photos of the departed, trinkets, symbols of their lives, etc.)
- Walk through the makeshift cemetery
- Dress up in Day of the Dead costumes/makeup (Calaveras, or skeleton costumes are perfect)
- Pay tribute to your departed loved ones and gather with your neighbor over food, drink and dance
- Celebrate your community, your family and friends one final time at this innovative space
- Face Painting
- Flower Making
- Grand Pumpkin Games
- Sand Painting by artist Amaranta Sandys in the lobby of the Burien Library
- Traditional foods and vendors
- Community created Altars
PERFORMERS:
- 4:30 to 6:30: Trio Lucero del Norte on the B/ IAS Site (Roots Music / Regional Mexican / Folk);
Trío Lucero del Norte play traditional/regional Mexican music from the Huasteca. Specialists in son huasteco and huapango, they are currently the only local group who play son huasteco with the complete ensemble: violin, jarana and quinta huapanguera. Son huasteco is the zapateado style of Mexican son from the Huasteca region. It formed the basis for many styles of huapango that became popular throughout Greater Mexico. The Huasteca region encompasses the plains region of six states: Hidalgo, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Veracruz and Tamaulipas.
In addition to sones huastecos and huapangos, Trío Lucero del Norte interpret sones de costumbre for Day of the Dead and Carnaval, sones and cumbias in Náhuatl and Huastecan regional stylings of polkas, canciones rancheras, boleros and cumbias. The three members: Jose Hernández (violin), Modesto Antonio Hernández (quinta huapanguera) and Kim Carter Muñoz (jarana), met when Kim posted an add in the El Paisano, a Mexican Carnicaría/Grocery in White Center.
Kim traveled to Mexico for several years to study son huasteco and sones de costumbre for her graduate studies in Ethnomusicology. After playing with well-known son huasteco musicians in Mexico, including Los Cantores de Pánuco, Soraima y Sus Huastecos, Trio Chicóntepec, Los Caporales de Pánuco and others, she wanted to form her own trío in Seattle.
- 5:30 to 6:30: Los Flacos At the Burien Library; Join with Los Flacos for a musical celebration of El Día de los Muertos. This Latino music group performs a blend of the traditional sounds of Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. Using a variety of instruments, some indigenous to the Americas and others of European and African origin, they create their own renditions of the songs of Latin America. Gather together with friends at the Burien Library to remember and celebrate the lives of those who have died. For More info on Los Flacos.
- 6:30 to 7:30: Pyrosutra on the B/ IAS Site; Pyrosutra is a fire dance collective based out of Seattle, Washington. We combine choreographed bellydance, breakdance and stilt walking with a wide range of professional fire performance techniques and innovative tools.
- 7:30 to 9:30: La Banda Gozona on the B/ IAS Site
Tapetes de Arena or Sand paintings
These “murals” are typically made of sand, sawdust, seeds, flower petals, and pigments. Traditionally, a tapete is made in the home when there is a death in the family. After a period of mourning, the tapete is swept up and entombed with the body of the deceased. Tapetes are also created all over Oaxaca for the Días de los Muertos celebration, and judged along with the ofrendas in the Concursos de Altares de Muertos.
Amaranta Sandys is been collaborating in the making of sandpaintings with Latino artists in Seattle for the last 10 years @ SAM and Tacoma Art Musuem.
We think that if you dig Tim Burton or Danny Elfman, or love Hispanic culture (or even just good ol’ fashioned dead people), you’re sure to enjoy this event (and we can assure you, we’ll be there…).
All pumpkins will be composted through a gift from King County Solid Waste.
| Nov ’09 |
| 1 |
| 3:30 pm |
Burien’s Interim Art Space’s space in time is nearing its completion, with a Dec. 31st deadline fast approaching, and it’s fitting that the final big bash will be a special Day of the Dead “Night of 1,000 Pumpkins” celebration on Sunday, Nov. 1st.
Everyone’s invited to bring carved pumpkins and a candle to the B/ IAS site (beginning at 3:30pm), or carve one there to fill the area with illuminated jack o’ lanterns.
Bring something for the community Dia de las Muertes altar, walk through the cemetery, pay tribute to your departed loved ones and gather with your neighbor over food, drink and dance. Celebrate your community, your family and friends!
And be sure to bring your carved Pumpkin with a candle to fill the site with 1000 lit pumpkins.
The fun begins at 3:30pm and goes until Dark:
- Pumpkin Carving for Adults and Kids
- Face Painting
- Flower Making
- Grand Pumpkin Games
- Sand Painting by artist Amaranta Sandys at the Burien Library
- Traditional foods and vendors
- Community created Altars
PERFORMERS:
- 4:30 to 6:30: Trio Lucero del Norte on the B/ IAS Site (Roots Music / Regional Mexican / Folk);
Trío Lucero del Norte play traditional/regional Mexican music from the Huasteca. Specialists in son huasteco and huapango, they are currently the only local group who play son huasteco with the complete ensemble: violin, jarana and quinta huapanguera. Son huasteco is the zapateado style of Mexican son from the Huasteca region. It formed the basis for many styles of huapango that became popular throughout Greater Mexico. The Huasteca region encompasses the plains region of six states: Hidalgo, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Veracruz and Tamaulipas.
In addition to sones huastecos and huapangos, Trío Lucero del Norte interpret sones de costumbre for Day of the Dead and Carnaval, sones and cumbias in Náhuatl and Huastecan regional stylings of polkas, canciones rancheras, boleros and cumbias. The three members: Jose Hernández (violin), Modesto Antonio Hernández (quinta huapanguera) and Kim Carter Muñoz (jarana), met when Kim posted an add in the El Paisano, a Mexican Carnicaría/Grocery in White Center.
Kim traveled to Mexico for several years to study son huasteco and sones de costumbre for her graduate studies in Ethnomusicology. After playing with well-known son huasteco musicians in Mexico, including Los Cantores de Pánuco, Soraima y Sus Huastecos, Trio Chicóntepec, Los Caporales de Pánuco and others, she wanted to form her own trío in Seattle.
- 5:30 to 6:30: Los Flacos At the Burien Library; Join with Los Flacos for a musical celebration of El Día de los Muertos. This Latino music group performs a blend of the traditional sounds of Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. Using a variety of instruments, some indigenous to the Americas and others of European and African origin, they create their own renditions of the songs of Latin America. Gather together with friends at the Burien Library to remember and celebrate the lives of those who have died. For More info on Los Flacos.
- 6:30 to 7:30: Pyrosutra on the B/ IAS Site; Pyrosutra is a fire dance collective based out of Seattle, Washington. We combine choreographed bellydance, breakdance and stilt walking with a wide range of professional fire performance techniques and innovative tools.
- 7:30 to 9:30: La Banda Gozona on the B/ IAS Site
Tapetes de Arena or Sand paintings
These “murals” are typically made of sand, sawdust, seeds, flower petals, and pigments. Traditionally, a tapete is made in the home when there is a death in the family. After a period of mourning, the tapete is swept up and entombed with the body of the deceased. Tapetes are also created all over Oaxaca for the Días de los Muertos celebration, and judged along with the ofrendas in the Concursos de Altares de Muertos.
Amaranta Sandys is been collaborating in the making of sandpaintings with Latino artists in Seattle for the last 10 years @ SAM and Tacoma Art Musuem.
We think that if you dig Tim Burton or Danny Elfman, or love Hispanic culture (or even just good ol’ fashioned dead people), you’re sure to enjoy this event (and we can assure you, we’ll be there…).
All pumpkins will be composted through a gift from King County Solid Waste.
Here’s info on B/ IAS from their website:
The Burien/ Interim Art Space (B/ IAS) is a year–long experiment that expires Dec. 31st. Founded by residents Dane Johnson and Kathy Justin, B/ IAS combines and transforms the concepts of art, temporary green spaces, and community gathering.
B/ IAS at Town Square displayed Burien’s first major temporary art piece, “The Passage,” a sculpture depicting a mother and child walking together to share and explore life. This artwork was first created by Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito for the 2005 Burning Man Arts Festival. The figures stand a dramatic 30′ and 20′ tall and are fabricated out of recycled and scrap metal.
B/ IAS is located just north of Burien Town Square; Phase I of the project is now under construction. This exciting space not only showcase art, but is an energetic gathering place for Burien’s citizens. B/ IAS is a working canvas being transformed by the efforts of both artists and the community throughout the year.
The art space celebrated its opening on Saturday, January 24th, 2009 with the installation of “The Passage.” The project will conclude a year later when the sculptures are removed.
B/ IAS is a collaboration between Ignition Northwest, the Burien Arts Commission, Urban Partners and GGLO.
| Sep ’09 |
| 12 |
| 4:00 pm |
Our friends at Burien ARTS tell us they’re hosting a “Big Figure Draw-In” at B/ IAS from 4-6pm Saturday (Sept. 12th) as a precursor to the Arts-a-Glow Lantern Festival.
Everyone is welcome and encouraged to bring drawing materials to B/ IAS and join friends and neighbors in an outdoor group drawing event.
The Interim Art Space is located in Burien at 5th Ave SW & SW 150th Street, near Town Square and across from Staples.
Burien ARTS will be providing materials for kids.
Questions? Contact Burien ARTS at info@burienarts.org. For more info on Burien ARTS, click here, for more on B/ IAS, click here.
| Sep ’09 |
| 12 |
| 5:00 pm |
Burien’s annual “Arts-A-Glow” festival is coming Saturday, Sept. 12th, from 5pm to 10pm at Burien Town Square as well as the Interim Art Space.
During Arts A-Glow the park will be lit by beautiful and fascinating original, artist-created lantern sculptures starting around 8pm. Everyone is invited to:
“Come explore on this magical evening, make your own lantern and join the procession at dusk! We will have musicians and performers around every corner and treats to be sampled too.”
You can also sign up for one of the upcoming August Lantern Making Workshops at the Moshier Art Center. Lanterns can also be made earlier in the day at Kids Day at the Burien Fire Station.
This year’s Arts-A-Glow festival will feature seven local and regional artists who are creating temporary, site-specific lantern installations. All of the artists have designed around the theme of Gathering! which celebrates the beauty and magic of coming together. The installation artists are:
- Denise Henrikson (Seattle)
- Thaddeus Jurczynski’s (Port Townsend)
- Sarah Lovett (Seattle)
- Oleana Perry (Seattle)
- Deb Shane (Olympia)
- Dana Squires (Olympia)
- Leslie Zenz (Olympia)
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
8pm-ish: Lantern Procession at Dusk – Join the fun! Come early and make a lantern, or bring one from home!
5pm-7pm: The Boyd Family Players, Soft Island Sounds, Samual Doesburg juggling, Harp by Jini O’Flynn & more!
6-7:30: Red Dog (bluegrass)
6-9:30: Illuminated Stilt walking by The Cabiri
6:30-7:30: Abyssinian Dance Drum Circle
7:30-8:45: Yellow Hat Band (brass band music from around the world)
8:45-9:45: Boys of Greenwood Glen (zydeco & bluegrass)
AND MORE:
- Magical Face Painting, Lantern Creation Station, Treats and more!
OTHER EVENTS:
- Lantern Open House—Wednesday, Aug 19, 6:30-8:00pm: Everyone is invited to a FREE Open House at the new Burien Library, 4th &152nd. Come meet the artists, get a sneak preview of what’s in store, and learn how you can get involved in making beauty and light for this year’s festival.
- Lantern Making—Kids Day, Saturday, September 12th, 10am-3pm: Find the FREE lantern booth at Kids Day at the Burien Fire Station and make a lantern for the lantern festival! Go to www.BurienFire.org for more information.
- Burien Art Walk—Downtown Burien, Sat, Sept 12, 10am-5pm: Wander downtown Burien and find art in the shops. Sponsored by Discover Burien. Go to www.DiscoverBurien.com for more information.
- The Big Figure Draw In! Sat, Sept 12, 4-6pm: Bring your drawing supplies and a stool and draw the largest figure model you have ever seen! At B/ IAS, 5th and 150th SW. Free and open to the public.
Arts-A-Glow is brought to you by:
- City of Burien
- Burien Arts
- B/ IAS
- Denise Henrickson & Leslie Zenz
- 4-Culture
- Elliott Bay Brewing
Event will happen, art will be created and lanterns will glow, rain or shine. For more information, click here.
| Aug ’09 |
| 15 |
| 10:00 am |
| Aug ’09 |
| 16 |
| 10:00 am |
Just when you thought the hot part of summer was over comes news that the Burien Interim Art Space is hosting “Pieces of 8,” a FREE “urban concert presented in 8 channels over 2 days and a city block” on Saturday, Aug. 15th and Sunday, Aug. 16th.
That’s right – this is going to be a live performance of compositions written for 8 channels over 8 speaker stacks cranked up and placed throughout the B/ IAS site (see diagram below for details).
So basically, you’re going to enjoy a two-day cutting edge musical “Burien Man”-styled eargasm happening stretched over the one acre site.
This event will not only enable artists to create sound performances on a scale deeper, larger and in a truly unique environment…it will Rock. Burien. Out.
The schedule is:
- Pre-Recorded compositions Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
- Live 8 Channel performances from 6:30 pm to 11:00 PM both days
Pieces of Eight appears to have been inspired by “The Parking Lot Experiments,” a show that The Flaming Lips did in 1996-97 that was inspired by an incident in Wayne Coyne’s youth, where he noticed that car radios in the parking lot at a concert were playing the same songs at the same time. Coyne created 40 cassette tapes to be played in synchronization. The band invited people to bring their cars to parking lots, where they would be given one of the tapes and then instructed when to start them. The music was “a strange, fluid 20 minute sound composition”.
Pieces of Eight will be playing the Flaming Lips eight channel experiment called ZAIREEKA in its entirety. This is a wonderful opportunity for Flaming Lips fans and experimental music fans to hear this epic piece in its entirety the way it was envisioned.
Here’s a video of one “Parking Lot Experiment” to give you an idea of what to expect (it may look/sound like a buncha noise in this video, but trust us…once you’re there it’ll be an immersive happening…):
Artists will include:
- David Hahn Presents: Virus Cosmos (God as a Virus) With Ellen Mclain and John Patrick Lowrie.
- Nan Avant: World Music
- Scientific American aka C Andrew Rohrmann
- Jim Bartz and his StringStation:
- Doug Zangar
- Peter Comley:Requiem for a Mannequin
- Matt Menovcik
- Jeff Aaron Bryant
- Dave Fridmann & Scott Booker “Flaming Lips” present:ZAIREEKA
- impacttestdummy
- Leslie McMichael:Eight Harps Live
- emrlabs
- David Stutz: Mascheroni Circles
- Marc Barreca: Bronze and Bamboo
- Sean Dunn:Little Jehovah Universe Kit
- Dick Valentine:Double Negative
Here’s a diagram of the speaker placement:
Seattle’s City Arts Magazine recently published a story praising Burien’s Interim Art Space, saying that it “proves any empty lot can become an artistic spectacle.”
The story, written by Virginia Wright, goes on to explain the roles that local residents Kathy Justin and Dane Johnson played, along with the unique partnership of Burien Town Square, Urban Partners LLC, 4Culture, the City of Burien, Ignition Northwest and GGLO — the architecture firm developing Town Square.
Here’s an excerpt:
Rising out of the rubble of Burien’s Town Square construction zone, the one-acre Burien Interim Art Space (B/ IAS) is an innovative concept. On a slab of land that would otherwise have remained fallow for a year, a crop of metal sculptures has sprouted. The pieces exhibit a range of styles and scale, from a conservative piece easily imagined in front of an office building to a delicate metal tree encircled by comfortable seating. The two-story-tall centerpiece of the site is The Passage, by Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito, which depicts a pair of figures constructed entirely of scrap and recycled metal. The larger figure passes liquid fire to the smaller one through enormous steel fingers…
Read the full story here.
Students from the Puget Sound Skills Center’s Welding Careers Program, in association with Plumber and Pipefitters Local 32, 
installed “To Be Named Later,” an original sculpture of an eagle swooping down onto a salmon at the Burien Interim Art Space on Friday, June 5th.
“This is where Puget Sound Skills Center students came to Local 32’s Weld shop to learn Welding Skills and Trade Related Confidence,” said Dale Copeland of UA Local 32. “This piece is made primarily out of steel and other materials, and we plan on letting nature create the patina that we are looking for and the movement of the piece. We started with an initial design, but the students have come up with several ideas of there own. All the students worked on the piece, with the students doing most of the work.”
More information on the project, as well as B/ IAS, available at www.interim-art-space.com.
Photos courtesy Dane Johnson.
BREAKING NEWS, FIRST REPORTED HERE & EXCLUSVE TO THE B-TOWN BLOG AND NO OTHER LOCAL MEDIA WITHIN A 12-MILE RADIUS:
Sometime within the last 24 hours, vandals apparently drove a racing green Mini Cooper onto Burien’s Interim Art Space area, hooked a tow line up and pulled over the “Mother” portion of “The Passage,” which was unveiled on January 24th.
Here’s an exclusive photo, taken by Contributing Photographer Francisco Beigh around 3:45pm Wednesday, April 1st:
Photo courtesy Francisco Beigh.
“To tell you the truth,” said Officer Brent Calvin, “nobody noticed anything different about this place until some dude with artsy glasses and a girly ponytail starting screaming like he was having a seizure around 15:30 hours. He called 911 on his cute red iPhone, so now we’re stuck here investigating. And I was just about to head down to The Tin Room for happy hour. Sheesh.”
Burien Police and King County Sheriff’s investigators are on the scene now, and are warning curious residents to avoid the area, as there are shards of artistic asphalt and metal everywhere, as well as brightly colored sculptures and paintings that could harm the retinas of citizens used to the normal drab scenery of Burien.
The suspect Mini Cooper was last seen at the drive-through of the neighboring Burger King, where the older male driver ordered a BK Kid’s Meal cheeseburger with ketchup only, apple fries and a small chocolate shake, then sped off towards Des Moines. According to the manager, they may return to retrieve a forgotten toy, which this week is from the hot new 3-D movie “Aliens vs Monsters.” A Port of Seattle S.W.A.T. team is now staking out the fast-food restaurant.
If you’ve seen a green Mini Cooper with a white roof, driven by an older white male with a sated young male with blond hair in the back seat scrambling around looking for a missing toy, you are encouraged to call police immediately.
According to local artist I.I. Dinka Hefeweizensen, who is the new director of the B-Town Interactive Artists Coalition House (aka B-IACH):
“Rather than re-build this sculpture, we’re going to leave it as is and just re-name it ‘What Happened to My Mama?’”
This story is developing, and rest assured we will post continuing-exclusive updates as soon as they come in, whether you like it or not.
Tuesday night (Feb. 24) at the monthly Arts Commission meeting, Mayor Joan McGilton (right) presented the Burien Community Leader Award to Dane Johnson and Kathy Justin. The presentation was given early because Dane and Kathy will be on vacation when the Awards Dinner takes place Friday March 6th.
Founders of the year-long Burien/ Interim Art Space (B/ IAS) experiment, combining and transforming the concepts of art, temporary green spaces, and community gatherings, Kathy Justin and Dane Johnson have thrown open the doors of Burien, welcoming in the arts community.
“The goal is to get everyone more involved. All groups from different walks of life are invited to be creative and take advantage of the space.” Said Johnson.
Kathy and Dane hope that community members, groups and artists will bring their “out of the box” interpretations for use of the space. The Interim Art Space is just the kick off as they hope to continue to bring more art for display on the streets and parks of Burien.
“We want artists to know Burien is very accessible to the artist.” Said Dane.
“The allure of a city is that your voices are more readily heard in a community this size.” Said Kathy.
Their persistence while working on Burien’s’ 15th anniversary celebration provided building blocks for a great relationship with the city, while opening dialogue that has helped grow the local arts community.
Both Dane and Kathy said that they are grateful to receive the 2009 Community Leader award, and while they will not be able to attend the awards presentation, they will be speaking as representatives of the National Burning Man Association in San Francisco on the night of the event.
Kathy and Dane are looking for volunteers and participants in the arts planning committee as event planners and coordinators, artists and more. If you are interested or to learn more visit www.interim-art-space.com.
Here’s what the award committee had to say about Dane and Kathy:
“With their amazing energy, collaborative effort and never ending persistence, they brought together artists, business owners, community members and city staff to create a temporary art space, the first of its kind in the US.
Their vision and countless hours of work have given the Burien community an incredible space that will continue to develop over the next year; planned an opening celebration that made locals and outsiders rethink Burien, and a stream of publicity that is putting Burien on the map as an arts city.”
Here’s a video (shot by Steven Bradford) of the results of their hard work from the opening night of B/ IAS on Jan. 24th:
We’ve had the pleasure of seeing these two talented residents in action working like dogs, and we’d like to extend a hearty-yet-arty “Way to Go!” to them from The B-Town Blog!
| Feb ’09 |
| 9 |
| 6:30 pm |
Kathy Justin and Dane Johnson, the driving forces behind the innovative Burien Interim Art Space, sent us this email about an upcoming planning meeting for the site on Monday, Feb. 9th at 6:30pm at the Moshier Art Center (map below):
Hello Everyone,
We are having our first planning meeting for the B/ IAS site next Monday the 9th at Moshier Art center at 6:30pm. Its a potluck so bring some nosh or beverages
We are looking for input, volunteers, fund raising ideas and energy. Please help us keep this momentum happening!
thanks,
Kathy Justin and Dane Johnsoncheck out www.interim-art-space.com
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Hot Art Heats Up A Cool Burien On Saturday
- VIDEO: Time Lapse Of Thursday’s “The Passage” Installation
- Sculptures Installed At Interim Art Space For Sat. Unveiling
- PHOTOS: “The Passage” Makes Safe Passage To Burien
- Ground Broken For Town Square Sculpture “The Passage”
- UPDATE:”The Passage” Installation Postponed To Jan. 24th
Saturday afternoon saw chilly temps but warm hearts set aglow by numerous innovative and often fiery sculptures, art pieces and artists at the grand opening of Burien’s Interim Art Space (B/ IAS) at Burien Town Square. Slideshow photos by Maureen Hoffmann and Scott Schaefer.
The celebration consisted of numerous elements imported from The Burning Man Festival (with the major element of course being fire), local dignitaries, artists, DJs, dancers, residents, several local firefighters (on hand just in case) and, did we mention…fire?
Lots of fire.
The day was basically our own “Burien Man Festival,” with firewood-stoked intricately-carved cauldrons (used to keep attendees warm), a computer-controlled “Fire Pod” sculpture that shot fire out to techno music (with dramatic sudden bursts of propane-powered flame), numerous smaller pieces, and of course the centerpiece sculpture “The Passage,” whose co-creator, Dan Das Mann, was on hand.
The art will remain on the site until the end of the year, and you can bet that it will most certainly light up numerous times for upcoming celebrations. B/ IAS is located on SW 150th near 5th Ave SW, almost directly across the street from Staples.
UPDATE 1/25/09: Here are some more excellent photos of the event, taken by Maureen Hoffmann:
Fire drips from the hand of the “Mother” figure into the hand of the “Daughter” in “The Passage” sculpture.
Closeup detail shows lit kerosene drippinginto the “Daughter’s” hand.
Even the dancers heated things up with fire.
Closeup detail of the intricately carved scenes and messages in a fire cauldron, which was stoked with wood.
We’ll be posting more video and photos soon, and if you have any pics you’d like to share, please email us or upload them to our Flickr Group.
More info, including how you can take part, available at the Burien Interim Art Space (B/ IAS) website.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- VIDEO: Time Lapse Of Thursday’s “The Passage” Installation
- Sculptures Installed At Interim Art Space For Sat. Unveiling
- PHOTOS: “The Passage” Makes Safe Passage To Burien
- Daily Journal Of Commerce Digs Burien’s Interim Art Space
- Ground Broken For Town Square Sculpture “The Passage”
- UPDATE:”The Passage” Installation Postponed To Jan. 24th
- VIDEO:Impressive Sculpture Coming To Burien Town Square
Here’s an exclusive time-lapse movie of “The Passage” being installed late Thursday afternoon, courtesy Burien Photog Francis Zera:
[flashvideo filename="http://b-townblog.com/wp-content/media/thepassagetimelapse.flv" /]
Time-lapse video courtesy of Francis Zera Photography / zeraphoto.com
Here’s a schedule of events for Saturday’s Grand Opening ceremonies, which start at 3pm:
3pm: Opening Ceremonies at Burien Town Square (BTB Advertiser) office, located at 455 SW 152nd Street in downtown Burien (see map below for locations)
4pm: Drum band procession to the B/ IAS site
4:20pm – Block Party B-Boys hip hop dancers
4:40pm – Public ceremony – thanks & introductions
5:00pm – Lighting of the Passage
5:15pm – Spinergy fire performers
5:30pm – Ludington GT
6:30pm – DJ Randy Engstrom and Firepod
7:30pm – Abyssinian belly dancers
7:30pm – Firepod
The “daughter” portion of sculpture “The Passage” is lifted into place at the Burien/ Interim Art Space Thursday afternoon in preparation for Saturday’s opening party. Photo by Gina Kallman.
In preparation for Saturday afternoon’s official unveiling, numerous pieces of art and sculptures were installed Thursday afternoon (Jan. 22) at the Burien/ Interim Art Space (B/ IAS), located on the southeast corner of the Burien Town Square on SW 150th.
B/ IAS is a year-long experiment to showcase art and serve as a community gathering place, and artists and volunteers have been digging footings and assembling sculptures while cranes have been lifting sculptures into place.
Described as a “artist P-patch”, B/ IAS represents a creative solution to a common problem caused by the current stalled development industry. The one-acre parcel of land, to be developed into condominiums by Urban Partners, would have sat empty for at least a year until construction on the company’s delayed project resumed, if not for the vision of Burien Arts Commissioners Dane Johnson and Kathy Justin and a number of community partners coming together to make it happen.
Urban Partners has donated the lease of the space. GGLO, the firm who designed Burien Town Square where B/IAS is located, contributed to the project by hosting a design charrette to explore how to turn the former asphalt parking lot into a dynamic space that engages people. Other partners include Ignition Northwest, the City of Burien and 4Culture as well as numerous community volunteers.
At the center of the interim art space will be a dramatic 30-foot-high sculpture called The Passage. Originally debuted at the Burning Man Arts Festival in 2005, the sculpture depicts a mother and child walking together “to share and explore life.” Created by Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito, the dramatic figures are fabricated out of recycled and scrap metal, as seen in this photo taken when the piece first arrived on Jan. 20th – check out the dreadlock hair made of re-used chains:
Other sculptures installed Thursday include:
- The Fire-Pod, an 11-foot-high steel sculpture with six claw-like tendrils and 12 firing points that shoot out flames (that also debuted at Burning Man).
- Synapse Naust, a 16-foot-high fire cauldron designed by Charlie Smith, Jamie Ladet and a group of Seattle artists, into which you can toss logs and the burning fire illuminates the detailed patterns cut into the sides of the structure.
- Tree Spire, a 15′ tall tree with a circular bench around the base of the tree created by the Iron Monkeys.
- The Nemata, a hollow-formed bronze sculpture.
WHAT: The Passage along with the Fire-Pod and Synapse Naust will be set ablaze amidst a festive community celebration; community leaders, art enthusiasts and Burien neighbors will gather to listen to the music of local musicians and watch as the burning sculptures are lit.
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 24, beginning at 3pm at the Burien Town Square offices, then moving to the outdoor space at 4pm.
WHERE: B/ IAS space, which is located on SW 150th, across from Staples (map below).
COST: FREE
For more information, visit the B/ IASwebsite here.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- PHOTOS: “The Passage” Makes Safe Passage To Burien
- Daily Journal Of Commerce Digs Burien’s Interim Art Space
- Ground Broken For Town Square Sculpture “The Passage”
- UPDATE:”The Passage” Installation Postponed To Jan. 24th
- VIDEO:Impressive Sculpture Coming To Burien Town Square
“The Passage,” the unusual Mother/Daughter sculpture made of recycled and scrap metal, made safe passage to Burien from California Tuesday night on a semi-truck to the Interim Art Space at the Town Square. The Grand Opening Party is this Saturday, Jan. 24th at 3pm, starting at the Burien Town Square office.
As you can see in this closeup, the “Mother” figure of the sculpture has “heavy metal” dreadlock hair made of re-used metal chains.
Evidence of artwork is already visible at the B/ IAS site, as all the light poles have colorful art on them.
Proof that artists have already been active on the site is seen in the photo above.
Be sure to make it to the grand opening party this Saturday, Jan. 24th at 3pm.
Here’s more info on B/ IAS from their website:
The Burien/ Interim Art Space (B/ IAS) is a year–long experiment, combining and transforming the concepts of art, temporary green spaces, and community gathering.
The Interim Art Space at Burien’s Town Square will be kicked off by displaying Burien’s first major temporary art piece, “The Passage,” a sculpture depicting a mother and child walking together to share and explore life. This artwork was first created by Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito for the 2005 Burning Man Arts Festival. The figures stand a dramatic 30′ and 20′ tall and are fabricated out of recycled and scrap metal.
Previous coverage here:
- UPDATE: ”The Passage” Installation Postponed To Jan. 24th
- VIDEO: Impressive Sculpture Coming To Burien Town Square
More info on B/ IAS here, including ways you can donate!
Thanks for Kathy Justin for sending us this video (produced by Steven Bradford), which shows “de-construction of the site” where Dan Das Mann’s impressive Burning Man-created sculpture “The Passage” will be installed at Burien’s Interim Art Space (B/ IAS) at the new Town Square on Jan. 24th:
Be sure to mark your calendars for the grand opening party at 3pm on Saturday, Jan. 24th, and stay tuned to The B-Town Blog for more exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and photos as we get closer to the official unveiling party.
Previous coverage here:
- UPDATE: ”The Passage” Installation Postponed To Jan. 24th
- VIDEO: Impressive Sculpture Coming To Burien Town Square
More info on B/ IAS here, including ways you can donate!
| Jan ’09 |
| 24 |
| 3:00 pm |
12/27/08 UPDATE: Due to weather conditions, the installation of the sculpture The Passage into Burien’s Town Square (BTB Advertiser) has been POSTPONED from Sat. Jan, 3rd to Saturday, January 24th, starting at 3pm
The Passage, a sculpture depicting a Mother/Daughter, will be installed at the Burien/ Interim Art Space, a year-long experiment combining and transforming the concepts of art, temporary green spaces, and community gathering.
According to Kathy Justin:
“The opening ceremnony for the B/ IAS project and The Passage has been postponed because of the weather.
The new date is set for Saturday January 24th starting at 3pm.”
The Passage is a sculpture depicting a mother and child walking together to share and explore life, and was first created by Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito for the 2005 Burning Man Arts Festival. The figures stand a dramatic 30′ and 20′ tall and are fabricated out of recycled and scrap metal.
Here are two videos that will give you a better idea of exactly what’s coming to Burien:
The interim art space will occupy a temporarily vacant one-acre parcel of Burien’s Town Square project:
This exciting space will not only showcase art, but will be an energetic gathering place for Burien’s citizens. B/ IAS will be a working canvas that will be transformed by the efforts of both artists and the community throughout the year. The project will conclude a year later when the sculpture is removed and construction begins on another phase of the Town Square.
B/ IAS is a collaboration between Ignition Northwest, Burien Arts Commission, 4Culture, Urban Partners and GGLO.
To Volunteer, Create, or to Work a plot of land on the B/ IAS Project please email info@interim-art-space.com.
For more information, visit the website here.
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