In Arts News
Pistil Priced Out
When Shorey's Bookstore closed its physical location in Fremont in August, 2000, and announced its relocation to cyberspace, many passed it off as a sad anomaly. But the transformation of actual Seattle bookstores to virtual ones continues. The latest to transmogrify are PAGES Books, News & Web, on 15th Avenue East, and--most heartbreakingly to many here at The Stranger--Pistil Books & News.
Pistil, owned by Amy Candiotti and Sean Carlson, has operated from its tiny Pike Street location for the past seven years. It stocks used books, some hard-to-find small-press offerings, and zines; it will continue to offer used books through Internet sites like Abebooks.com, a consortium of over 7,000 booksellers. Candiotti and Carlson cite increasing rent and the influence of chain bookstores as factors in their decision. (Even with a retail location, a full one-third of Pistil's sales were occurring online anyway.)
"[Our] rent increase shocked us into looking into the future," says Carlson. Like many small bookstores, Pistil never turned much of a profit, and saw itself as more of a neighborhood outpost. "When we opened," Carlson continues, "we did have this vision of a place where you could have readings, have art being shown, locally produced zines--and we're not happy to see that not happen anymore. But we weren't happy to be working for free, either."
The growing opportunities for small businesses online is a positive one; certainly no one can begrudge Candiotti and Carlson their new world of profitability and regular work hours. But the trend raises troubling questions. As Candiotti puts it, "A bookstore is a private space which is open to members of the public." When neighborhoods lose this unique space, they lose an accessibility that's internalized as identity; otherwise, a neighborhood is just a bunch of sidewalks you use to get home. Then there's the whole issue of lost personal interaction. As Carlson says, "Anytime you're placing a screen between customers and what is being offered, there's a whole new world of manipulation that comes into play.... People are going to lose the ability to hold a book in their hands before buying it, to browse. A small-press author will have a much harder time selling their book in that atmosphere, whereas big book publishers will have an easier time. It's ironic that we live in a neighborhood with a BMW dealership, half-million-dollar condos, five coffeehouses... and it can't support a bookstore." TRACI VOGEL
Call It Co-Works
From the Department of Quick Fixes: The Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA), shooed prematurely out of its slated-for-demolition Belltown space, is going to rent space at Consolidated Works (the loft at the back of the art gallery has been spruced up to create separate exhibition and administrative spaces). This is strictly a rental agreement: Executive Director Matthew Richter "welcomes CoCA with open arms," but emphasizes that the space-sharing is not seen by either entity as a programming or artistic collaboration. Meanwhile, Richter is busily looking for a new space for his organization, and expects to confirm plans for future housing in six to eight weeks--which may or may not include CoCA and the four other arts organizations that maintain rental agreements with ConWorks. So CoCA's rescue is a brief Band-Aid; Director of Visual Art Meg Shiffler says--mostly joking--"Now we're all doomed together." EMILY HALL
SAM's New Girl
The Seattle Art Museum has announced its replacement for outgoing Deputy Director Trevor Fairbrother: And the winner is Lisa Graziose Corrin, chief curator of London's Serpentine Gallery, which is known for its shows of modern and cutting-edge contemporary art. Corrin has worked with such big-name artists as Chris Ofili (of the Madonna/dung brouhaha at the Brooklyn Museum of Art), Mariko Mori, and Gillian Wearing. Will she bring a much-needed infusion of cutting-edge art to SAM? Will she be as charming as Fairbrother? Stay tuned. EMILY HALL
