"What?" he said softly. "Really? What?" He stared at the QFC sheet cake—our delivery vehicle each year that lets the Genius winners know they've won.
Our other four Geniuses—in film, music, theater, and books—will be announced in the coming hours here on Slog, and MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE PARTY ON SEPTEMBER 16 AT THE MOORE THEATRE, because it's a giant great party with Wild Orchid Children and Wheedle's Groove playing. (Remember last year with Shabazz Palaces and THEE Satisfaction and those headdresses by Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes?)About Pan. He's not a standard visual artist. He doesn't show in galleries and museums, but just about every time you look behind the scenes of a great, community-based, interdisciplinary project, there he is.
- Kelly O
- The cake decorators misheard and wrote "You're a second Genius" rather than "You're a frickin' Genius" (our standard language every year), so all the cakes had to be redone this morning.
He's an artist the city is damn lucky to have, but one who'd never think of himself as a genius—he's humble as hell. At the low-income senior housing facility in Belltown where he lives and works, he passed out the cake this afternoon. They all ate it together, most of them wondering whose birthday it was.
Here's more info on the awards and how to donate to the Genius cause. Remember: Friday, September 16. Celebrate these artists with us! More Genius surprises to come...