I haven't lived in Seattle for years, but it always struck me that the viaduct is fucking ugly and should come down. I guess I don't understand your argument. I'm not very hip, admittedly. But I do like art.

If you walk, Capitol Hill to Fremont can be done in a half hour. Get off your whiny ass and walk!

You had me at "Fuck You"

You need to back away from the turpentine.

I don't understand what Anonymous is talking about. I'm not sure the letter could be any less coherent.

This is the first I, Anon to make me go "Guh?"

the best part of it is the accompanying cartoon.

From what I heard, those flabby things beneath your waist can be used for locomotion of a body. Maybe you should buy this new fangled device known as a "bye cycle" or these "wokng schus" in order to move around.

Whoa. If you've gotta get some anger out, make sure it's extremely incoherent anger.

I missed the links between 'art', 'viaduct gone' and 'fuck you' - I take it that the writer's so-called 'involvement in art communities' is just as poorly executed as his (only a guy would write this crap) ability to form a coherent argument. What a waste of valuable I-Anon space!

Yeah, I don't know what the fuck. Maybe I Anon has just decided that "artist" and "favors tearing down the viaduct" go hand-in-hand?

Which may or may not be so, but who cares, because you can either take an alternate route, walk, or bike. Walking (the slowest) really shouldn't take much more than an hour for your average joe. Which is well worth it to get rid of such a shitty, shitty viaduct.

(yawn) ... must have been a slow week.

dude if you expected artists to get involved in a political battle, you really don't know artists very well.

& whats up with hatin' on blue collar folks?

#4--so ride a damn bike! Take the bus! Drive a few extra minutes in your car! Whatever. Get rid of the damn viaduct. If art in Seattle needs that viaduct to survive, that's pretty sad.

Dear Anonymous: Fuck Yourself

Well lets see where to start.. The 619 building in Pioneer Square is having to move or relocate or make un-studioable that very lovely building that has housed talented artists for EVERY art walk since I cant remember. Many of us have faithfully enjoyed our visits to their studios for the last twenty years . The reason is due to the construction on the tunnel. It will be unsafe for artists to be there. The artists have met with Wash dot and have been being GASP! very political about trying to work towards an agreeable compromise. To the guy who doesn't think artists are EVER political...Really? How long have you been an artist? We often have to fight for what we believe in... at least real artists do. If you don't think artists are political perhaps you should go back to the passive rock you came from. I too have been a very active AND political artist since I was sixteen. They go hand in hand if you knew anything about art history...or any history you would know that.
So the long and the short of it is that I am a Seattle artist who does not live/work in Pioneer Square but I care allot about how those artists fair in their struggle to find new space BECAUSE I am an artist also. I have attended their meetings to see if I could help. I think your bitter fuck you attidude may be misdirected. The artists here are survivirs and yes sometimes a little too passive but HEY I have an idea "I ANNONY-MOUSE" how about you use all that brain power you say you have to go back to wence you came because WE ARTISTS OF SEATTLE GOT A FIGHT IN FRONT OF US AND WE DONT NEED YOU POISONING THE WELL, Get out already

Contrary to popular opinion, oil paint, when properly mixed and applied, does not have to take a 'long time' to dry. Good ventilation is key, though.

I say lose the viaduct, forget the tunnel, and let's all settle on one main district for art galleries, someplace really inconvenient so the rent stays cheap for as long as possible.

This is the sound a turnip makes when its community tries to get blood out of it. It has its own logic.

Not that I think artists are root vegetables. Not really.

Anybody who thinks Seattle is a real art city is on total crack. Back when property here was cheap, Seattle was a bit of a secret treasure, relaxing, easy to get around, cheap as H to find space to work in and live and customize (and freeze in), including out in funky places like LaConner. But ever since MSFT, no more.

Even then, however, most famous Seattle artists had to make it outside of the city, just like Jimi Hendrix did, because frankly, noone outside of the US even knew where Seattle was, and none of the provincial engineers here could care less about buying art. There was a woman in Everett who walked into Antiques Roadshow with a Chuck Close early original. She had ZERO idea it was worth 300k. Someone could've offered her 1k for it, and she would've taken it.

Most of the people in Seattle with money are raising children, or techies who are mostly cheap about what they want to spend on art, and get what they pay for. The galleries sell to corporate clients who want decor or indigenous work, which you can't go into if you're not native and have any integrity. Roq La Rue is about the only gallery selling anything else.

It's basically impossible for an artist to ask 5k for a piece of work in this town, which is what it should cost, especially with an agent/gallery taking half.

Add to this the fact that we're in a giant recession which has thrown into question the value of everything, and a digital age which has made it possible to stare at every piece of art ever made on a bigscreen. Prints are of uncertain worth, public sculpture means navigating a terrain of bureaucrats who pay themselves better than ANY artist, and a neo-religious psychotic public. Paintings can sell if you have any training and good representation, but most modern 'artists' seem to forget that part of the equation while they rebel against life's realities until they have children and have to quit and learn CSS or become (shudder) salespeople.

The letter sounds like it was written by a hack going through pot withdrawals or worse. Sure, the 619 building IS the LAST place in Seattle that feels to me like the city once did across the board, and losing it is SO indicative of the lip service this city and state really give to independent artists. It has a giant crack running through it though, and it could easily be argued it's a building on its last legs, but FORGET the rest of this red state being asked to put up ONE DOLLAR for its renovation no matter how many billions are wasted on the overall project or, yeah, STADIUMS for spoiled brat millionaires. This is spartan America, not socialist Europe, and you better not forget it.

If you want to be an artist, paint or sculpt, leave the other worthless media behind, especially photography and those dumb little constructs in shadow boxes, go to Gage academy or a place that will teach you real chops, and then leave this city for LA, NY or Berlin at high speed, because Seattle is an artist's graveyard. Then again, with a collapsing economy, it is getting cheaper to buy a place in some areas. Still, the advantage of being in NY or LA is immeasurable for exposure and contacts, although those cities can suck royally. Once you sell elsewhere, they might blow some of a rapidly dwindling art budget on you here.

Also, learn how to be a network administrator. Pays great, very flexible hours, very portable skill. Being an artist costs a lot of money until you make any.

i think your first problem is that you currently take the viaduct to go from Capitol Hill to Fremont.

I'm not 100% sure I get what you are complaining about.

Is this about artists not getting involved in the political process? If so that could probably be elaborated on in some kind of persuasively calm rational manner. Perhaps. Otherwise...?

25, good sincere rant. i agree, cheap space is at the core of a non elite art community. for this reason ive always felt seattle as ive known it since the late 90s as a fractitious, cliquey, almost zero sum type of culture rather than a sincere collaborative effort. but ive also got a chip and a problem with the local style and hipster referential aesthetic language. blah blah

#25 - I bet you're real fun at parties.

how will capitol hill to fremont be effected by the viaduct going away?

no one understands what is going on in this article. awesome.

I'm not sure there are many things more cringe worthy than artists banding together for some political cause or another. They're as earnest as they are ignorant of the issues.

The world record for walking 20km is one hour and seventeen minutes, so world champion Sergey Morozov could walk from Cal Anderson Park to the Center of the Universe sign in twenty-two minutes, not counting any delays crossing streets.

And not counting having to walk around things like city blocks, buildings, and the ship canal. In terms of walkability, try doubling the distance from Capitol Hill to Fremont and you might have a more accurate measure. Few people are willing to walk 6 miles for anything other than charity.

Why would anyone go to Fremont or Ballard? Especially if they're already in Capitol Hill. I don't understand.

I completely agree with this person. Well put.

I don't understand this letter.