They Received a Severed Hoof in the Mail
The mysterious guerrilla pig that appeared out of nowhere in Fremont a couple of months ago [In Arts News, Nov 15] apparently made enemies during its brief sojourn on Fremont Avenue. The steel piggy was reported missing to the Seattle Police Department on November 17 by the Fremont Arts Council. Two weeks ago, the FAC officially adopted the pig and had received a golden crowbar as the "key" to the pig from Koki Adams, the representative for the artist responsible, who wishes to remain anonymous. At the time of the pignapping, Guerrilla Pig had been living on the corner of North 35th Street and Fremont Avenue North, patiently waiting to be moved to Condor Electronics at 125 North 36th Street; Peter Toms, owner of Condor Electronics, had volunteered two weeks ago to have the pig permanently installed in front of his store.
While there are no official leads, conspiracy theories abound: Toms wonders if a bar fight on Friday night near Guerrilla Pig's home might have been a crafty diversion. Or perhaps frat boys made punchy by the Apple Cup (and Budweiser in a cup) at Husky Stadium thought an eight-foot metal pig would look good in their bathroom. We may never know, but our sympathies go out to the artsy folks in Fremont who had come to consider Guerrilla Pig a friend. JENNIFER ELAM
Number of Unemployed Artistic Directors Drops by One
Mark Murphy, the former Artistic Director of On the Boards, has already gotten a new job. He has just been appointed the Artistic Advisor of the Roy and Edna Disney Cal Arts Theatre (which cleverly shortens to RED CAT) in Los Angeles. RED CAT is a new "contemporary interdisciplinary performance center"--that is, a venue for anything and everything that defies standard definition--currently under construction and scheduled to open in October of 2003. When it does, Murphy will be at the helm. This news was announced at a recent community forum convened by On the Boards to cull input from Seattle's artistic community about OTB's search for a new artistic director. The announcement was accompanied by a mix of happiness and relief; OTB's board of directors no doubt hopes that this will ease some of the tension around their own selection process. Here at The Stranger, we add our hope that Murphy's talents will help turn RED CAT into as vital an institution for Los Angeles as OTB is for Seattle. BRET FETZER
Writers Get Money, Finally
The much-missed Eric Fredericksen wrote this about Hugo House's Gift Exchange: "The Hugo House Gift Exchange, formed by a quartet of people loosely affiliated with that organization, intends to give cash grants on an annual basis to local writers--$500 a pop in this year [2000]. This is the best kind of arts philanthropy: unconditional, unpretentious, and involving nothing but a transfer of money directly into the pockets of artists. There's no application process, either. The Gift Exchange's donor committee privately decides upon recipients." Fredericksen was correct to call the Gift Exchange "the best kind of arts philanthropy," and not just because I was a recipient of the grant last year (the only literary prize I've ever received in this city), but because it is honest and unexpected.
So often, arts awards are the product of a confused commitment to democratic decision-making. But, by nature, democratic processes rarely select the most desired, instead choosing the most practical and universal, and hence the most mediocre. The Gift Exchange is not democratic, but immediate. There is the artist I love, and here is the money he or she needs. 2001's winners of the grant are Matt Briggs, Flor Fernandez Barrios, Teri Hein, and Melinda Mueller. The awards ceremony will be held on December 4, at 6:00 p.m. at Hugo House. Call 322-7030 for more information about the greatest literary prize in Seattle. CHARLES MUDEDE
