0100101110101101.

org
United We Stand, 2005
Digital poster and light-box frame
Courtesy of Postmasters Gallery, New York,
and the artists
assume vivid astro focus
Pills & Cigarettes, 2004
Single channel video, 15 minutes
No. 5 from an edition of 10
Collection of Ben and Aileen Krohn

assume vivid astro focus

Freebird, 2002
Single channel video, 4 minutes
No. 4 from an edition of 10
Collection of Ben and Aileen Krohn

The two videos are played in a continuous

loop. The music for Pills & Cigarettes is
Walking on Thin Ice, sung by Yoko Ono, and
the music for Freebird is an adaptation of
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird.
The Spanish team of Eva and Franco
Mattes who work under the name
0100101110101101.org have earned an
international reputation as art world
provocateurs. They seek to upend
traditional notions of art and the viewing
experience by dissolving the strict
boundaries between formal institutions
such as museums and immediate, real-
world experiences. United We Stand is a
full-fledged advertising campaign for a
Hollywood-style action movie that exists
only in the artists’s imagination. The artists
use the concept of “viral marketing” to
insert their artwork in the popular
imagination. The fictitious project’s posters
and advertisements flow seamlessly into
the daily flood of information and images.

By appropriating the glamour and

seductive qualities represented by actors
such as Penelope Cruz and Ewan McGregor,
0100101110101101.org hopes to prompt
questions about the fleeting nature of
celebrity and the rapidly changing sense of
European unity. Franco Mattes explains the
plot of the movie: “The screenplay of the
movie is about the European president—a
very handsome and charming guy—who
immediately calls for a task force: five
highly-trained specialists known as the
German, the Italian, the Spanish, and the
French guy. This task force has the mission
to avoid the global war between China and
the USA without brutal force. European
Style!”
“Our strategy is pleasure—we want to give
the people visiting the museum a taste of
their own pleasure,” declares the
collaborative team known as assume vivid
astro focus (avaf). This goal aligns avaf with
the imagery of ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock
prints. Although separated by more than a
century and vast cultural differences, both
the Japanese prints and the avaf video
highlight the feelings, images, and
pleasures of their respective contemporary
worlds. They are also connected by a belief
that the pleasures are fleeting and must be
enjoyed before they disappear.

avaf churns through imagery from all

cultures and time periods and creates
spectacularly colored and vibrantly
exuberant work. The group has developed a
profound ability to celebrate the joyous
aspects of the world while simultaneously
subverting culturally engrained notions as
diverse as “fine art” and gender norms.
They link these images and ideas through
groovy sound, a simple graphic look, and
breathtaking editing. Their work seeks to
unify the visual experience and impact of
dance clubs, graffiti street culture, Asian
animation, and strains of optimism from
1970s popular culture.
Iris Bodemer (born Paderborn, Germany,
1970)
Untitled, 2000
Gold, tourmaline, smokey quartz, rubber,
wool
Collection of Sharon M. Campbell

Iris Bodemer has earned a reputation for

her highly refined and sophisticated works
that are at the forefront of new European
design. Her works challenge traditional
notions of preciousness and beauty by
incorporating semi-precious gemstones
and pearls with both traditional metal
settings and unexpectedly simple knots.
Bodemer approaches each of her
neckpieces as a drawing or sketch. She
carefully composes her works to create a
dynamic sense of symmetry on the basis of
textures, forms, and visual impact.
Lola Brooks (born Ann Arbor, Michigan,
1969)
Rose Cut Neckpiece, 2006
Stainless steel, 18 karat gold, rose-cut
smoky quartz
Courtesy of Sienna Gallery, Lenox,
Massachusetts, and the artist

Lola Brooks views her work as an effort to

understand how people use jewelry as
symbols of taste and wealth. Working in an
unexpectedly large scale, her works
suggest traditional conventions of fashion
jewelry, reinforcing ideas about glamour
and status, while simultaneously
undermining those expectations. Brooks
also has a strong preference for stainless
steel, an industrial material unusual in
fashion jewelry.
Jack Daws (born Stab, Kentucky, 1970)
Anywhere But Here, 2003
Gumball machine with various
pharmaceuticals
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase
with funds from Shari and John Behnke and
Rebecca and Alexander Stewart

Jack Daws’s sculpture Anywhere But Here

addresses the American fascination with
psychotropic drugs. The artist collected
prescription drugs from his friends and
family to illustrate the wide availability of
the drugs and how prevalent they have
become for average people. He points to
the easy availability of these mind-altering
drugs by placing them in a gumball
machine. This gesture creates an unsettling
metaphor of the drugs as candy and his
title alludes to the cultural expectations
that these drugs can solve almost all
personal problems.
Kathryn van Dyke (born Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, 1957)
Knowing You, Knowing Me, 2001
Mirrors and monofilament
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of Ben and Aileen
Krohn

Using hundreds of small mirrors, Kathryn van

Dyke deliberately fragments the viewer’s
perception of himself or herself and distorts
their ability to make sense of the physical
space outside of the installation. Because of
the seemingly countless number of
reflections, the viewer is unable to
comprehend a single, unified image. Van
Dyke’s fragmentation serves as a reminder
of the complexity of each individual’s
psychological makeup. Her mirrored
environment also emphasizes how quickly
perceptions of ourselves can change as we
move from one moment and place to the
next.
Anya Gallaccio (born Paisley, Scotland,
1963)
Even So, 2003
Bronze and glass
Collection of Rebecca and Alexander
Stewart

Anya Gallaccio first received international

critical acclaim for her installations of
decaying organic materials such as flowers
and fruits. Broadly labeled as an
“environmental artist” because of her
chosen materials, Gallaccio focuses on the
metaphor of natural cycles as a tender
reminder of the fragility and flux of human
existence. She also translates this
metaphor into lasting works in bronze and
glass. The melancholy Even So suggests a
quiet defiance or a verbal nudge to
reconsider. The sparse imagery also
suggests a sublime moment: seeds of the
previous summer preserved and waiting for
the next cycle of growth. This visual cue
hints at the power of “even so” in a
conversation.
Monique van Genderen (born Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada, 1965)
“…a fondness for fairytales and a love
of cash…” part II, 2007
Enamel and latex paint and vinyl on wall
Courtesy of The Happy Lion Gallery, Los
Angeles, Howard House Contemporary Art,
Seattle, and the artist

Monique van Genderen considers herself a

romantic painter. Her ethereal imagery and
otherworldly materials evoke places found
only in dreams. In this installation, van
Genderen uses the seductive and inky
blue/black surface on the smaller wall to
reflect the amorphous shapes that cover
the second wall. She uses these two walls
as tools to create the actual work of art:
the reflections that hover in a pictorial
illusion that has no physical boundaries.
This interplay between reflection and color
suspends the belief in the tangible world in
the same way that fairytales transcend
both truth and fiction.
Jim Hodges (born Spokane, Washington,
1957)
Coming Through, 1999
Light bulbs with ceramic sockets, mounted
on wood and metal in two parts
Collection of Rebecca and Alexander
Stewart

From its rigorous formal arrangements to

its use of consumer goods, Jim Hodges’s
Coming Through has a strong affinity with
minimalist art of the 1960s and 1970s as
well as the work of later artists such as
Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957–1996).
Hodges’s work expands the expressive
potential of simple elements to convey
multiple metaphors about memory, loss,
perfection, and desire. The light bulbs
illuminate the gallery, generate some
degree of warmth, and cast shadows. The
visual impact of Coming Through is never
stable as the viewer’s physical distance
from the art changes. The interaction
between light and viewer serves as a
subtle reminder of the ephemeral nature of
memory and experience.
Oliver Herring (born Heidelberg,
Germany, 1964)
Big Round Flat, 2001
Reflective Mylar, parachute nylon, and
Styrofoam
Courtesy of Max Protetch Gallery, New
York, and the artist

Oliver Herring created a series of hand-

knitted sculptures as an homage to his
friend and renowned performance artist
Ethyl Eichelberger (James Roy Eichelberger,
1945–1990), including Big Round Flat. Ethyl
Eichelberger was an important figure in
New York’s “Downtown Scene” in the 1980s
and was a member of the Ridiculous
Theater Company. He was celebrated for
his skill as a performer and his talents as
an actor. In his most renowned roles,
Eichelberger played multiple characters of
various genders simultaneously, fluidly
shifting from one character to the next. To
honor his friend, Herring meticulously
knitted the sculpture with Mylar as a
reminder of Eichelberger’s brilliant and
sparkling talent.
Mary Lee Hu (born Lakewood, Ohio, 1943)
Choker #83, 2000
22-karat and 18-karat gold
Tacoma Art Museum, Museum purchase
with funds from the Rotasa Foundation,
Friends of Jewelry, and Ramona Solberg
Endowment

For thousands of years and across all

cultures, humans have been fascinated
with gold. The soft metal continues to be
prized for its rarity, purity, malleability, and
reflective qualities. The extraordinary
beauty of Choker #83 comes from Mary
Lee Hu’s understanding of this history, her
precision as an artist, and her refined
aesthetic. Twisting and weaving thin gold
wire, Hu evokes two types of body
adornment, both a traditional necklace and
an undulating, frozen ribbon. The flowing
golden lines capture a perfect moment in
sparkling splendor.
Jeff Koons (born York, Pennsylvania, 1955)
Inflatable Balloon Flower (Yellow),
1997–2000
PVC, no. 50 from an edition of 51
Collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Family
Foundation

Jeff Koons creates artwork that deliberately

draws on notions of kitsch and often
engages in the spectacle of the ridiculous.
He typically selects a banal item, such as a
balloon flower, and increases its scale to
monumental proportions. Because he
isolates the item in a gallery or museum
context, the sculpture becomes a
statement about art, preciousness, and
cultural impact. By focusing on the
artificiality and throw-away qualities of a
balloon flower, Koons challenges many of
the underlying assumptions of permanence
and value in the art world.
Glenn Ligon (born Bronx, New York, 1960)
Conclusion, 2004
Coal dust and oil stick on canvas
Courtesy of Bill Hodges Gallery, New York,
and the artist

In 1993, Glenn Ligon began a series of

monochromatic text paintings based on
writings about the African-American
experience. He appropriated texts from
distinguished authors such as James
Baldwin (1924–1987) and Zora Neale
Hurston (1891–1960). He distilled his
understanding of these writings to resonate
with his personal experience as an African-
American. By creating the letters in black
paint and slightly coating them with a layer
of shimmering coal dust, Ligon offers a
visual equivalent for feelings of invisibility.
The darkness of the paint and the brilliance
of the coal dust evoke the “blackness” of
his experience, both his skin color and his
self-perception as an African-American. In
his later works, including Conclusion, Ligon
made the text nearly incomprehensible to
accentuate the emotional impact of his
frustrations.
Josiah McElheny (born Boston,
Massachusetts, 1966)
Possible Mirrors, 2002
Four French-polished, ebonized wood
panels and four mirrored, engraved crystal
glass panels
Courtesy of Donald Young Gallery, Chicago,
and the artist

With this work, Josiah McElheny grapples

with the potential meanings and metaphors
of mirrors as understood by the
Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges
(1899–1986). Borges wrote that mirrors not
only reflected the most superficial aspects
of the physical world but also doubled the
number of images, further alienating an
individual from authentic feelings and
experience. McElheny’s Possible Mirrors
provides a visual equivalent. The highly
polished black wood creates reflections
even though the color black absorbs all
light and color. Similarly, etched lines
across the entire surface of each mirror
obscure any perfect reflection.
Marilyn Minter (born Shreveport,
Louisiana, 1948)
Cat’s Cradle, 2006
C-print, no. 1 from an edition of 5
Courtesy of Salon 94, New York, and the
artist

Marilyn Minter (born Shreveport,

Louisiana, 1948)
Blue Tears, 2004
C-print, no. 2 from an edition of 5
Courtesy of Salon 94, New York, and the
artist

Marilyn Minter (born Shreveport,

Louisiana, 1948)
More Spots, 2005
C-print, no. 4 from an edition of 5
Courtesy of Salon 94, New York, and the
artist
For more than 20 years, Marilyn Minter has
created provocative images that explore
ideas of feminine beauty and perfection.
Mimicking conventions of feminine glamour
as produced by movies, television, and
advertising, Minter subverts these images
by emphasizing the impossibility of
becoming a picture-perfect woman. In
these images, Minter focuses on smeared
lipstick, plastic fingernails, freckles, and
wet hair. Her photographs raise profound
questions about society’s lust for the
“perfect woman” and the costs to each
woman if she tries to force herself into a
narrowly defined stereotype.

OPEN STUDIO
Create faces that sparkle
in the Open Art Studio.
Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas,
1955)
What Barbara Jordan Wore (The Public,
The Committee, Ms. Jordan), 2002
Installation of oil and enamel on linen with
video projection
Collection of Museum of Contemporary Art,
Chicago, Restricted gift of Nancy A. Lauter
and Alfred L. McDougal, Judith Neisser,
Barbara and Thomas Ruben, Faye and
Victor Morgenstern Family Foundation, and
Ruth Horwich

Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas,

1955)
What Barbara Jordan Wore #3, 2001
Oil on linen
Collection of Rebecca and Alexander
Stewart
Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas,
1955)
Lot 011603 (e), 2003
Oil on linen
Collection of Rebecca and Alexander
Stewart

Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas,

1955)
Lot 081103 (r), 2003
Oil on linen
Collection of Rebecca and Alexander
Stewart
Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas,
1955)
Texas, 1967, 2001
C-print and wood frame, from an edition of
3
Collection of Museum of Contemporary Art,
Chicago, Gift of the artist in honor of the
MCA’s Fortieth Anniversary

Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas,

1955)
Texas, 1969, 2001
C-print and wood frame, from an edition of
3
Collection of Museum of Contemporary Art,
Chicago, Gift of the artist in honor of the
MCA’s Fortieth Anniversary
Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas,
1955)
Texas, 1971, 2001
C-print and wood frame, from an edition of
3
Collection of Museum of Contemporary Art,
Chicago, Gift of the artist in honor of the
MCA’s Fortieth Anniversary

Donald Moffett (born San Antonio, Texas,

1955)
Lot 040202, 2002
Oil and enamel on linen
Collection of Sally and Jonathan Kovler
Donald Moffett created the series of
paintings and prints What Barbara Jordan
Wore to honor the accomplishments and
dignity of the political and civil rights
leader Barbara Jordan. Jordan (1936–1996)
served in the Texas State legislature from
1962 until her election to the Unites States
House of Representatives in 1972. Jordan’s
distinguished legislative accomplishments
include the renewal of the Voting Rights Act
of 1965. She is best remembered for her
nationally televised speech to the House
Judiciary Committee supporting the
impeachment of Richard Nixon in 1974. Her
august and unwavering voice articulated
the deep seriousness of Nixon’s breech of
the nation’s trust and laws.

Moffett distills the strength and powerful

presence of Barbara Jordan by creating a
multi-faceted portrait. The title What
Barbara Jordan Wore alludes to her
charisma and compelling character rather
than her choice of clothing. The sparkling
paints and flickering video provides a
metaphor for the importance of Jordan as a
politician and civil rights leader. The
singularity of each part of the installation,
whether the monochromatic paint or the
enlarged class portraits or the video
projections, reinforces the power of
Jordan’s personal convictions. Uniting the
entire group is a recording of Jordan’s
celebrated speech to the House Judiciary
Committee.

What Barbara Jordan Wore was originally

presented at the Museum of Contemporary
Art, Chicago, in 2002, curated by Elizabeth
Smith. Tacoma Art Museum would like to
thank the Museum of Contemporary Art,
Anthony Meier Fine Art, San Francisco, and
the artist for their support and assistance
in assembling these works.
James Rosenquist (born Grand Forks, North
Dakota, 1933)
Gift-Wrapped Doll #14, 1992
Oil on canvas
Promised gift of the Virginia and Bagley
Wright Collection, in honor of the 75th
Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

James Rosenquist began his series of

paintings Serenade for the Doll after
Claude Debussy or Gift-Wrapped Dolls for
his young daughter. This romantic title
reveals the inspiration Rosenquist took
from the French composer, who wrote a
series of small works for his own daughter.
Rosenquist wrapped a number of generic
dolls in plastic wrap and made close-up
photographs of them. He then translated
his photographs into large-scale paintings
highlighting the play of light across the
plastic. The plastic membrane that
separates and covers the doll symbolizes
his fears and hopes for his daughter’s
future. The glimmering colors also suggest
the packaging of a new toy, a barrier
keeping the doll safe and untouched.
Alex Schweder (born New York City, New
York, 1970)
Jealous Poche, 2004
Digital video, 7 minutes, 30 seconds
Tacoma Art Museum, Anonymous gift

The architectural term poche (also poché)

refers to the empty space between the arc
of a curving wall of an interior room and
the corners of the perpendicular walls of
the supporting, outer structure. Alex
Schweder is fascinated by this unseen area
and seeks to find parallels between this
architectural space and the hidden areas of
both the human body and of psychological
spaces. To represent this idea, video
monitors are mounted at varying depths
within the curve of the walls, and the
changing colors of the video entice viewers
to ponder the idea of movement through
interior depths.
Alex Schweder (born New York City, New
York, 1970)
Still-life of Beefsteak and Cheese, 2004
Paper, ink, and scented varnish
Courtesy of Howard House Contemporary
Art, Seattle, and the artist

For the installation of Jealous Poche, Alex

Schweder created an elegantly curving
volume based on the floor plan of Gian
Lorenzo Bernini’s Sant’Andrea Al Quirinale,
a small Roman church completed in 1678
and celebrated as an architectural
masterpiece. Because American
architecture rarely incorporates curvilinear
spaces, Schweder wanted to compound the
impact of his unusual installation by
triggering other senses. The brilliant colors
and scratch-and-sniff feature of the
wallpaper emphasizes how architects
desire to activate all of the senses.
Interestingly, Schweder plays with his
viewer’s perception by incorporating the
aroma of jelly donuts rather than steak
sandwiches.
Verena Sieber-Fuchs (born Appenzell,
Switzerland, 1943)
Toxicomanie [Drug-Addiction], 1992
Recycled, plastic, blister packaging for
pharmaceuticals and nylon monofilament
Collection of Nancy Worden

Verena Sieber-Fuchs uses discarded and

ephemeral materials to create jewelry that
addresses complicated social issues. In
Toxicomanie (“Drug Addiction”), Sieber-
Fuchs creates a large-scale collar from
discarded pill packages as a metaphor for
the heavy burden of drug dependence. The
silver and transparent plastic from
hundreds of these containers suggests the
glimmer of diamonds and crystals. Her
neckpiece finds metaphorical parallels
between the beauty of gemstones and the
seductive qualities of drugs in society. For
the wearer of this neckpiece, the
consequences of addiction quickly become
apparent: the edges of the packets scratch
and the size of the collar overwhelms the
shoulders and neck.
Jeffrey Simmons (born Cincinnati, Ohio,
1968)
Scatter and Amass, 2007
Alkyd and urethane resin on canvas over
panel
Courtesy of Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle,
and the artist

Jeffrey Simmons (born Cincinnati, Ohio,

1968)
Flux, 2002
Alkyd, Mylar, and epoxy resin on canvas
over wood panel
Tacoma Art Museum, Gift of David Lewis in
honor of
Dr. Gregory Lewis, Nancy Cole, and Delbert
Lewis
Jeffrey Simmons’s meticulous paintings
meld various traditions in abstract painting
from the hard-edged abstractions of early
modernists to op art of the 1960s.
Simmons’s primary interest is the optical
relationships of carefully-chosen color
combinations. By using a base layer of
reflective Mylar, Simmons heightens these
effects. As the viewer moves about the
gallery, the painted imagery appears to
shift and glisten. The apparent changes in
the painting’s imagery are an optical
illusion made possible by the reflective
Mylar.
Marc Swanson (born New Britain,
Connecticut, 1969)
Fits and Starts, 2004
Crystals, polyurethane foam, and adhesive
Collection of DePauw University, Gift of the
Butler Family Foundation

Marc Swanson often uses forest imagery as

a reference to his childhood experiences in
New Hampshire. By encrusting a fleeing
deer in brilliant crystals, Swanson’s Fits
and Starts melds his childhood memories
with his adult identity. The artist’s
provocative hybrid of the natural and the
artificial is accentuated by the multi-
colored flashes of the white crystals. With
this combination of two radically different
symbols of beauty—an image of an
untamed deer in the wild and a highly
polished and unnatural arrangement of cut
crystals—Swanson highlights the multi-
faceted aspects of desire and identity. The
expensive crystals can be read as a symbol
of the allure and sophistication of his adult
urban life and the accumulation of ideas
about art and beauty.
Andy Warhol (born Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, 1928)
Howdy Doody from The Myths, 1981
Screenprint with diamond dust
Collection of Jim, Melinda, Hallie, and Jake
Riswold

Andy Warhol (born Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania, 1928)
Santa Claus from The Myths, 1981
Screenprint with diamond dust
Collection of Jim, Melinda, Hallie, and Jake
Riswold
Andy Warhol (born Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, 1928)
The Witch from The Myths, 1981
Screenprint with diamond dust
Collection of Jim, Melinda, Hallie, and Jake
Riswold

Andy Warhol (born Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania, 1928)
Uncle Sam from The Myths, 1981
Screenprint with diamond dust
Collection of Jim, Melinda, Hallie, and Jake
Riswold
In his 1981 series The Myths, Andy Warhol
continued his exploration of American
popular culture. Throughout his career,
Warhol worked primarily with the
likenesses of living icons, notably Marilyn
Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. For the
images in The Myths, however, Warhol
focused on fictional characters. Imaginary
figures such as Santa Claus, Uncle Sam,
Howdy Doody, and the Wicked Witch of the
West play significant roles in American
identity. The essence of these characters
fascinated Warhol: the patriotism
embodied by Uncle Sam; the good and evil
of Howdy Doody and the wicked witch; and
the generosity and magic of Santa Claus.
Warhol’s thin coating of diamond dust
provides a tangible layer of glimmering
substance, akin to the character’s cultural
value.
Alice Wheeler (born Kansas City, Missouri,
1961)
Kurt Cobain (glasses) at MTV’s Live &
Loud Pier 63 Seattle Dec. 13, 1993,
1993
Inkjet print
Courtesy of Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle,
and the artist

Alice Wheeler (born Kansas City, Missouri,

1961)
Revolution Grrrl Style Now, Bikini Kill
at the X-Ray Café, Portland, Oregon,
1993, printed 2007
Inkjet print
Courtesy of Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle,
and the artist
These two images by Alice Wheeler from
1993 encapsulate the glamour and passion
of the Northwest’s alternative music scene.
In both pictures, dramatic lighting
symbolizes their status as “rock stars.”
Wheeler’s image of Kurt Cobain captures
the mystique of a celebrity at the pinnacle
of his international fame. The glittering
tinsel and plastic glasses provide a veneer
that hid signs of Cobain’s impending
psychological collapse. The stage lights of
the Bikini Kill performance illuminate the
skills of each musician.

A turn of phrase will forever link Cobain

and Kathleen Hanna (one of the co-
founders of Bikini Kill). Hanna once
scrawled the phrase “Kurt smells like Teen
Spirit.” Taking the enigmatic phrase, he
wrote the song Smells Like Teen Spirit. This
teen anthem symbolizes the anxiety,
cynicism, and ambiguity of the early
1990s. Today, it is remembered fondly as
one of the most influential songs in
American popular music.

With hindsight, this pair provides a startling

contrast in the desire for fame and fortune.
Cobain’s untimely death in 1994 cemented
his image as a symbol of the angst of
Generation X. His suicide also offers a
reminder of the extreme costs of celebrity.
The band Bikini Kill denounced celebrity
and fortune in favor of the purity of their
artistic vision. However fleeting, celebrity
and fame slowly fade.
Alice Wheeler (born Kansas City, Missouri,
1961)
Apple Blossom Queen at the Daffodil
Parade, Tacoma 2003, 2006
Chromogenic print, from an edition of 3
Courtesy of Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle,
and the artist

In addition to her career as a journalistic

photographer, Alice Wheeler also seeks to
make photographs that capture the
essence of American culture. Like her
photographs of the grunge and riot grrrl
music scenes, Wheeler views the Northwest
landscape and people through her punk-
influenced aesthetic. Her photographs are
often unsettling and preserve idiosyncratic
moments that teeter on the surreal. In this
scene of the activity just before the Daffodil
Parade began, Wheeler noticed the
conversation between the Apple Blossom
princesses and queen and the military
official. Despite their outward appearance
as symbols of hyper-masculinity and hyper-
femininity, these four individuals were
participating in a time-honored tradition of
the south Puget Sound region. Wheeler
delights in the juxtaposition of the
rhinestone tiaras and the firepower of the
jeep-mounted weaponry.
Claude Zervas (born Bellingham,
Washington, 1963)
Forest #3.5, 2005
Digital projection: single channel computer
algorithm, 4 minute cycle, continuous
digital photograph, Java program,
computer, and projector

Tacoma Art Museum, Purchased with funds

from Bill and Ruth True, Josef Vascovitz, and
Dawn Zervas

This digital projection is based on a single

high-resolution digital photograph of a
forest clearing in the North Cascade
Mountains. Claude Zervas wrote an
algorithm to dissolve and reconstitute his
digital snapshot. Due to the nature of the
mathematical formula, it is a virtual
impossibility that a viewer will see the
same sequence of pixels twice. The
resulting images allude to the beauty and
forms of the great stained glass windows of
medieval Europe. This reference ties into
the notion of the Western landscape as a
“cathedral in the wilderness” which
supported the doctrine of westward
expansion in the 19th century. By employing
advanced computer technology, Zervas
emphasizes the shifting relationship
between computer technologies and
environmental awareness.