SUMMER 2018
NEW NEIGHBORS ON PARK LANE: ED MCCARTHY’S PAREIDOLIA PEOPLE in random visual stimuli is more generally known as pareidolia. This body of work explores this phenomenon, albeit with an added touch of bright industrial coatings.”
620 Market St. Kirkland, WA 98033 425.822.7161 • www.kirklandartscenter.org
Engineering meets Sculpture
Park Lane has some new neighbors beginning July 2, 2018! Engineer and artist Ed McCarthy, has created six steel sculptures specially commissioned by Kirkland Arts Center for installation along Park Lane corridor in downtown Kirkland. The family of sculptures,
collectively called Pareidolia People, will live in their new urban dwelling until July 15, 2019. Each sculpture personifies city landscapes to reflect human characteristics, personalities, and relationships; together they explore the relationships between people and their environment. The six ‘city people’ are all based on objects in the city, explains McCarthy. While none are the same, all are “related by scale, color, material, and a common vocabulary of shapes.” McCarthy hopes that visitors are inspired to reflect on their place in urban dwellings as well as their relationship to each other while navigating the city.
What does Pareidolia mean? Have you ever looked at cars in traffic and noticed different faces? Headlights, grille, bumper shapes - all of these seem to create a smiling or glaring face. This is an example of pareidolia, pronounced parr-i-DOH-lee-ah. For McCarthy, this was exactly what inspired Pareidolia People. “Sometimes I can look at individual buildings, mailboxes, light poles, and other urban objects such as bridge piers, and see people. Sometimes distorted, sometimes deconstructed, these figures...surface from inanimate objects. This tendency to see patterns
Ed McCarthy has a background in architecture and engineering and incorporates this into his sculptures. His work attempts to give new meaning to the term “industrial art” by creating sometimes bulky and rugged objects reminiscent of machinery or manufacturing tools. He was especially excited by the opportunity to create public art works that he hopes people will interact with. “I made these pieces with our youth in mind. I want them to have a tactile experience: to feel the texture of the paint, notice the thickness of the metal, hear the different acoustics when you knock on them, and feel the temperature of the metal in the shade compared to the sun. Perhaps, an encounter with these sculptures will inspire youth to become architects or artists.”
STEAM Kirkland Arts Center is excited about these works and the way McCarthy bridges his roles as an engineer and as an artist. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) are main focuses in today’s youth education; Art has a crucial role to play in this (STEAM). KAC will create a STEAM curriculum workbook for public schools, community centers, libraries, and after-school programs for students in grades 3-5 to explore questions about McCarthy’s family of steel sculptures, such as “How are people shaped by their environment?” Pareidolia People is made in partnership with The City of Kirkland and the Kirkland Cultural Arts Commission; the installation is made possible by support from the Norcliffe Foundation and 4Culture.
IN THIS SUMMER NEWSLETTER... - New sculpture installation in Downtown Kirkland! - Music+Ideas at Kirkland Arts Center: New programming with 91.3FM KBCS - What’s new in the Ceramics Studio! - Supporter Spotlight: Lois Harbaugh
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT KIRKLAND ARTS CENTER Mark your calendars!
Clay?VII | July 17 - September 8 Free opening reception Friday, 7/20 @ 6PM
Call for Art: Young Artists Exhibition “My Robot Family” - all ages Submit by Wednesday, 8/1
Demystifying a Hindustani Music Concert Lecture & Concert - details inside! Thursday, 9/6 @ 6:30PM
Check out kirklandartscenter.org/events for more events and information!
JOIN KIRKLAND ARTS CENTER FOR CREATIVE FUN DURING SUMMERFEST! 2018 Young Artists Exhibition: “My Robot Family” Costumed Model Drawing - all ages! Make & Take Kids Art Project
GALLERY & EVENT HIGHLIGHTS BEST OF KAC EXHIBIT
MUSIC+IDEAS WITH KBCS Beginning Fall 2018, KAC is partnering with 91.3FM KBCS to bring Music+Ideas in the KAC Gallery. KAC looks forward to the conversations sparked by this new series of programming. Now more than ever, we need
spaces in our community that cultivate curiosity, creativity, and empathy. We hope you’ll join us!
DEMYSTIFYING A HINDUSTANI MUSIC CONCERT WITH ADITI UPADHYA Thursday, 9/6 @ 6:30PM KAC Gallery | $10 Suggested Donation Cultivate a deeper understanding of the Hindustani classical Indian music tradition. Acclaimed musical educator and performer, Aditi Upadhya, will guide you as you transcend from passive listening to immersive engagement!
KIRKLAND ARTIST STUDIO TOUR
More events will be announced - stay tuned!
CERAMICS STUDIO WELCOMES NEWEST ADDITIONS There’s always something new coming out of the Ceramics Studio. But there are a few noticeable additions - new equipment! Thanks to the generosity of 73 students, instructors, and arts supporters, the Ceramics Studio has
a new wheel, slab roller, spray booth, and two glaze formulating tables! These new additions expand what teaching and student artists are able to create and protects artists’ health and safety. Kirkland Arts Center is an incredible community of artists and arts supporters. The new ceramics equipment is another example of the power of community. Thank you for being part of this community! Special thanks to those who
gave to KAC in memory of Chris Barbee, Ed Connell, and everyone who participated during the Seattle Foundation’s final GiveBIG Day of Giving! Right: Ceramic student, Joanne Bohannon, using the new spray booth.
kirklandartscenter.org/events
DONOR INSPIRATION We recently received this letter from Kim Radcliffe, daughter of one of Kirkland Arts Center’s founders, Bill Radcliffe. Kim inspires us with her generosity and
we are proud to continue the legacy of those first creative leaders. Dear Sue,
THE POWER OF ART BEGINS WITH YOU! Making your tax-deductible gift is easy! Call (425) 822-7161 Mail your gift with the enclosed envelope Visit kirklandartscenter.org/donate
THANK YOU FOR MAKING ART AND COMMUNITY THRIVE!
I am Kim Radcliffe, Bill Radcliffe was my father. Seven years ago this June, Dad passed, and instead of moping about it, I chose to celebrate his vision, energy and creativity. With that in mind, I have enclosed a donation, and one of Dad’s limited prints of one of his sketches. The world needs dreamers now more than ever, people that see things differently. Your organization grows those kind of people, and how great is that?! Dad was so happy to see “The Creative Arts League” grow and thrive into the vibrant Kirkland Arts Center it is today. Bravo! Thank you for all you do. Best, Kim Radcliffe
MEET A KAC SUPPORTER: Lois Harbaugh As a professional ceramic artist with her own studio, Lois Harbaugh has taken classes at Kirkland Arts Center for over 20 years. What keeps her coming back is the “democracy of it all,” as Lois puts it. “In class you have artists of all levels of experience. The environment is non-competitive; everyone is facing their own creative edge. There’s a lot of freedom and inspiration in that.” For Lois, supporting KAC means supporting a place that has given her so much. “Community is just so important--otherwise, I’d just be alone! What a
difference KAC has made on my life and work! It helps give my work context, makes what I do make sense; it is a vital part of my support system as an artist.” You can see Lois’ incredible work in Clay? VII, now on view at the KAC Gallery.
KIRKLAND ARTS CENTER IS GRATEFUL FOR PROGRAM SUPPORT FROM:
WITH ADDITIONAL PROGRAM SUPPORT FROM THE NORCLIFFE FOUNDATION. MEDIA SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: KIRKLAND LIVING MAGAZINE AND ARTBEAT NW ON 1150AM KKNW RADIO.