The Belltown of Seattle

Art/Not Terminal

2008-03-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

Art/Not Terminal. One can see why this gallery, just for its name seeps well into the Belltown cement. When Art/Not Terminal opened, they took over a building that was used as a terminal. So people wouldn’t get confused and would realize that the Terminal no longer exists they hung up a home-made sign saying ART/NOT Terminal; the name stuck, with both meanings intended as they say.

The exhibition this week is Carlo Costellano and the painting that jumped out at me, not because it was one of the first I saw, was a piece called Barmaid.

Belltown, now the new nightlife of Seattle with trendy bars and restaurants, Barmaid is a good depiction of, though not intended to be, the new life that Belltown has created; late night chats atop a bar stool; drinks being poured and secrets being spilled to the bartender.

An aspect of this gallery exhibit that brings about not only the feel of Belltown but also of Seattle is the fact that every painting’s focus is of a person. It is about the people and the uniqueness of them. You have the actor, the woman with a vale, the girl sitting, and the young model. Yes like Belltown and Seattle what makes it great are the people that fill the streets, that live and bring their unique skills to this metropolitan area.

People watching is a skill easily picked up when in Belltown and that skill makes it all the much easier to walk into this exhibit and stare at the panted people in front of you.

Hours: Mon- Sat 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sun. 12 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Address: 2045 Westlake Ave. Seattle, WA 98121
Phone: 206.233.0680

Pop Surrealism in Belltown

2008-02-14T08:29:00.000-08:00

Walking through an art gallery as opposed to a museum, the differences seen are in the pieces of art that hang off the walls; works you’ve never seen or heard of before. They have not made it into any art history books yet, and many of the times the artist behind the art is an unknown name to the public; a name that is only noticed after you stare at the art, eyes drifting towards the little plaque that is stamped next to the work portraying the title and the artists name.

The great thing about spending the day in an art gallery is the unique experience that your eyes receive. Seeing new works that you have no preconceived notions about, for you know nothing of the work before walking through the art gallery doors; (well most of the time).

So, on that thought, of the attractiveness of art galleries, it was not a forceful thought when deciding to discuss the art galleries of Belltown.

Belltown, though somewhat small, has, unsurprisingly, a great deal of art galleries. Therefore, the next few entries of mine will feature one new art gallery found on the urban streets of Belltown.

Today’s spotlight rests upon the Belltown’s Roq La Rue, an art gallery opened since 1998. Their focus is Lowbrow/Pop Surrealism and they exhibit established artists as well as aiding to the discovery of emerging artists.

The newest exhibit at Roq La Rue is a large, group show, entitled “A Cabinet Of Natural Curiosities”. Each artist was asked to create works relating to animals.

“The mysterious links we have with animals are integral part of our psychological make up. As humans we treasure them, fetishize them, turn them into symbols, anthropomorphize them, and at the same time inflict terrible cruelty upon them” (Roq La Rue).

That was a segment taken from the Roq La Rue’s description of “A Cabinet of Natural Curiosities”.

Many already know what Pop Surrealism art is and have figured out whether it is art they enjoy seeing, but for those of you who have not yet formed an opinion around Pop Surrealism, Roq La Rue is the place to begin your journey through an art movement with origins in the underground commix world, punk music, and hot-rod street culture. Roq La Rue fits perfectly into the urban uniquness that is Belltown.

Roq La Rue address:
2312 2nd Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 347-8977

Hours:
Sun – Tues: Closed
Weds/Thurs: 1-6pm
Friday: 1-7pm
Saturday: 1-6pm

The Top Pot of Belltown

2008-02-04T17:42:00.000-08:00

Living in Seattle makes us all aware of the coffee lifestyle. Seattleites have their favorite, corky, coffee house, whether they drink coffee or not. Because it is not about the coffee, it is about what that time spent in a coffee house means; sitting down, reading books, sipping on one’s choice of beverage, which for me would be a 16 oz Americano. It feels like a European experience, where conversation or deep thoughts are the point of coming.

So as I was exploring Belltown, a place where every apartment building is required to have street level retail, I was keeping my eye out for that neighborhood’s corky coffee house that teleports one to the streets of Paris.

Top Pot is its name and hand-forged Doughnuts are its game. It is these doughnuts that separate Top Pot from many other Seattle coffee houses. Starbucks seems to think so as well since soon Starbucks will begin selling Top Pot’s doughnuts nation wide.

This is an important change for Top Pot, but will its corky customers begin to fade away? At first there were worries of this and perhaps there still remains some nerves, but every visit to Belltown’s Top Pot the same amount of tables remain filled and just as many coffees steam off the tables.

Set right off to the side of the monorail, Top Pot’s angular glass-front entry is opening and welcoming. The presence of “the regulars” of Top Pot is not off putting. On a Sunday afternoon every table is filled, occupied by couples and friends, and by singles sitting and writing on, most-commonly, at least for this afternoon, their MacBook computers.

Top Pot’s left and right walls contain floor to ceiling bookshelves, every shelf filled. The books staring at me are, Montaigne, Shakespeare I, Gilbert-Galileo-Harvey, Darwin, Tolstoy, Freud and the entire set of The Encyclopedia Americano.

As far as the requirement that all Belltown Apartment buildings must have retail stores, Top Pot seems to be something worth mentioning to any apartment shopper looking within the two-block radius of this coffee library.

Top Pot slips perfectly into Belltown’s corky and eclectic atmosphere. And though it’s doughnuts have gone corporate Top Pot still feels like that little whole in the wall.