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Photographer Eirik Johnson’s Barrow Cabins Captures Modest Dwellings

Eirik Johnson’s photos reveal the human nesting instinct

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This article originally appeared in the December 2013 issue of Seattle magazine.

!–paging_filter–pSeattle-based photographer Eirik Johnson is captivated by the most modest of dwellings: makeshift hunting shacks, remote forest campsites, animal burrows. In his show Barrow Cabins, he reveals such structures in stark relief, pairing twin shots—one taken in winter, one taken in summer—of slapdash shanties at the northernmost edge of our continent. Built by members of Alaska’s Iñupiat tribe, who use them as hunting cabins (walrus and whales in winter, caribou and seals in summer), the ramshackle plywood abodes sit on black gravel expanses abutting the Arctic Ocean. Johnson (a href=”http://www.eirikjohnson.com” target=”_blank”eirikjohnson.com/a) says the paired images serve as “a meditation on the passage of time.” They also reveal the small comforts people have brought to this landscape, desolate in all seasons. A basketball net, a recliner, a ragged set of curtains and, most striking of all, swing sets and trikes, plastic playhouses and a skateboard ramp—all speak to the irrepressible human impulse to make natural places our own. 11/29–1/11/14. Times vary. Free. G. Gibson Gallery, 300 S Washington St.; 206.587.4033; a href=”http://www.ggibsongallery.com” target=”_blank”ggibsongallery.com /a/p

 

SENSORIUM Takes on Our Screen Addiction

SENSORIUM Takes on Our Screen Addiction

Dance, drag, and immersive art collide in an eight-week exploration of our phone-obsessed lives, with a few surprises along the way. 

What do drag queens, smartphone addiction, art installations, and an old luggage shop have in common?  According to longtime Seattle choreographer Alana O’Farrell Rogers, a lot.  “There’s no dead time anymore,” says Rogers, explaining how the proliferation of smartphones fills the empty spaces that once served as time for rest or connection. Where we snuggled…

Salt-N-Pepa on Breaking Barriers and Staying Power

Salt-N-Pepa on Breaking Barriers and Staying Power

Ahead of their performance at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture gala, the hip-hop pioneers talk about creative ownership, connecting with new generations, and the songs that still resonate.

The Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP) will host its annual ICONS of Pop Culture Gala in Seattle on October 22, honoring five artists and institutions whose work has helped shape entertainment and culture.  This year’s honorees are martial arts and film legend Bruce Lee, fashion designer Jeremy Scott, the video game franchise Halo, hip-hop pioneers…

Studio Sessions: Christopher Paul Jordan

Studio Sessions: Christopher Paul Jordan

Drawing on childhood memories, neighborhood history, and salvaged materials, Christopher Paul Jordan’s latest show at Cornish’s Behnke Family Gallery explores how the past stays with us.

Start in the middle. It’s good advice for telling a story, and a way into Christopher Paul Jordan’s paintings. By the time you encounter them, their materials have already been something else, and who knows what they might move on to become. The Tacoma interdisciplinary artist works with salvaged objects, including screens, picture frames, canvas,…

Rearview Mirror: Wedding Bells, A Furniture Launch, and the Symphony’s New Look 

Rearview Mirror: Wedding Bells, A Furniture Launch, and the Symphony’s New Look 

Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).

WEDDING BELLS I’ve been a bit absent from this column lately, but I think I have a pretty good excuse: I got married! It’s already been three weeks since my September 19 wedding, but I’m still reflecting on the magic of the day. My fiancé, well husband now (I can’t get used to saying it!),…