Donkeys Like to Stand

Allison Hyde, Isn't Life Grand When You're in Love, found objects and plastic, 2009.

Thought of the Day: Donkeys like to stand, not lie rigidly on their sides.

Two of the Telephone Room Gallery's youngest fans – Lauren and Willa, age 5, but let's not be ageist – visited the Hello! exhibition independently and made it clear that they had an issue with Isn't Life Grand When You're in Love. Although they are both savvy art world insiders, and are more familiar than they would like to be with "No Touching" and "Touching harms the art", they both instinctively reached out and gently placed the fallen donkey on its feet again. It was only after the second instance that the different states of mind that we are in became apparent: to some people, a yellow plastic donkey should be proudly standing upright, regardless of whether it is art or in love.

Allison Hyde is currently studying in Eugene, Oregon, pursuing her MFA in Printmaking at the University of Oregon.
www.allisonhyde.com

Allison Hyde is a part of the Telephone Room Gallery's Hello! show, on view from February 18 to April 30, 2009. Viewable by appointment—please email us. Don't be shy.

The Prowess of Weeds

Jessica Balsam is overwhelmed by the prowess of weeds. She was once driven to tears when surveying the bindweed aggressively twining its way around her yard. Her pulse quickens when the scotch broom blooms along the interstate. She invents elaborate schemes to stop its spread, usually involving trenches, fire, and sharp apparatuses that attach to her car.

However powerful they appear to be, though, weeds are nothing more than introduced species that depend on us – and our habit of disturbing soil – for survival. Michael Pollan sums it up in this early essay, “Weeds are not the Other. Weeds are us.”

It is this fascination that prompted Jessica to create a series of works that commemorate weeds that haunt Tacoma. The comics on her Weed Tins tell snippets of how the weeds came to inhabit our disturbed plots and forgotten corners. Luther Burbank introduced the Himalayan Blackberry as a hardier alternative to its native cousin. Lady Bird Johnson’s Highway Beautification Act of 1965 ushered in an era of non-native plantings, probably including scotch broom along I-5. Dandelion, as we all know, was brought to the New World as food. It was a favorite of Jessica's grandfather, who ate it in salad while everyone else had iceberg lettuce.


Jessica Balsam, Weeds of Tacoma Tin #3: Bindweed, tin, pen and ink, 4½ (height) x 3¼ (diameter) inches, 2009.

Jessica Balsam is a part of the Telephone Room Gallery's Hello! show, on view from February 18 to April 30, 2009. Viewable by appointment—please email us. Don't be shy.

Safe to Swallow

Pei Pei Sung remembers candy from her grandparents.


Pei Pei Sung, Safe to Swallow, acrylic on paper, 10 x 3½ inches, 2009.

Grandma and Grandpa used to ship us care packages from Taiwan to Wisconsin. Tucked in quilted blankets were a special treat—White Rabbit Candy.

_________________
Los Angeles Times
U.S., state issue warnings on Chinese candy White Rabbit

Officials urge consumers to discard the candy after the chemical melamine is detected in some pieces.

September 27, 2008

The Food and Drug Administration and state health authorities warned consumers Friday not to eat any flavors of White Rabbit candy imported from China because they may be contaminated with the chemical melamine.

The California Department of Public Health specifically identified White Rabbit candies imported and distributed by Queensway Foods Co. of Burlingame, Calif. Queensway is voluntarily recalling the chewy sweets after state testing detected melamine in some pieces.

Melamine is the compound associated with contaminated infant formula in China and last year¹s large recall of pet food.

The warning on the candies came as the FDA recommended that consumers avoid Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products being recalled by Taiwan's Car Food Industrial Co.

The FDA said it was not aware of any illnesses in the U.S. linked to either the candy or the coffee and tea products. California officials urged consumers in possession of White Rabbit candy to discard it immediately.

The White Rabbit candies distributed by Queensway come in various flavors, including vanilla, red bean, coffee, corn, lychee, coconut, chocolate, mango and strawberry cream. All varieties have a picture of a white rabbit with a black background on the top of the bag.

Consumers with questions about the recalled product can contact Queensway at (650) 697-6633.
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all about White Rabbit Candy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rabbit_Creamy_Candy

where to buy White Rabbit Candy: www.veryasia.com/whraca.html

Pei Pei Sung is a part of the Telephone Room Gallery's Hello! show, on view from February 18 to April 30, 2009. Viewable by appointment—please email us. Don't be shy.

Two For the Show

Jeremy Mangan is a painter and ice sculptor who lives in Fife.
www.jeremymangan.com


Jeremy Mangan, Two For the Show, acrylic and graphite on non-buckling board, 9½ x 12 inches, 2008.

“Two For the Show brings a new element into an ongoing series of drawings and paintings. For some time I’ve been creating and exploring a world of oversized and overbuilt house, barn, and shed structures. Building practices of the early American West are certainly a primary source for this imagery. There’s a haunting but attractive quality to old dilapidated wooden buildings. There’s also a particular logic—they were built to serve a specific and necessary function, with little or no attention paid to aesthetics. They were 'just good enough.' But they’re beautiful in spite of this, and because of it. I’ve taken this logic and expanded it to the point where it becomes, hopefully, a compelling visual experience and a useful metaphor. In that order.

Two For the Show adds a mural depicting two dead gunfighters to the side of one of these buildings. For me it’s something like an elegy, a monument, to a particular type of legend, at once heroic and villainous. Photos of corpses displayed as trophies are fascinating and horrible. Like the weathered barns, this is rich imagery.

It’s also fairly dark imagery, which is something unusual for me. In any case, I do see myself continuing to engage it and Two For the Show directly foreshadows my plans for the Telephone Room in June."
—Jeremy Mangan.

Jeremy Mangan is a part of the Telephone Room Gallery's Hello! show, on view from February 18 to April 30, 2009. Viewable by appointment—please email us. Don't be shy.

Hello. The Telephone Room calling

Hello.

The Telephone Room calling.

The Telephone Room is Tacoma's second smallest art gallery (Hello Tollbooth Gallery!) at 12 ½ square feet. The Telephone Room is located in a Dutch Colonial home in Tacoma and since 1930, its sole purpose has been to house a black rotary dial telephone. Until now...

Small is Big. The Telephone Room is small, but its mission is big: to house artist-driven exhibits and programming. Big ideas in an intimate space.

We plan to host an open house every third Wednesday of the month from 6-8 pm where everyone is welcome to visit the Telephone Room, chat with the artists, talk about art, and hang out with us, but we are also viewable by appointment. Please email us to visit outside of third Wednesday evenings!

Opening on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009.

Hello.
Inaugural exhibition featuring small work from:

Jessica Balsam

Jessica Bender

Gala Bent

Zack Bent

Marc Dombrosky

Shannon Eakins

Allison Hyde

Ellen Ito

Matt Johnson

Jeremy Mangan

Nicholas Nyland

James Porter

Elise Richman

Julie Rivera

Chris Sharp

Pei Pei Sung


See you soon!
The Telephone Room