Seeing Gee’s Bend quilts was for him a “release,” allowing him to play with expression, he said. It inherits the quilt form of social activism, folk art and women’s household use and recognizes the influence and importance of the quilt from other communities. Weltkamp is fond of crossovers, even calling his blankets “soft pictures”. Rainbows and PRIDE colors are everywhere.įlags and banners also playfully display the title of the exhibition “SPIRIT!”, Evoking associations with gay rights marches, rallies, picnics and church services.įlags, blankets, bedspreads and banners are not typical types of fine art. The exhibition is deliberately gay-friendly and inclusive, starting with the joyfully framed sign “GIFT” near the entrance to the courtyard of live rainbow pennants and sails. Weltkamp points to the khaki-colored pocket included in The Great Northwest III, explaining that pockets often appear in his work to testify to the need for secrecy felt by so many people in the LGBTQ + community.
But wait, there are also “boredom”, “UFOs” and “serial killers”. Peering into a large-scale blanket called “Great Northwest III,” we see that the scrap letters of fabric denote basic things in the Northwest, such as “rain” and “coffee”. But love, for Weltkamp, doesn’t mean closing dirty parts. The Northwest Pacific features are a touchstone for Weltkamp, who has lived here – and loved living here – most of his adult life. As the Giant tells Agent Cooper in Twin Peaks, “Owls are not who they seem.” Owls, for example, are a common motif of Lynch and Weltkamp, symbolizing vigilance, spirituality and variability.
#Gay porn gay blondes fuc teir partners series#
Fans of David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” series will learn this phrase, as well as many other references to cult classics. But, as always, a blanket called “It’s Happening Again” carries additional stories. Instead, we are given a magical vision of a self-sufficient cottage life and what they call the “cooking economy” of household goods trade with friends and neighbors.Īlso on display is a huge blanket from their home bed, which, not coincidentally, was created early in their relationship. This terrible prehistory is not manifested in the installation of gemstone jars on the magic shelf. The project began amid concerns about growing homophobia and the loss of rights caused by the 2016 Donald Trump election.
“Berry Blanket” is an accompanying work to the “CHAMBER”, an art installation of jams and jellies made by husband and wife. The Berry Blanket is a partial list of edible plants cared for by Weltkamp and Gannan, a marker of the home they have created and cared for together. But there are remnants of personal and cultural histories. Like roadside signs and menu boards with changeable letters, to which he often nods his head, Weltkamp quilt messages are immediately available. “Berry Quilt” was finished just this year its seemingly simple list of local berries is destined to become a Veltkamp classic. Themes of comfort and home life run throughout the show, and there are quite a few new works created at the Weltkamp and Gannan home in Bremerton. The BAM exhibition combines several neatly hung blankets with matching images depicting blankets in the form of mixed stacks, as if recently dumped from a warm body. Weltkamp says he has always been attracted to things that were considered soft and feminine, and the family tradition of making blankets led to his later decision to take that shape.īut before he started making blankets, he painted them, a practice he continues today. The oldest item on display is a 1978 Star Wars quilt made by his aunt for 8-year-old Joey. It serves as a mid-career retrospective for the 50-year-old artist, although Weltkamp didn’t “find his artistic voice,” as he says until he was 40 years old.
Weltkamp said that while his work may have sad nuances, he wanted to create a mood with this show, which was mostly organized during the COVID-19 pandemic. “SPIRIT!” – a large, rich personal exhibition of blankets, drawings and installations at the Bellevue Art Museum – honors hilarious visuals, multi-layered allusions and mystical requests of this self-proclaimed queer-folk bridge, who is loved by local art.Ī recent meeting with Weltkamp, his husband Ben Gannan, who is also an artist, and curator of BAM Lane Eagles was like being part of a sewing club, sharing a company, gathering stories together. In Joey Weltkamp’s hands, the quilts also offer gorgeous, eccentric, sometimes melancholy references to the Northwest Pacific, pop culture and his gay identity. Blankets envelop us with a sense of home, tradition and the comfort of handicrafts.