West Seattle scenes, Sunday night edition

| Seen around town | Seen at sea | Wildlife

Photos to share, and mention — first, a Father’s Day fireboat display off Beach Drive, photos at BDB. Next: a garden sighting:

As WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli observed in the note with that photo, it’s difficult to catch hummingbirds on camera – but he finally “caught” that one. Next – what’s missing in this picture?

Wendy Hughes-Jelen says tai chi is what’s missing – she can’t believe nobody’s doing it at High Point, and she has already gone to great lengths to find someone to launch outdoor sessions by the pond you see in that photo shared by Wendy. Read all about it at her blog, which includes how to reach her if you’d like to get involved with the tai chi quest. Last but not least – a photo Jerry from JetCityOrange actually sent a few days ago:

On Thursday morning, he e-mailed us the photo and this note:

Appeared overnight as one goes from Harbor Ave/Avalon onto either bridge around Nucor. Street art or vandalism? You decide.

Rasmus June 16, 2008 (3:06 am)

I’m voting: Street art! :)

MargL June 16, 2008 (7:49 am)

Great hummingbird pic!
Yesterday I found myself wishing I had a fancy-dancy camera with a telephoto lens to take a picture of the hummingbird living in our backyard.
He was sitting on a dead blackberry branch sunning and preening for a good 10 minutes. Got a good view with the binoculars but a picture would have been fun!
I went to the farmer’s market and bought several flowering plants as a treat for the little birdy from Langley Fine Gardens. They have a great selection of plants for hummingbirds.

jai June 16, 2008 (11:04 am)

My votes for street art, too

Tony June 16, 2008 (12:34 pm)

The third photos of the wheatpastings are a form of gorilla marketing from a well known local skate/ski/snowboard company called Spacecraft. You can see their stickers and posters all over western Washington and scattered around the world. They began in Skykomish Washington less than 10 years ago.

Here is some more info:

Their Website

Their Myspace

Trick June 16, 2008 (12:58 pm)

Street art is my vote!

Anything beats the lame taggers!

J June 16, 2008 (3:10 pm)

Street art. They’re deliberately made removable, I seem to recall–which speaks to a concern graffiti-ers don’t display.

flippydingles June 16, 2008 (3:29 pm)

Art. It’s on paper and biodegradable…people I think if they get all bunchy over something like that can get over themselves.

Bigger fish to fry…

cjboffoli June 16, 2008 (4:40 pm)

I’m on the street art side of the fence too. And as others have noted here the wheatpaste poster art isn’t as permanent and damaging as paint. I just wish the content was more interesting/clever/disturbing/thought-provoking in the same tradition of Banksy and others like him.

valvashon June 16, 2008 (7:02 pm)

I was going to vote for street art, but now that I know it’s marketing for that stupid company that puts those stupid snow-cat stickers all over everything, I’m changing my vote. Why does everything have to be street level marketing? I don’t mind some real posters on an abandoned building, but this stuff is just as annoying and damaging as graffiti. Plus I feel sorry for the thick headed teenagers that think non- traditional advertising is somehow cooler than real advertising.

Removable? Have you ever seen one of those stickers get removed from what is invariably a road sign? Maybe that is a complaint for the DOT- they’re either too lazy or afraid that if one of these stickers gets pulled off the whole (decrepit) sign will fall apart.

BTW- I’m not some old fuddy-duddy shouting “hey you kids, get off of my lawn!” I’m anti-establishment in ways you haven’t even thought of or would dare to be.

I just think these stickers, paint stampings and wheat paste posters are a stupid way of marketing.

Why couldn’t they just be art put up for art’s sake?

La June 16, 2008 (10:39 pm)

If it’s street art, it’s not terribly original. Banksy did it first and better.

Slightlynorth June 17, 2008 (8:03 am)

That isn’t street art, it is guerrilla marketing for the company SpaceCraft. They put the same boring crap up all over the city.

Also, these are not stickers, they are paper that has been pasted up using wheatpaste. Further, Banksy does stencils, not paste-ups. So comparing them is pointless.

cjboffoli June 17, 2008 (11:44 pm)

When the choices were street art or vandalism I chose art. But now that the choices are street art or lame marketing I choose the latter.
.
Comparing any kind of real street art to banksy is perfectly legit. besides, he has been doing wheat paste posters lately.

someone June 22, 2008 (11:39 am)

If some of you knew the story behind the company and what they do I think you would think a little before you are quick to judge. The people behind this have been under the spacecraft name for about ten years now, but have been involved in art their whole lives, just as long as banksy and shepard or anyone one else. Just because someone is making a living off of doing things in an unconventional way or “guerilla” marketing, more power to them to step outside the box. That’s like when people get mad at bands for signing with a label and “selling out.” Good for them they get by doing what they want. As far as the goods that they are pushing, they are all made from co-ops in indonesia or printed in the states, no chinese production. They aren’t some big company or corporation, just a couple of people trying to pay their bills and doing it there way. Maybe if some of you stepped outside of you’re daily box you could take a second to understand. Do you really think they are selling beanies and shirts based off of these wheatpastes??
As far as street art or graffiti or marketing, it is whatever you want it to be.

Sorry, comment time is over.