By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
On Sunday, Gov. Jay Inslee announced new COVID restrictions to combat the growing number of COVID cases in the state. Not since March has Inslee had to take such measures to ensure the safety of Washington state’s citizens and businesses, but many people feel that the new restrictions are in the best interest of the public.
These new restrictions come as Washington State sees a consistent increase in daily COVID cases, with over 2,000 cases a day over the weekend and average cases in the state doubling over the past two weeks. While King County has seen a 70 percent increase in hospitalization over the last four weeks.
One sector that will be impacted by the new restrictions is the local arts community, particularly the Seattle Art Museum (SAM). Unfortunately, SAM, which re-opened its doors to the public just two months ago, must now close its doors for at least another four weeks due to the restrictions, which require museums to be closed to the public.
“Since the downtown Seattle Art Museum reopened on September 11, it’s been a joy to see visitors safely enjoying an intimate experience of the art,” says Amada Cruz, Director of the Seattle Art Museum. “We are very sad to close the doors once again, just two months later-but we also believe that this is a critical moment in this pandemic. We must come together and do what is necessary to keep each other safe.”
“For the time being, we will once again be inviting the community to ‘Stay Home with SAM,’ with our dynamic slate of virtual events and digital content proceeding as usual,” added Cruz.
For the African Americans arts community, in particular, the closures are very unfortunate because SAM is hosting a very unique and transformative exhibit from Seattle’s very own Barbara Earl Thomas.
Because of the restrictions the viewing of Thomas’ work will have to be postponed for the time being. Even though this is her first individual exhibit at SAM, Thomas believes that the well-being of her family, friends and neighbors is what’s most important for our community at this time.
“My thoughts are [for everyone to] be a good citizen,” says Thomas. “If SAM is closed down that means all of the exhibits cannot be seen. This is not personal to me and so we all have to deal, we all have to do our part. I’m lucky because my show will be up at least for a year, so if all things go well people will be able to see my show within four to six weeks.”
Seattle has always produced hidden gems and Barbara Earl Thomas is one of them. A Seattle native, Thomas is an artist extraordinaire, and her latest showcase at SAM can only be described in one word as “illuminating.”
Thomas’ works uses and assimilates light in a very unique way.
But what gives Thomas’s work life are the details. The acute attention to detail in her work is astounding.
What Thomas does to project light or a sense of illumination is designing images through intricate paper cuts contrasting white with colors and black in her portraitures as well as utilizing electrical light to accentuate designs in a mosaic is extraordinary and unless you dwell within the art world, I’m sorry to say you are missing out on a homegrown treasure.
Thomas’ work is also storytelling. She uses her style to bring out the details in the characters of her stories. Her profile portraits gives you the sense that the subjects exist in a never-ending sunset. In her mosaic designs the cuts in the fabric are being used as a conduit for the light to shine through.
“Barbara is an incredible storyteller,” says long-time friend and fellow artisan Elisheba Johnson, co-founder of Wa Na Wari Black Arts Center. “She [Thomas] really is still always working with representational images to tell stories about the good in humanity and the possibility of hope for the future.”
There is a grave difference viewing art physically in relations to seeing it virtually. Because the museum is closed temporarily fans will have to be patient to experience Thomas’ work in person, which, according to Johnson, is the best way to view Thomas’ collection because the intricacies of her work cannot be felt through a virtual experience.
“I mean it is really hard with the Coronavirus,” says Johnson. “Because Barbara’s show, in particular, is not going to be the same on-line. If you look at those paper cuts there is all these intricate images in them that just won’t translate into photographs.”
Thomas’ fans and supporters hope that the new COVID restrictions will only last four to six weeks, so that the greater community view her work before the holidays. SAM and Thomas have an agreement keeping her work there for a year. So, patrons will have ample time to view her unique style of art.
“If we manage to pull the (COVID) numbers down out of the stratosphere, I feel we all have to do our part,” says Thomas. “I have nothing to complain about. My goal is to take people out of their regular world and make something that is really transformative, where your mind is focused or even a little bit disarming where you have a chance to think of something else.”
