Pianos on Parade is back in Auburn through Aug. 10
Published 12:21 pm Wednesday, July 15, 2015
For the Reporter
Pianos are back for the fourth annual parade celebrating art and music throughout Auburn.
The temporary art project takes the shape of six art-modified pianos that anyone can see and play. The pianos, available at sites in downtown Auburn and Lakeland Hills, are open to the public until Aug. 10.
Artists worked to modify the musical instruments, giving each piano a new artistically-treated exterior.
Piano locations:
• 101 East Main St. (corner of Main and Auburn Avenue)
Piano host: Nelson’s Jewelry
Theme: Enjoy this fun and whimsical nod to the childhood favorite, Candy Land.
Artist: Suzy Fountaine is a freelance graphic, Web, multimedia designer and artist specializing in graphic design as well as graphite/charcoal/chalk in the fine arts.
• One Main (corner of Main and Division)
Piano host: State Farm Insurance, Agent Scott Hubert
Theme: Happy Trees is inspired by nature with pop art influences. The green mounds are trees with various emotions to provide a whimsical and fun environment. The piano design was created using a technique similar to decoupage.
Artist: Fin’es Scott is a Seattle-based artist who creates happy, youthful art in a variety of mediums and enjoys creating works that make people smile. She studied design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and lived in NYC for many years working in the fashion industry before returning to Seattle to further her artistic goals.
• 1406 Lake Tapps Parkway E.
Piano host: Haggen Food Grocery Store, Lakeland Hills
Theme: Inspired by the 1920s German silent horror film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, artist team Michael Taskey and Theresa Taskey Uttecht use glow in the dark paint, carved wood and solar powered lights to make this piano truly a work of art.
Artist: Using power tools, hand tools and paint brushes, this brother-sister team transforms wood, metal, plastic and other solids into sculptural pieces. Their artwork is inspired by the natural world and cultural histories. Each work of art is carefully planned, but they are not afraid to follow the tangents that inevitably appear.
• B Street Plaza, 144 E. Main St.
Piano host: Home Plate Pub
Theme: Mr. Tubehead invites you to let your hair down (or up!), get goofy and have lots of musical summer fun.
Artist: Vikram Madan loves creating whimsical experiences that make people smile. For this piano, Vikram, a former cartoonist, could not resist turning the entire piano into a black-and-white cartoon figure named Mr. Tubehead. When he is not painting canvases or pianos Vikram writes and illustrates humorous poetry, including a hilarious award-winning book, “The Bubble Collector”, which was nominated for a 2014 Washington State Book Award.
• Sound Transit Plaza, 23 A St. SW
Piano host: Station Bistro
Theme: Not all art is uplifting and happy, and it can serve as a reflection of the lonely or desolate place in which much of it is created. Seattle-based artist Starheadboy uses “underdog animals” to illustrate his interesting perspective on peace, happiness, sadness, and the harsh realities of the creative life.
Artist: Starheadboy is a Seattle-based visual artist and writer.
• 402 E. Main Street, No. 120
Piano host: Zola’s Café
Theme: The Steampunk piano is an interpretation of how people in the Victorian era would have seen the future. Use of brass, copper, gears and pressure gauges transform this piano into a mechanical wonder.
Artist: Chris Telford is an artist and jewelry instructor at Auburn High School.
