Tuesday






50 years ago, in 1962, 
we celebrated the Seattle World's Fair.  
50 years ago, the King of Rock and Roll
visited Seattle and made the film
"It Happened at the World's Fair".

In honor of these two momentous occasions,
Bumbershoot 2012 - Seattle's Music & Arts Festival
is proud to announce the Return of The King to the Seattle World's Fair
and the Seattle Center in an ELVISTRAVAGANZA of art, music and performance.

Saturday through Monday, Sept 1st, 2nd and 3rd see The King in all his many personas at ELVISTRAVAGANZA!  See them all, the handsome young singer, the King of Rock and Roll,
the Army private, the Hollywood Movie Star, the Hawaiian E.P., and the later Las Vegas King. 

The story of Mr. Presley is a heroic tale of lost innocence, of success, excess, and the chronicle of
the rise and fall of an American icon, and his final redemption. Celebrate legendary royalty with us!

Join us Labor Day weekend Sept 1-3, 2012 at Seattle Center Pavilion for ELVISTRAVAGANZA!

The special Mayor's Arts Awards Day and free public preview
and artist reception party for ELVISTRAVAGANZA! is on
Friday August 31st, 2012 - noon until 9pm.

ELVISTRAVAGANZA! is curated by:
Marlow Harris and Jo David

and Featuring an Elvis Inspired
Pop Up Gallery curated by:
Annie Adjchavanich
www.anniea.com

illustration by
Rod Filbrandt




•  JOIN our Facebook Event Page for Daily Elvisy-Good Updates  •

High Resolution PRESS PHOTOS
can be found HERE in our Flickr Set Artists of Elvistravaganza!
Go to the "Original size", found in "View all sizes"

Monday

Elvistravaganza at Bumbershoot 2012


Here's a delightful video recap mash-up of Elvistravaganza at Bumbershoot 2012
shot and edited by Marlow Harris



Sunday

•  ELVISTRAVAGANZA ARTISTS  •

Bruce Andersen
Shannon Andersen
Arqo
Jim Blanchard
Chris Bradley
Kevin Bradley
Laura Brodax
Tubby Brown
Christopher Bruns
Lisa Buchanan
David Burbu
Charles Burns
Liz Carroll
Matthew Causey
Diem Chau
D. Ciesielski
Collide-O-Scope
David Cowles
Charles Cross
Jo David
Jim Dever
Jim Demetre
Ron English
Dorothy Feeney
Rod Filbrandt
Roy Finster
Ellen Forney
Alan Fulle
Paul Gallagher
Janet Galore
Art Garcia
Gillian Gaar
Kurt Geissel
Marty Gordon
Troy Gua
Nancy & Joe Guppy
Laura Jane Hamilton
Marlow Harris
John Hawkley
Hubba
Sean Hurley
Mary Iverson
Elizabeth Jameson
David Kane
Billy King
Markku Laakso
John Larson
Grace Kelly Laster
Deborah Faye Lawrence
Kelly Lyles
Joni Mabe
Jeff McMillan
Theresa Neinas
Tatjana Pavicevic
Jim E. Peschel
Rhonda Porter
Dave Price
Kathryn Rathke
Bonni Reid
Roderigo
Rudy
Venus Sadler
David Schmader
Chris Sheridan
Sholt
Alan Simensky
Deborah Scott
Tim Silbaugh
CR Stecyk
D. Sturtevant
Shaun Swick
Ken Tanaka
Siolo Thompson
Torronio
Kendal Tull-Esterbrook
Larry Vanover
Joey VeltKamp
Andy Warhol
Alfred Wertheimer
Lance Whitney
William Wikstrom
Willard J
Jennifer Zwick

... and more artists will be announced soon ...

Saturday

Scott Aho

Scott Aho


Polaroid portrait of Elvistravaganza curators,
Marlow Harris and Jo David, taken years ago...

Years ago at the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival, there was an art installation photo opportunity setting by Scott Aho in the courtyard of the Northwest Rooms. Scott was taking Polaroids of festival attendees in front of his installation, where he had set up a 2D cardboard Elvis cutout, with a real guitar, mannequin arm and necklace. He also had a cutout replica of the Science Center arches behind Elvis. In the background, looking south is the real Space Needle over the roof of the Colosseum, now called the Key Arena. 

Marlow & Jo decided they had to bring Elvis back to Bumbershoot this year
for the biggest dang ELVISTRAVAGANZA celebration ever!

  •  Marlow and Jo David actually met at Bumbershoot
on Labor Day many years ago...

Friday

Markku Laakso


Markku Laakso


Markku Laakso & Annika Dahlsten
Temptation of the North_10_2009
7.8"w x 5.8"h
$200


Finnish artist Markku Laakso is from the village of Koppelo in the Lapland town of Inari. Laakso’s paintings depict both clothed and nude characters and images of Elvis. The figures in traditional Lappish dress, both boys and girls, are a reference to the artist’s northern heritage, while the ambiguous Elvis appears as the subject of adoration and critical examination at the same time.


Markku Laakso 
Guitar by the Fire
2009
oil on canvas
24x32.5cm  -  12.8"w x 9.5"h
$500.

Markku has sent us a suite of his work for this exhibit, six paintings - oil on canvas, twelve photographs, and this gigantic 110"w x 117"h photographic reproduction of his painting below, "Sammon puolustus", or in English, "The Defense of the Sampo". It was printed for an exhibition at Helsinki Art Museum, and it travelled together with the exhibition to Japan. It has also been on display at the Finnish Cultural Center in Washington DC. The painting refers to the Finnish Golden Age masterpiece by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, and the theme is from the national epic Kalevala. Here is information about the original 1896 Finnish masterpiece, "Sammon puolustus" which Markku's painting references.


Markku Laakso
Reproduction of "Defense of the Sampo" (1999)
photographic print on canvas
110"w x 117"h
Not for sale




Markku Laakso 
Elvis Rows
2012
oil on canvas
24x32.5cm  -  12.8"w x 9.5"h
$500.



Markku Laakso & Annika Dahlsten
Temptation of the North_3_2009
7.8"w x 5.8"h
$200



We're so pleased to have this artist from Finland in our exhibition. It's interesting how we first learned of Markku Laakso's artwork. I had made an online friend on the Flickr photo posting site. He's a German artist, Heiko Müller.  When he had an art show of his work in San Francisco, and was then going to pass through Seattle to see some friends, he contacted me to ask if I could join them for dinner. It turns out that I also knew these same artists also, so I invited everyone over to our home. Here we are on 09/29/09 in our Dead Elvis Lounge with (left to right) Jacob McMurray, Jacob Covey, Jo David, Grady West, Heiko Müller, Marlow Harris, Robert Hardgrave, and Chris Crites.
Grady is holding up one of Heiko's new books, and Heiko is holding a jug of sake that artist Mark Ryden left in my fridge on a visit just previous to this.
When Heiko and Markku had a show together in Germany, Heiko told Markku about our Dead Elvis Lounge and Elvis collections. Markku then kinkdy sent us a book of his artwork which prominently features Elvis as a main character.  We thought it was a longshot, but went ahead and contacted Markku to see if he might be interested in sending us something for the show.  He and Annika are very excited to be a part of Elvistravaganza!


Markku surprised us by gifting us with a wonderful book of his art, sent to us in 2009.