Boise's arts scene booms in the Linen District

By Dana Oland - doland@idahostatesman.com

Published: 05/01/09

    Nothing says more about Modern Art than Fur Food. Let me explain.

    Like The Modern Hotel's annual event, it is collaborative with an experimental flair, surprising, and it begs

    you to interact with it. It somehow speaks to the core of this year's Modern Art: It is an experience, not an exhibit.

    "It (Modern Art) is like a free creative zone," said Josie Fretwell, who is half of the Fur Food collaboration.

    The Fur Food idea came to Fretwell - who would not necessarily define herself as an artist - in a flash while journaling. "It just sounded funny."

    Through a meeting at The Modern Hotel, she met and commissioned silversmith and The Mend Project co-founder Rachel Reichert, who is

    now stitching plush pastries, cheeses, link meats and other deli foods.

    Together they will run their Fur Bakery and Day Old Deli out of the Modern's kitchen, playing characters of 1940s-style diner waitresses.

    Break out the blue eye shadow and pink lipsticks.

"I think artists don't get to many opportunities to have fun, to experiment without the pressure to sell something," Reichert said. "This is it." Modern Art happens on First Thursday, May 7.

It debuted last year, turning the tony boutique hotel in Boise's Linen District into an alternative arts space and cultural "happening." This year - under the organizational energy of dancer

Amy O'Brien and Kerry Tullis, the team that last year brought you the hanging mackerel in room 239 - is morphing into a wildly diverse performance and art venue.

Their goal was inclusivity, they both said, and boy is it achieved. "The arc of experience, disciplines and aesthetic is really wide," Tullis said. "Everywhere we looked there was someone

doing something creative, and we wanted to get them involved," O'Brien said. "That was such a surprise. A mix of artists will take over 34 rooms. Even more will inhabit the courtyard,

balcony, kitchen and laundry room; and, the west side of the hotel will become a literal canvas for graffiti   artists Soloman Hawk and Collin Pfeiffer.

Even a traveling artists duo was caught in the Modern Art zeitgeist. Seattle artists Leif Holland and Brian McGuffey stayed at the Modern for a night, heard about the event and asked

to be part of it. You'll see some traditional paintings and mediums, but you also can explore the complexities of scientific investigation with Arcanum Research (what's happening to the

bees?); become part of the art photography performance by Are City (come prepared to dress up); lose your inhibitions with B. Love's interactive games (come prepared to play); and

see how many variations on a theme the vague collaborative can invent.

Multi-media artist Grant Olsen is making a blanket; Troy Passey will have his ink-on-paper works, but he also has a quilt. Conceptual artist Bob Neal and musician Sean Aucutt are working

on a secret project; and Tullis and O'Brien are collaborating with ceramic artist Kerry Moosman for an elaborate installation. It might seem like a lot in a down economy, but for these artists

it's just more of the same, O'Brien said.

"We don't have a 401(k) we've seen go south," she said. "We're just doing what we do."

But because things are tight, the event is setting up an Art Barter office in the second floor Business Center. If you have a service or item you want to trade for art, you can register, and

they will match you with an artist who wants to trade. It's almost too much for the hotel to hold. This year, the event is spilling across the street to the Linen Building. That's where you'll

find music from the Vinyl Preservation Society of Idaho DJs, food and drinks for purchase, and a few art offerings. You can watch artists Pabst Blue Ribbon Kelly Knopp and Sivita Justice

finish off a mural on the building.

The whole event has a carnival feel that celebrates the creative spirit and hope for the future. It's like the artists' credo expressed in "Rent," "The opposite of war isn't peace; it's creation."

And that brings us back to the Fur Food. Says Fretwell: "For me, it's a whimsical antidote to the world. There are difficult things, sad things happening, but you know what? I've got a fur donut.

That means there is still pleasure and possibility, and you still laugh."

Dana Oland: 377-6442