Go Inside For `Great Kids Art'

In Public: Seattle 1991 is mainly an outdoor affair.

But given that this is Seattle, it's nice to know even in summer that at least two exhibits offer someplace warm and dry to experience the city's big six-month celebration leading to the opening of the new downtown art museum in December.

One indoor exhibit already is up and running: "Great Kids Art" at the Pacific Arts Center's Anne Gould Hauberg Gallery through June 30, and at the Seattle Children's Museum in the Seattle Center House July 7-31.

The kids at Yesler Terrace and in King County Big Brothers called Robert Herdlein "the art guy." He hauled them - and a ton or so of scavenged materials - between his home on Vashon Island, his studio in Ballard, and finally the gallery space where their projects are now installed.

"This has just changed me," Herdlein says of his yearlong effort.

"I had never worked with kids, never taught, and now I know this is where my focus lies." Much of Herdlein's commission for In Public has been donated to charity; the time he donated can't be calculated.

"Anything you can think of, you can make," is the message Herdlein gave the young people. What they've made - along with the help of several adult Big Brothers sponsors - ranges from a giant robot to a model for an emergency shelter. "I'm jealous, I'm going to sign my name to that," Herdlein says, only half-joking, as he shows a visitor the striking "Mushroom Chair" by 12-year-old Sheba Taylor.

Herdlein became especially involved with encouraging the budding art career of Kiam Wright, 17, whose hero is Norman Rockwell and whose colorful study of break-dancers has much of Rockwell's sense of space and gesture. In an act of conscious humility, Herdlein has included some of his own sculpture in the exhibit.

"I don't hold a candle to the kids," he says.

Another indoor site will be at Security Pacific Gallery, where art and project proposals from the rest of the artists of In Public will be on display from June 27 until December. "We are answering two questions with the exhibit," says gallery director Chase Rynd. "Who are these artists, and what are they going to do in Seattle?"

The exhibit has been designed by Laurie Hawkinson and Henry Smith-Miller, who also cooperated on the re-design team for Piers 62 and 63. Over the course of six months, the multi-room display will change to reflect the evolution of In Public. Rynd believes the exhibit, which includes a library of background materials and a video room curated by Robin Reidy of 911 Media Center, will provide "a focal point" for In Public.

Another viewpoint of In Public will be offered by the Center on Contemporary Art, 1305 First Ave., Aug. 16-Oct. 12. "Night Gallery" will present "contemporary art in a situation where people will be comfortable viewing it," says curator Larry Reid. COCA will be open nights during the exhibit, and will sponsor an evening performance art and video series to accompany the installations.

While COCA is not supported financially by In Public, the connection is more than tangential. Along with presenting such experimental artists as David Crow, "Night Gallery" will offer In Public commissioned artists a chance to broaden their contact with viewers.

Cris Bruch, whose In Public project is transforming the Lenora Street overpass, will have a work in "Night Gallery." So will Daniel Martinez of Los Angeles. "Daniel will present a more radical political version of his (In Public) street banners," Reid explains. "Our show will let him be a lot more hard-hitting about racism."