Update, 2/22: In the original piece, I left out the first part of the artist’s name. It’s Ryan Henry Ward, not Henry Ward. Second. Relying on previously published information, I wrote that his ambition was to paint 50 murals. He claims, to date, to have painted 70, for businesses that pay for the privilege. Even if I loved his work, 50 is too many. Seventy is insane. Public art is a little like books in a library. I don’t want to read about chemistry but don’t resent the chemistry texts housed there. If the public library was overwhelmed with chemistry books, I’d object. How much more objectionable is Ward’s work. It’s a mass of chemistry books I am unable to avoid. Bring back blank walls and let them erode in the rain!
Ryan Henry Ward wants to paint 50 endless murals in public spaces in Seattle. Because so many people are encouraging him, he could well succeed.
(Photo, Mike Kane, Seattle PI)
One mural would be tolerable. Even two. The number he has done is an outrage. If I wanted to live inside a sentimental children’s book, I’d be well on my way to starkers, and I’d ask him to paint the walls of my padded cell. Ward is whimsical. A sense of whimsy is fine in toddlers, but by the age of reason, children are ready to move on to more substantial fare.
Coverage of his project is uniformly positive from what’s left of the press. (Examples here.) As Ward spreads his message of brain-dead cheer across the city, will no one speak up for those of us who prefer blank walls and/or those graced with a collage of graffiti? Let Seattle be a city, and let Ward paint the inside of Barney’s rumpus room.
The size of his signatures makes me want to destroy each and every mural.
Wow. I had been enjoying how those murals brighten my day and make me feel that I live in a creative and colorful city. Thanks for setting me straight. I will try to remember: whimsy = stupid
I hate his work. corny
I don’t know why you want to be so mean. I would have thought art this sweet was beyond attack, but I guess I was wrong.
Hi Christine. If Henry Ward were a studio artist who showed his work in a gallery, I’d have no complaints. But he’s painting murals in public spaces all over town. They are becoming unavoidable. I don’t want to live inside his version of sweet. When I can’t get away from it, it fills me with despair.
Henry. Please. Stop. Now.
Art is in the eye of the beholder. I would much rather see this colorful cartoonish murals than gang graffiti.
thank you for posting this.
It seems these murals appear on private property. No surprise that business owners embrace the innocuous. It’s muzak for walls.
As usual the so-called art world, many of whose denizens produce works that only they adore, put down art that brings others joy by claiming it isn’t art and that the rest of us are all just a bunch of philistines. Nice way to continue to create a market for themselves. Luckily, those of us who don’t spend our lives pretending that we’re just too talented for the masses to appreciate can just roll our eyes at the whining and look forward to enjoying more of Henry’s splendid, fun creations.
I love Henry’s murals. I have lived in Seattle for 6 years and it makes me proud of my city. I love to bike from lower queen anne to ballard and see several murals along the way. It makes me happy and it makes Seattle unique. It’s people like the author of this article that make Seattle so unfriendly and cold.
I love the sensationalist journalism of going to one extreme and commenting on that so that people will get riled up on both sides. It’s kind of like the republicans–they might not really think that depriving America of health care is a good thing, but they’re going to say it so they can get attention anyway. Gotta love a journalist who lambastes children’s art, but quotes a children’s movie when talking about losing her job at a defunct and poor excuse for a paper. If written journalism isn’t your strong suit, maybe you should take a look at some photo journalism that might inspire you: http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=4010936
You guys absolutely suck and have no taste or talent. I’m, sure if you could could even do anything that involved talent or ability that you wouldn’t want to stop at 50. Luckily you will never, ever find out–saving all of the rest of us from finding out what your meager talents consider worthy. Phuck off is all I have to say, let those without talent or ability hang their heads in shame rather than post blogs about their measley girly-man lack of ability. For those of us who are actuality talented, working artists Ryan Henry Ward is an inspiration who will be long remembered after your comments have meant the fate that all of mediocrity deserves. Have a nice day!
And before one thinks that I have no critical credentials, I received my MFA at UCDavis, which was a top five art school at the time I was there, and specialized in Critical and Performative theory–created the theory of the Soft Cyborg, etc. I just want to say that the comments that you make freely about Ryan Henry Ward’s work are amazingly uneducated and ignorant of an underground movement that is occurring right under your nose, here in Seattle. I know how easy it is to write criticism, having done so for many years myself–but sometimes it is important to be called on your ignorance and that is exactly what I am doing. Honestly, I think it is easy to take pot shots at Ward’s work–but to call it cute is simply to be ignorant of the undercurrents and meaning behind the work. Believe me, as someone who wrote his undergraduate thesis on Matthew Barney, I am not unused to people just not getting it. Its okay, but next time, could you just save us the time an effort of calling you out and just come out and say that you just don’t understand the work…?
Hi Xavier. I feel as if my eyeballs are covered in goo when I look at his work. It’s torture to see it. It’s fake nice. It’s happy times after the lobotomy.
This is the worst critique on an artist that I have ever read. Who does this lady think she is? What a complete idiot. ryan Henry Ward is the best thing that seattle has ever seen. So many people are enjoying what he does. People like this critic are just sour grapes. Why put down the creative process of any artist? If you want to show henry how bad of an artist he is you should try to do your own art, and make it better. Im guessing the writer of this article must be an amazing prolific artist who has contributed more to this city than henry has. If not she should keep her fat mouth shut.
I have to drive through my own city with blinders. Horrible palette, unintentionally badly rendered figures, senseless compositions. He is giving a gift that Seattle does not want. Or worse, he is doing it for therapy. The guy needs a lesson in CONCEPTUALISM; as it stands now, it is aimless filling-in with a sense of despair about it. I ALSO loathe the other flavors of public art — for example, those monstrosities jutting up 90 degrees from the railings just north of the Ballard Bridge on 15th depress me to no end. They are not thoughtful of their space, the place that was there before them, the place they ought to work with and not against. Forgive them, they know not what they do?
I am a very well educated adult and I think that whimsy is one of the finest qualities a person can have. To say that whimsy is only for toddlers you are mistaken. I have two teenagers, who are very difficult, and we dont have a lot in common. But what we do have in common is that we love henry’s work. All their friends at school love his work too. My mother and father love his work. These are not ignorant people. My father has a PhD in sociology and my mother is a gallery curator. I understand that this woman has her opinion on henry’s work, but it sounds more like she has a problem with someone being successful because she isn’t. Whimsy and humor is something we all need. To say that we outgrow that after being toddlers is insane and very uninformed. Maybe Reginas problem is that she hasnt experienced whimsy and humor since she was very young. I am very sad for this lady who is trying to bring someone down who is trying to bring everyone else up. get a life lady, and try to be a better person.
if you don’t enjoy what henry is doing you are an idiot. Why don’t you try doing something besides putting somebody down? Oh yeah, you’re a cold clam. Im glad his art makes you unhappy. I bet you feel smart and sophisticated putting down playful fun art. well you are just another bitter Seattle bitch. A dime a dozen.
Hi Bounce, feelings are nice and sweet, and this must have been a very satisfying release for you, however, when you attempt to present your point of view as having a critical foundation then your feelings really shouldn’t enter into it.
I need to add that if I were you, I would certainly be unhappy with the kind of and level of rhetoric that you are engendering–that is what the issue is here–and why I’m not impressed or surprised by your statements. While theoretical criticism cannot always be dispassionate, it should seek to lift the level of the discourse surrounding it–it should, however, never be based on the immediate, visceral reaction—because they cannot be trusted and will always come back to bite on the ass—especially when attempt to create a critical, intelligent forumn as I believe you are attempting to do, judging by your links if nothing else. In the past, I had spent years writing criticism and while I can’t say that I have never gone off on some artist based on my immediate reaction–that was a long time ago, when I was an undergraduate.
Finally, I know that it is hard to back down after you have come out shouting and We all now know you don’t like Ryan Henry Ward’s work–the thing is that shouldn’t matter and I hope that while you may want to use Ward as a whipping boy–that this is the last time you allow yourself to get that mushy and non-theoretical, it will only raise the rhetoric of all of us and you won’t be backed by people who say things like, “The size of his signatures makes me want to destroy each and every mural.”
You might even have me agreeing with you, depending on the subject and how well it is presented—for what that is worth.
And just as a point of information and clarification, he is also a studio artist showing at several venues including the Sterling Images Gallery in West Seattle which just happens be a gallery in which we both show work. In fact, mine can be seen by the public through the Gallery Window, but I dare you to find my work to be too cute or theoretically lacking–feel free to come by the gallery and I’m sure that Ryan Henry’s level of rhetoric will also surprise you.
I do have to say I don’t normally get as ad hominum as I did in these posts, the points stand, but I could have said them in a nicer way.
Mr. Lopez: The murals are visual gonorrhea. The End.
Jesus! Regina is an art critic. She’s not going to like everything. Sorry she doesn’t like your fellow Ryan, but clearly plenty of you do. If he’s really as great of an artist as you all say, he should be used to criticism. He’ll brush himself off and continue. Maybe he’ll even earn something. That’s the cycle. Keep calm and carry on.
Getting Cranky, the point isn’t about her liking or hating the work, it is exactly about whether she is acting like an art critic or just someone who has a blog and who’s topic just happens to be art. You’re missing the point…
X-
I wish Keith Harring would have only painted one or two subways in New York. He really ruined that city with his version of cute. New York will always be a horrible city now because of Harring and his loving whimsical cuteness.
Comparing Haring to Ward is a big stretch, even as sarcasm.
Haring did illegal guerilla graffiti in NYC, not officially sanctioned murals. At least for the first 5 years or so. And his favorite subjects were often anatomically correct, and sometimes even engaged in then, pre-Lawrence Vs Texas, illegal sex acts.
Thats a long way from big googly eyed cute animals.
Unless I just havent driven down the right street in Greenwood to see giant animal’s pee-pees.
I think Henry is charming. And that public art is great. And preferable to blank walls and grafiti, yes. Clearly not everybody is going to feel this way, however, and I think some diversity would be good. Does anybody else want to make a mural?
Ries,
Henry did illegal murals for 10 years in the pacific northwest. Also, if you dont think his stuff is edgy or sexual you dont know his private canvas work very well. A good example is the mural he painted in City Hostel Seattle. It makes Harring’s sexual stuff look pretty innocent. Did you watch the evening magazine piece on Henry? What about the mural in that that was painted over? Maybe we fairly can compare the two prolific muralists after all.
I guess what Im trying to say is that the majority of Keith Harring’s work was very cute. If you dont believe me look him up. He had a very childlike quality to his work. It was playful and struck the chord of innocence in people. I want to go as far to say that Harring’s work is cuter than Ward’s. He produced a large number of public art pieces in the 80’s. Even if you like Harring better than Ward, the point is that his version of cute was all over public viewing space in New York in the 80’s and it hadno negative effects on the culture. In fact his work inspired millions of budding artists. I dont think Harring and Ward are the same artists i just think Harring was cuter and it hurt nobody.
Keith Harring’s paintings fill my eyes with Goo and everytime I see his signature it makes me want to kill kittens! Oh, by the way I named my latest painting Goo–in honor of this conversation…
X-
Just stumbled upon your site when I was Googling for Henry to find articles about his work. What a curmudgeon you are. Certainly you are not obligated to like his work, but puh-leeze, don’t you have something better to complain about?
Go Henry. Don’t listen to haters. I think your work is light-hearted and adorable. I’d much rather see cute and quirky animals than a concrete wall.
I’m happy to read you article. I totally agree. I didn’t mind seeing his art at first but I am getting seriously tired of it as I am seeing his stuff everywhere now. He needs to stop!!
I think the main part of this article is overlooked. It is the inundation of the so-called art that is the main objection of myself and everyone I know. ‘Henry’ has shat his hack illustrations over almost every corner of our city reducing our public space to a granola inspired elementary school lunch room. It is a far cry from art, it is not comparable to Keith Harring and he would not be receiving such criticism if he exercised a small amount of discretion or maybe some artistic growth. I think its great that the homeless guy in Pike Place dumps paint onto cardboard and makes a little money from it but I would like to have a little say in the matter if my local businesses were to pay him to cover the entire city with his creations. There are a hundred overlooked artists in this city that actually try to make art with substance or at least a small amount of aesthetic composition. A handful of public spaces is reasonable, I get the same visceral reaction from Henry’s murals as when a tagger sprayed ‘Fuck’ over everything in site. If you like it, that’s great, buy one of his canvases. Enough is enough.