Beautiful Angle
May 22, 2007 | City of Destiny
Beautiful Angle is a team of of guerrilla artists in Tacoma. About once a month, they make 120 copies of their handcrafted, letterpress pieces and hang 80 of them all over town. I’ve been to their showings, I’ve see them hanging in the coolest bookstores and cafes, but I ‘ve never actually been lucky enough to find my own. Sunday, after a scrumptious breaky at PSP, I spotted one.
It’s okay to take them down. They encourage it. From their first piece:
“We dare you to peal off this poster and hang it in your room.
We dare you to steal the idea and make your own.
We dare you to lean against the mob at any angle that is not paralelle.”
I’m in LOVE with them. Guerilla art has got to be the coolest thing ever. Beautifying something AND sneaking around at night? So mysterious and cool.
Each poster includes the fine print:
“Beautiful Angle is of, by, and for the citizens of Tacoma, Washington, USA. If you are one, hello. Nice to meet you. Want to get together for coffee? If you are not one, don’t give up hope. Maybe you can move.”
Isn’t that awesome? I went to their website today, and bought this one, too. It’s hard to read here, but it lists all of Tacoma’s neighborhoods and their characteristics and prays that we all might ’speak the names of our neighbors with love still wet on our lips.’
I emailed and thanked them for the poster I found and voluteered to help with production or latenight shenanigans. I love how their project is an act of rebellion that simultaneously honors our fair city and fosters civic pride.
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May 22nd, 2007 at 2:26 pm, heather Says:
I got a copy of the blender one too. I love it! I had it framed for my husband’s birthday ‘cuz he loves it too.
Free poster + $160 for framing and matting. Ouch – but it’s beautiful.
May 23rd, 2007 at 11:26 pm, Jenny Says:
Well at least you got the poster for free. I just paid $37.00. The prices are determined by how many they have left.
I had the same experience as you with that “YOU’LL LIKE TACOMA” poster. Do you know it? It was free in some Tacoma Arts magazine about a year ago, and you see it hanging around sometimes. Anyway, I had it framed and matted when we first moved into our house and I think it was about $175.
May 24th, 2007 at 7:38 am, heather Says:
I love the “You’ll like Tacoma” poster too! I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have a copy of it (bad for the framing shop in Proctor but good for my wallet).
May 24th, 2007 at 10:51 am, Jenny Says:
I’m glad you knew what I was talking about!
I’ll keep an eye out for another copy for you. I was working at TAG at the time and I took a bunch of them. I might have another one in my memoribilia box.
May 25th, 2007 at 8:21 pm, beth c Says:
Cheap framing hint–I take measurements of what I need to frame and then scour Marshalls and TJ Maxx for ugly art in cool frames that are the right size. They’ve got big frames with cool mattings, unusual and standard sizes, even big poster sized ones. I’ve framed almost everything in my house for under $30!
May 29th, 2007 at 9:59 pm, Jenny Says:
Good idea, Beth. You are so crafty. I should remember to come to you more often with art related conundrums.
June 1st, 2007 at 6:56 pm, Your T-town Friend w/out a commute Says:
Cool!
November 26th, 2007 at 11:31 pm, Zesty Enterprise » Weekend Update Says:
[...] Sunday started out with a satisfying breakfast at PSP with Jesse and Mike, followed by the SCORE of not one but TWO Beautiful Angles. It was a good day! [...]
February 16th, 2010 at 4:48 pm, Zesty Enterprise » Y.O.G #22 Says:
[...] a spending freeze at the moment. But then! The other night after a late happy hour I found the new Beautiful Angle poster! And I happened to have the PERFECT sized frame sitting in a closet, containing something [...]