Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad, Elbe, WA (photos taken July 11).

A couple of weeks after reading about Burien Press, I read about a sculpture currently being exhibited in Burien: A nude, squatting woman. And predictably, some people have their panties in a wad over the nudity and/or the squatting.

So last weekend, The Boyfriend (TB) and I took a short road trip to Burien.

Burien Press (423 SW 152nd St.), in addition to the fabulous coffee, has a funky, eclectic atmosphere.

And they have a lovely deck in the back:

(They also have a Web site, which, as of this writing, consists of the logo, name, and tag line. No hours, no phone number, no address.)

Naked Sculpture
The controversial sculpture, in the company of a variety of other sculptures, squats in the Burien/Interim Arts Space across 152nd St. and a courtyard from Burien Press.

The sculpture, by Seattle artist Michael McGrath, is very detailed and very realistic. Folds in the skin on her abdomen are clear; so are the muscles in her legs and the wrinkles in her ankles as she perches on the balls of her feet. One hand hangs casually, perhaps even modestly, in front of her crotch. I thought I saw evidence of sculpted pubic hair, but I really didn’t look that closely. Because it doesn’t matter. To make the determination whether she is completely anatomically correct, I think you would have to lie on the ground and place your head between her bronze legs. Or the artist would have to exhibit her on a pedestal, with the base of the sculpture at the “average” person’s eye level.

When I first saw a picture of this piece, I thought that the woman seemed to be focusing her gaze on something; TB said she appeared to be contemplating something. When I saw her in person, I thought she looked sad or in pain. From the perspective of standing behind her, she seems to be looking at two other figures – perhaps mother and daughter. Maybe the squatting woman is feeling regret over a strained relationship with her own mother or child, or maybe she’s feeling sad over the end of a relationship. Maybe she’s ill and in physical pain; looking at her back, her ribs are clearly visible, and she seems a bit too thin.

I think it’s sad that the power of this piece – the emotion, the detail – is being completely overlooked.

And to parents who are concerned about their kids seeing this sculpture: Hmm, maybe this is a good opportunity to teach your kids about nudity in an artistic context versus nudity in a sexual or inappropriate context; give your kids actual, age-appropriate information about nudity. And squatting. And art. (Yes, written by someone who does not and will not have kids.)

And by the way, whether you want to think about it or not, a teenager is probably more than capable of finding free p*rn, actual p*rn, on the Internet. And/or has found daddy’s stash of “girlie” magazines and/or DVDs.

Warning: The park in which the sculpture squats is located behind the library/city hall building. If you don’t know what a library is, it’s a collection of reference materials such as books. Books which may depict works of art, with or without nudity. Texts which may have drawings of the human anatomy, or detailed, medically accurate, non-judgmental information about sex.

And one last thing: What does your reaction to this sculpture say about you?

The Boyfriend and I took a road trip to Arlington, about 46 miles north of Ballard (Seattle). It was a lovely drive of about an hour on a chilly, sunny Sunday. We meandered mostly around N. Olympic Ave. It had a very small town, bedroom community feel to it, although there’s more to Arlington than that little area.

I laughed when I saw the graphic for one of the hair salons, that is such a 1980s look.