Ways to Celebrate Bumbershoot, #4

1984 Bumbershoot Poster by T. Michael Gardiner, courtesy of One Reel

You've got one final week to see the free Bumbershoot poster and art exhibit. It's a fine way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Bumbershoot. Here's why.

In honor of its 40th anniversary, Bumbershoot rolled out a list of 40 ways you can join in the celebration. They've been going on all summer, which means you missed out on most of them. It's never too late to party, though, so we're here to suggest 5 last-minute ways to participate. This is #4.

Visual arts are an integral part of Bumbershoot. Paintings, live sculpture installations, comics - it's all on display this year at the Seattle Center.

But the annual poster has become the symbol of Bumbershoot. It's not a recent phenomenon, because the poster was celebrated before the event was even 10 years old. The Seattle Times ran a spread of every nominee for the poster competition in 1980, along with a recap of the history of the yearly Bumbershoot poster. A recap for every year but 1971 that is, since they'd already forgotten who made it and what it might be called. Oops.

A few years later, the entire city was gripped by poster fever. Seattle Opera posters were highly sought alongside rock and other event advertising. The 1976 Bumbershoot poster - featured yesterday - was already a collector's item in 1983.

So drop by the two poster exhibit venues and have a look at our changing graphic sensibilities.

Umbrella for the Arts, Seattle City Hall Gallery & Anne Focke Gallery, through September 7th, 9am to 6pm. Event info.

Seattlest Bumbershoot Celebration Roundup:
#4: Poster exhibit (you just read it)
#5: Watch some cool old videos

Poster retrospective "A shirt that's just right", August 6 1980 Seattle Times page 41; Poster collecting "Posters: They tell us what's in and what's going on", March 13, 1983 Seattle Times page 101