Some have called Beautiful Angle a group of underground artists, but more commonly they are known as a guerilla arts project making Tacoma, WA, beautiful. Starting in late 2002 Tom Llewellyn and Lance Kagey turned their knowledge of design and printing into a now awarded effort to give Tacomans a sense of pride and activism in their city. (Check out their work and website here.)

Filling a basement full of type, plates and other equipment, they use their own presses to create monthly posters which are then illegally plastered around town—often to the sides of old boarded up buildings. Placing a work of art on something that has been discarded by Tacomans fits Beautiful Angle’s desire to restore meaning and beauty to a town that often takes on a second-rate persona to its larger, pretty cousin, Seattle.

Beautiful Angle’s Tacoma-centric efforts have inspired the city of Tacoma, which usually tears down illegal posters, to ask if they can link Beautiful Angle to their own web site. The posters have become collectors’ items as many Tacomans scour and explore all of the forgotten nooks and crannies of their own city in hopes of finding a new poster. Galleries want to create exhibits and historical societies have begun collecting as well. Even Tacoma-Pierce County’s Chamber of Commerce has awarded Llewellyn with an award of merit for Beautiful Angle’s role in revitalizing Tacoma’s downtown.

It seems that Beautiful Angle is helping to recreate a sense of ownership for Tacoman citizens and their art community as they look anew on their city with a vision for meaning, restoration and action. While it is important not to overlook the fun that Beautiful Angle has in their work, it is clear that others have taken them seriously.

Rather dramatically, one Tacoman writes on the Beautiful Angle web site, “My addiction has grown; I need more. I need to feel alive, and I only feel the surge of blood through the intricate cheese cloth of my body when I’m next to a Tacoma-centric poster. Feed me!” Take a moment to read through some of these comments and you will see a need to remember and to re-envision Tacoma that is aroused with each subversive piece of art—including a comment that urges Beautiful Angle to “keep your hands on the wheel of Tacoma.”

(HT: The News Tribune)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 10th, 2007 at 9:05 am and is filed under Beauty, Redemptive Living, Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.