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Artwork copyright dick ibach. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2017.
_edited.jpg)
Artwork copyright dick ibach. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2017.
_edited.jpg)
Artwork copyright dick ibach. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission.
Skid Row, Seattle, 1982
dick ibach
American (born 1940, died 2021)
Location: Spanaway Lake High School, Spanaway
About the Artwork
‘Skid Row, Seattle’ by dick ibach depicts an acid-bright colored landscape of land, small houses, isolated trees, and a slice of intensely azure blue water. The area is Seattle’s Yesler Way road which in the 1800s was a literal “skid road” of logs skidding downhill to Puget Sound. Seattle’s skid road is the source of the term “skid row” meaning a poor, seedy neighborhood. But only the title references “skid row” – the imagery is colorful and tidy, with two rows of simple, multi-colored houses. ibach’s trademark, zigzag patterns mark the road and its logs and form a border around the scene.
This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Bethel School District.
About the Artist
Spokane, Eastern Washington-based artist dick ibach (1940-2021) created paintings that combine figurative imagery with expressive forms, symbolism, and intense patterning. His art is humorous and often based on his memories: "It is my intention to speak of the contradictions of the human condition: to address both the nobility and stupidity of it all." He believes that the viewer must develop a “visual literacy” and not expect explanations, because “Artists are visual, and their imagery is visual… Words are for poets.”ibach was born and grew up in Yakima, Central Washington. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Seattle University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, in 1972. He taught art at Spokane Falls Community College for over fifteen years. He was also a Jesuit brother for ten years during the 1960s and he worked many odd jobs such as a hospital orderly, sod buster, cattle brander, grave digger, and cabinet maker. These experiences shaped his point of view as an artist.
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