HistoryLink Tours

“A” Procession, created by artist Patti Warashina (b. 1940), was originally commissioned for the Seattle Opera House with a grant from the Seattle Arts Commission and Seattle City Light 1% for Art funds. Warashina was part of a movement in the 1960s and 1970s to push ceramics beyond that of function to one that strove to use clay as a sculptural medium on par with other art forms. Her works often focus on the human figure, and she attributes her interest in the body to the “fact that her own body is the closest resource from which she draws her ideas” and that the use of the human figure affirms her daily existence and serves as a “visual diary” for the time and the civilization in which she lives.

Constructed of low-fire clay, underglaze, glaze, and mixed media, the work depicts a free-spirited group portrait of 71 figures—regional artists, critics, administrators, art technicians known to the artist, and herself—parading over and around a bridge. The “A” in this case is assumed to stand for “art.” In an interview with former Seattle Times art critic Sheila Farr, Warashina described how the idea for the work came together. While on vacation in Mexico with her husband, artist Robert Sperry (1927-1998), they saw a mural by Mexican artist Diego Rivera (1886-1957) that featured many of his friends, along with his wife, artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954). Warashina thought it was a great idea and wanted to do something similar. She noted that, at the time, “Seattle was just starting to open up with the visual arts and music and theater, so I wanted to do something to celebrate that.”

Warashina, who is one of Washington state’s most important sculptors, often infuses her work with humor. She describes herself as someone with an “abnormal interest in the absurdity and foibles of human behavior” and that sentiment vividly shines through in “A” Procession, a work depicting real people in an outlandish situation. When the piece was originally installed at the Opera House in Seattle Center, people gathered around it daily, trying to identify each of the figures and their significance, and decipher the humor and hidden meanings of the piece.

Proceed to Level Three. The first work is near the elevators on Level Three of the South Galleria.