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Tip of the ICEHOUSE

More party than arty, the Valley's edgiest alternative arts space veers off course

A A A Comments (1) By Dewey Webb Thursday, Nov 4 1999

...continued from page 4

Wielding a weed-whacker or reseeding Bermuda are a few things that David Therrien need never worry about; he's too busy hosing garbage, drug paraphernalia and puddles of urine from the front of his factory. On at least two recent occasions, he's been assaulted by homeless derelicts and crack addicts who constantly roam the desolate area.

"Maybe putting a morgue in the middle of downtown does make sense for Phoenix," he notes. "It makes sense because this is a dead city. And if you're trying to make a conceptual statement, that makes a lot of sense."

Installation piece by Katherine Zsolt

Katherine Zsolt

Installation piece by Katherine Zsolt

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Helen Hestenes, meanwhile, is less interested in making sense of the senseless than bringing beauty and rejuvenation to an endangered area of grimy downtown history.

That's why she's not only interested in her own building, but saving surrounding buildings that the city and county might raze for a morgue and a jailhouse.

"Sometimes when I come down here in the morning, I'm so frustrated I just want to go back home," she says. "Then I remember how beautiful it was when I was living in Paris. And that's why I'm here, I think. To bring Paris to Phoenix."

And if the indefatigable Helen Hestenes can't transform what's left of grimy West Jackson Street into a chunk of the Champs Élysées, it won't be for lack of trying.

Contact Dewey Webb at his online address: dwebb@newtimes.com

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10/07/2011 4:23:00 AM

The reformation of the Phoenix downtown warehouse 'historic' area aka the skids is anything but worthy for historic consideration. Containment of a history that only includes 60 years is hardly the culture to re-animate. The planning, architecture and demographics that have so called supported that area were of a utilitarian value at best. The time has past for its original intended use and now the infrastructure, albeit perceived artsy with aging texture of its decrepit materials, should be relinquished towards the county's plans. The idealism of a community engendering a sense of 'steam punk' ambivalence is, if anything, a misty vision of dystopia. After all, what is art without patrons. Without patrons there isn't currency. Art is not altruistic in the end. Let go of the subjectivity and see the object reality. Cut the losses and pay back the investors.