SAM Art: New news on an Old Master

Seattle Art Museum on May 15 2012

SAM Art: New news on an Old Master

Struck by Cupid’s arrow, Venus conceived a defenseless passion for the handsome god Adonis. The lovers’ brief period of happiness will soon end tragically when Adonis is killed by a wild boar while hunting. The myrtle tree refers to eternal love, associated with Venus, and to Adonis’ miraculous birth after his mother was transformed into a myrtle tree. The broken tree trunk ominously symbolizes Adonis’ imminent death.

Veronese was renowned during his lifetime for his beautiful hues—like the orange and lavender on this canvas—and for the serene grandeur he brought to mythological and biblical stories. In the eighteenth century his popularity soared again, influencing artists in the SAM collection such as Tiepolo and Guardi.

Since October 2010, this painting has been undergoing conservation study and treatment. Please join us on 16 May as Nicholas Dorman, Chief Conservator, speaks on A Fresh View of the Old Masters: Conservation & Technical Studies in SAM’s European Galleries. This lecture is sold-out, but a simulcast is available free to members.

A Fresh View of the Old Masters: Conservation & Technical Studies in SAM’s European Galleries with Nicholas Dorman
Members Art History Lecture Series: New Perspectives
May 16, 2012
7:00–9:00 pm
Simulcast (free to members): Nordstrom Lecture Hall, first floor, SAM downtown

Venus and Adonis (pictured prior to treatment), before 1580, workshop of Paolo di Gabriele di Piero Caliaro (known as Veronese), Italian, 1528-1588, oil on canvas, 88 3/8 x 66 1/4 in., Samuel H. Kress Collection, 61.174. Not currently on view.

SAM Art: Crocodile Woman

Seattle Art Museum on May 8 2012

SAM Art: Crocodile Woman

“From a water-woven land come creatures of convoluted imagination. They know where the power lies-in essences of female and reptile.”  -collector Katherine White, 1979

Water flows through the Cross River area, which is the second largest delta system on earth. A crocodile guarding these waters can become a “familiar” for a woman, adding to her abilities and insights. Persons with unusual inclinations were often likely to attribute their actions to the persuasive force of an animal or reptile who sought them out. Women who cultivated this alliance with a familiar could use it to be helpful, or let it become destructive.

Crocodile headdress, Ejagham, Cross River Region, Nigerian / Cameroonian, wood, skin, basketry, 29 x 38 1/2 x 8 3/4 in., Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company, 81.17.507. Currently on view in the African art galleries, fourth floor, SAM downtown.

“GREEN” Eggs and SAM

Seattle Art Museum on May 4 2012

“GREEN” Eggs and SAM

In the past couple of weeks I’ve heard a lot of talk in the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) offices about an infamous group called The SAM Goes Green Team. The more email notices the Green Team sent out about daily “green” tips or “green” contests between staff members, the more I became curious about who takes part in this coalition, and what it takes to initiate “green” practices at SAM.

 

To investigate further, I decided to interview the head of the Green Team, Liz Stone. Liz holds the title of Operations Assistant/ Digital Media Support Specialist at SAM.  Liz is a spirited, young woman who brings a lot of light to the busy offices here at SAM. When I asked to interview her, she was very excited for the opportunity to represent SAM’s “green” roots and sustainability concerns.

I asked Liz, “When did the Green Team start at SAM?”  She provided the following information:

 

The Green Team was started in 2006, shortly before the Olympic Sculpture Park opened in January 2007. It began with a handful of staff representing different departments who were interested in making a difference. The excitement around Olympic Sculpture Park gave the museum the momentum it needed to develop an environmental face for SAM. Examples of how SAM conducts green operations in many different capacities include:

  • Reduced the museum’s carbon footprint, including cuts in energy use, paper conservation, and waste reduction
  • Switched to 100% recycled copy paper
  • Earned Salmon-Safe certification of land management practices at the Olympic Sculpture Park.
  • Supported SAM’s museum educators in designing art activities that use repurposed, recycled and non-toxic supplies
  • Created a culture of sustainability within SAM, including meeting with departments to identify barriers to “going green”

 

“There have been a few different Green Team leaders at SAM, but I was approached in 2011 and asked if I would take the reins of the Green Team to keep it moving forward,” Liz says.

 

In overseeing the Green Team, Liz presents green tips and activities in media posts and helps maintain sustainability around the offices. Each division at SAM—from IT to Exhibition Design to Engineering—has a representative on the Green Team.

 

SAM is also a Presenting Partner with Seattle Center Foundation and Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas in presenting the performance, red, black, GREEN: a blues. This performance is coming to Seattle Center’s Intiman Theater May 30–June 2 for the Next 50 Festival and brings artists Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Theaster Gates back to Seattle once again! Both artists, as educators and social activists, strive through their work to ignite our collective responsibility towards social and environmental sustainability for every community. This performance shares SAM’s values in combining community engagement with art to work towards a greener, more sustainable community. The Green Team and Liz Stone are working hard to activate everyone’s involvement in “going green”.

 

You can also find more details about SAM’s environmental commitment and the SAM Goes Green initiative, as well as a list of partners joined in this initiative when you visit the SAM website. Some commitments involve joining the City of Seattle’s Seattle Climate Partnership and Seattle Climate Action Now to reduce SAM’s carbon footprint. You can also read more about the SAM Goes Green Team history on previous SAMblog posts, including SAM’s recent participation in the worldwide Earth Hour event.

 

Mounting and Yam Masks at the Oceanic Gallery

Seattle Art Museum on May 4 2012

Mounting and Yam Masks at the Oceanic Gallery

On April 30, I begin exploring the inspiring installation on view at the Oceanic gallery.  This gallery not only contains the unusual art of the Oceanic islands but also an unusual approach to viewing the work.  The inclusion of commission installation pieces created by local Seattle artist Allyce Wood provides, as curator Pam McClusky explains, clues to the objects origins beyond the accompanying textual plaques.  These objects, which were removed from their originally context to a museum context, are reunited with the visual elements of their initial environment.  Part One, The Unique Installations in the Oceanic Gallery, examined the ways in which the installation connects the works to their native environment and functional cultural contexts.  Part two continues the discussion with a behind-the-scenes perspective on the gallery exploring the mounting of these objects.

 

You may not initially realize that the Yam Masks are displayed on replica yams.  Despite the huge size of those in the case compared what you’d expect from a grocery store, these yams are actually much smaller than the champion yams of Papua New Guinea’s Abelam people.  Their yams reach heights of nine or even twelve feet!  If you don’t believe me, the case text, or have trouble imaging a yam so large an accompanying photograph provides a visual of the yams: taller than their proud owner and nearly as tall as his house!  The yams’ size demonstrates the conflict between the museum environment, the objects’ natural environment, and providing proper context.  A museum environment dictates that objects should be approachable and so are displayed at an appropriate height.  The natural environment for these masks would be mounted on tall yams, a biodegradable natural product where the mask is above our heads.  This poses problems in a museum since the natural material would degrade and having the masks at a similar height would inhibit viewing.  Their current context in the Oceanic gallery compromises these two methods by shrinking the size of the yams so they can display the mask within a similar context but at an approachable level, much like a manikin.  Perhaps we should refer to these yams as, yam-ikins for the masks.

These yam-ikins, while mimicking the shape, color, and at least width of the yams, might look like a simple installation created by Allyce, but they double as an intricate and supportive mount for the masks.  For one mask with a simple curved back the creation of the yam-ikin was fairly straightforward.  The mount for the other mask is far more complicated.  The process highlights the skill of the mount makers who need to capture the feel of the object in its environment without compromising its vitality.  They must both present the object to the viewer, while restricting its motion and preserving the object for future generations.

The Yam Mask’s “Pillow” Mount

The mask in question for this mount is beautifully woven.  Its reds and yellows contrast against a rich dark black and a few of its original arching feathers remain.  In order to accommodate the mask’s dome-shaped interior, mount maker Gordon Lambert created a “pillow” with flaps.  The pillows fill the form of the mask, supporting the fibers without straining or stretching them.  They are flexible and are attached to a frame with a hinge, so they can move and respond to the mask as needed.  This support rests on aluminum tubes that provide vertical stability.  Parts of the pillows that might be seen were painted black and to disguise an awkward connection between the base of the mask and the yam, Allyce created a grass necklace in the proper style.   Allyce also created the yams, which wrap around the plain base to provide the masks their appropriate context on a yam.

Gordon noted how fun the yam-ikins were to create make due to its inventiveness and the challenges it created.  Rebecca Raven, another mount maker, commented on the overall inventive nature of the mounts.  For instance, the Asmat War Shields maintain their old steel L-mounts and were originally displayed facing forward in a line.  Now the shields twist and turn.  In order to turn the mounts for the new display, the mount makers required a specialized wrench to reach a bolt within a shallow space.  As no wrench of this kind exists, they built a special one-of-kind wrench just for this project and the mounts for these war shields.

Other elements of mounting and installation deal with issues of conservation.  While the Marquesan bone ornament, on displayed with the tattooed man and War club, would originally be hung around the man’s neck or head, conservation differences between the ornament and the club required their separation.  Therefore the reproduced tattooed Marquesan could not both hold the club and be adorned with the ornament.  The current separation between the man and the ornament allows the ornament to interact with the figure while not becoming lost in a crowd of objects.

Each part of the mount is ready for final assembly!

Issues such as these demonstrate the complex problem solving for Rebecca and Gordon in regards to mounting the work.  The added collaboration with the Allyce and her installations along with their collaboration with gallery designers and curators provided a new dimension to the mounts they often create.  New problems had to be solved for these unique Oceanic objects so they could both be protected and appreciated.  Their work with the Oceanic gallery prepped the team for the mounts they needed to create for the current exhibition Gauguin & Polynesia whose Polynesian materials are quite similar to those in SAM’s Oceanic gallery.  However, as Pam notes, the permanent Oceanic gallery provides longevity for the museum and the Oceanic collection as opposed to the fleeting views the special exhibition offers.

 

From the unique installation elements that provides visual context to the arts so far removed from their original, non-museum context to the mounting of these pieces we learned so much about the process of creating such a unique and beautiful display for SAM’s Oceanic collection.  The considerations, effort, and preparation that all occurred behind-the-scenes for this seamless viewing, is incredible.  Each element of the gallery—the installations, the Oceanic art, the mounts, the information panels—come together creating an inviting environment that transports the viewer away from Seattle and onto the islands of the Pacific Ocean.

 

Be sure to check out the final product!  The Oceanic Gallery is located on SAM’s third floor.

 

– Sarah Lippai, Public Relations Intern

Top photo: Styrofoam Model of a Yam Mask

Make Your Own Wonderful Wardrobe at the Seattle Asian Art Museum on Free First Saturday

Seattle Art Museum on May 4 2012

Make Your Own Wonderful Wardrobe at the Seattle Asian Art Museum on Free First Saturday

On Saturday, May 5, bring your family to the Seattle Asian Art Museum for Free First Saturday! Explore the exhibition Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats, and design your own wearable art inspired by gorgeous garments from central Asia.
This fun-filled day will feature special performances by Silk Road Dance Company, which has delighted audiences around the country with traditional and fusion dances from the Middle East and Central Asia. Performing Uzbek, Afghani, Tadjik, Azerbaijani, Kurdish, Persian, and Egyptian dance techniques rarely seen in the United States, Silk Road Dance Company offers a unique glimpse of the life, culture, and art of little known regions.

Please note that a large public event in Volunteer Park will be taking place all day May 5. We recommend that you allow extra time for parking and walking to the Seattle Asian Art Museum. You also may want to consider biking or taking a bus instead of driving.

Free First Saturday at the Seattle Asian Art Museum is presented by Russell Investments with support provided by The Peg & Rick Young Foundation.

-Madeline Moy, Digital Media Manager

Iskra Johnson Shows New Work “Contemplating Nature” at SAM Gallery

Seattle Art Museum on May 3 2012

Iskra Johnson Shows New Work “Contemplating Nature” at SAM Gallery

Iskra Johnson, like most of us, navigates the territory between the natural and the modern world. She has a successful business providing custom letterform solutions and logotypes for packaging materials for companies looking to personalize their branding aesthetic. That Gardenburger logo? She created it. The Seattle Times brandmark? It’s in her portfolio. She utilizes many channels of modern technology (as one must be to survive in the current communications arena) working with design software, digital cameras and a smart phone as well as her website, blog and Facebook pages, all duly updated to maintain relevance with today’s desire for immediacy and attainability.

While maintaining her life as a savvy business owner, Johnson works with equal diligence in her fine art career.  And perhaps by proximity to (her studio is in the middle of a garden) the seasonal changing of flora and fauna, she is greatly inspired by her natural surroundings.

Images of flowers, leaves, water and wildlife are featured in her work and layered with atmospheric shadows and textures. Each composition is carefully crafted, integrating digital photographic elements with older analog prints, powdered pigment and paint. Employing a unique transfer process, each print is handmade and sensitive to timing, humidity and pressure.  It takes a great deal of repetition and attention to detail to produce one successful print. To some this could be considered time consuming and exhaustive, but to Johnson it is a process that allows for pause, contemplation and absorption.

“For me contemplation of nature is a blessed, necessary antidote to the political life. It’s reflective and absorbing. There is no ‘issue,’ nothing to prove, and nothing to be right about. But it’s not a passive state. Embedded in contemplation is the search for transformative metaphor. One of my favorite plants in the garden is the hydrangea…as it changes through the seasons; it is beautiful at every stage. It makes me regard the cycles of my own life from a bigger impersonal perspective and it helps me find harmony with the processes of change. There are times when I think the state of peace that comes from nature is denial, but more often I think it is the basis of everything good-it’s what holds up the world and makes it possible to live.”

Come see new work by Iskra Johnson as well as artists Tyler Boley, Nichole DeMent, Eva Isaksen, Christopher Perry, Aithan Shapira, Nina Tichava and Allyce Wood in the upcoming exhibition, Contemplating Nature, open May 10 – June 9.

Meet the artists May 10, 5 – 7 pm, for the opening reception at SAM Gallery, 1220 3rd Avenue (at University), downtown Seattle.

-Alyssa Rhodes, SAM Gallery Coordinator

Wild Plum, Iskra Johnson, transfer print on paper, 33×25 in.

SAM Art: Evolving City Wall Mural

Seattle Art Museum on May 1 2012

SAM Art: Evolving City Wall Mural

Mexican sculptor Pedro Reyes is known for his interactive forms, installed in public spaces around the world. For the opening of SAM’s Olympic Sculpture Park in 2007, Reyes produced his signature interactive Capulas, as well as the Evolving City Wall Mural, all of which were acquired by the museum.

Equally at home in a park and in a downtown building, the mural has greeted visitors to SAM downtown for the past four years. In the mural, human beings interact with geometry and respond to changing visual systems. The mural incorporates graphic design, technical drawing and perspective diagrams to imagine a world of varied spaces, both two-dimensional and three-dimensional.

The mural will remain on view until mid-May.

Evolving City Wall Mural, 2006, Pedro Reyes (Mexican, born 1972), ink on paper, approx. 14.9 x 54.7 ft., Olympic Sculpture Park Art Acquisition Fund and the Modern Art Acquisition Fund, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum, 2007.5. Photo: Susan Cole. © Pedro Reyes. Currently on view in the museum foyer, corner of First Ave and Union St, SAM downtown.

The Unique Installations in the Oceanic Gallery

Seattle Art Museum on Apr 30 2012

When walking into the Oceanic gallery on the third floor you may be struck by a mix of the familiar and the unusual.  This occurs with both the art and the display.  The pieces that comprise the collection include shields, masks, clubs, and figures.  There is nothing too unusual about them until you take a closer look and discover the unfamiliar carved designs or shapes whose culture you can’t quite place, that are if you didn’t catch Gauguin & Polynesia.  While the works are within a familiar museum setting—some behind glass or on a pedestal—you probably noticed, almost immediately, that they are given an environment.  As you walk into the gallery Asmat War shields confront you.  They burst out of the forest.  Lush New Guinea flora in various shades of green backdrop the shields, rejuvenating them.

Oceanic arts curator Pam McClusky decided that in creating this gallery the artwork’s origins required elaboration in order to offer clues about their original function and cultural tradition not only through text, a traditional museum approach, but also through installation.  When considering the works from SAM’s Oceanic collection, Pam realized just how unusual these objects were in terms of their origin and context.  As most of us approach art from a Western perspective and a Western tradition, the works from Oceania are a bit of a puzzle.  For us, art falls into definable categories where the ancient arts of painting and sculpture are favored and in which most art adorns the walls of our houses for decoration or honored in the rooms of our museums for contemplation.  While not all Western arts are removed from functional contexts, our history favors these more traditional arts.  In the region of Oceania the arts are steeped in culture and context.  Their strange context derives from their function and the cultural traditions of the people who made them.

The Asmat War shields, Jamasji, for example are not static parts of their environment.  They are beacons painted in red and white that contrast from the greens of the forests.  They protect the warriors handling them.  They twist and turn as they fend off opponents in the fields.  Pam decided that installations designed to reunite the objects with their original visual context would facilitate our approach; bridging the gap between Western artistic traditions and the abandoned visual environment and foreign culture of the islands of the Oceania.  This approach allows for the animation of the Asmat shields along with the other objects of the gallery.

While contemplating the art and its context and relation to the human scale, Pam walked past the windows of SAM Gallery which were displaying the work of Allyce Wood.  Allyce’s two dimensional layered environments were just what Pam was looking for.  Starting with sketches and images from Pam along with her own research Allyce reproduced the visual elements required to reunite the work with its artistic environment and cultural context. The installation elements allow the glass to disappear and for the objects to return to their original setting.  This is one of the most striking aspects about the gallery space.  It is amazing how the objects and the installation negotiate the museum space and environmental context.  Some objects are intricately paired with Allyce’s installations while the installations for other objects are subtle additions.  Each object and its installation are unique, as the installations reflect the origins of the art.  A painstakingly reproduced Asmat man stands next to one of the shields, providing human scale and emphasizing the object’s use for warfare.

Take the time to explore the gallery.  You will discover the interplay between the museum and the origins, the art and the installation.  Perhaps you’ll be drawn to the Marquesan man or the male figure from Rapa Nui.  The Marquesan man, a reproduced figure created by Allyce sits with a War Club or u’u.  The design for this installation derives from an engraving of a Marquesan warrior by Emile Lassalle in 1843.  The man stands out for his tattoos, tattoos that identify his power and prestige, and for the u’u that he holds.  Compare this u’u to those on display upstairs at Gauguin & Polynesia.  They are all very similar with craved heads and a deep, rich color, although the club in the Oceanic gallery lays across the lap of the plywood tattooed figure, mimicking the weapon’s handling by a warrior and merging the object as one of both function and of art.  This dynamic counter-play between installation and art demonstrates the seamless method of display created by Pam and Allyce.

More subtle installations occur on the walls opposite the entrance with the Rapa Nui male figures, Moai Kavakava, and Melanesia canoe figurehead, nguzu nguzu.  Wall paintings contextualize the pieces.  A painting of a massive stone statue behind the Maai Kavakava links the figures with their iconic counterparts that encircle the Chilean Island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island.  A similar method is used for the canoe figurehead, behind which extends a prow of a canoe.  Originally Pam and Allyce planed for a three-dimensional canoe model to extend from the wall, with the nguzu nguzu nestled in the right location.  The painted model demonstrates not only a subtle reminder of the work’s functional relevance but also an example of the installation’s developed.  Besides the difficulties of mounting and the conservation requirements, Pam and Allyce decided that a three-dimensional model would overshadow the art, taking the installation aspect too far.  Furthermore, the painted model allowed for new opportunities; Allyce researched Melanesian figureheads and this model includes a figurehead in a different style from piece on display.

When recalling the process Allyce notes the challenges of the work and the differences between her own creations and those for the installation.  For the installation pieces, Allyce researched the works and their environment to create the most accurate reproductions possible.  As she notes, “I did the research.  I embodied the research,” and it shows.  The painstaking reproductions of male warriors, both the sitting Marquesan and standing Asmat, demonstrate how her lively approach contributes to the Oceanic gallery.  Reproducing the environment, etchings of indigenous population, or other intricate works of art are only one aspect of the installation.  Another important aspect of the installation involved collaboration with the mount makers who were tasked with determining how to seamlessly merge the art with the installation in way that protected and conserved the works while allowing them to interact with their less museum-like environment.

 

Part Two, Mounting and Yam Masks at the Oceanic Gallery, continues the discussion on the Oceanic Installation.  In this part, which will follow in a few days, we will look behind the scenes at the mounts of the gallery and the collaboration between the mount makers and installation artist, Allyce Wood.

 

– Sarah Lippai, Public Relations Intern

SAM Art: A Man on a Prow

Seattle Art Museum on Apr 24 2012

SAM Art: A Man on a Prow

This may be your final week to see Gauguin and Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise (it closes on Sunday), but don’t despair. SAM’s collection of Oceanic art remains on view.

A heroic guardian, this figure was strategically placed precisely at the water line of a decorated canoe’s prow. Dipping into the water as the large canoe navigated the seas, it kept watch for hidden reefs and enemies. As a lieutenant in 1897 recorded, its purpose was: “to keep off the kesoko or water fiends which might otherwise cause the winds and waves to upset the canoe, so that they might fall on and devour its crew.”

Shell inlay swirls over the face in a pattern like those found on the painted faces of warriors. Beneath the chin of this figure is a head that is being clutched–although whether the warrior is protecting it or presenting it as a fallen enemy is unknown.

Canoe prow figure (Nguzu Nguzu), 19th century, Solomon Islands, Melanesian, wood, nautilus shell, 10 5/8 x 7 7/8 x 5 in., Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company, 81.17.1443. Currently on view in the Oceanic art gallery, third floor, SAM downtown.

Your Last Chance to See Gauguin & Polynesia!

Seattle Art Museum on Apr 23 2012

Your Last Chance to See Gauguin & Polynesia!

The landmark show Gauguin & Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise at the Seattle Art Museum closes Sunday, April 29! SAM will be open extended hours the final week of the show, April 23-29 from 10 am – 9 pm. The museum will also host the following events:

  • April 24: A Night at the Museum with KING 5
    Enjoy a cash bar, photo booth, giveaways and the chance to meet KING 5 personalities, including Jesse Jones, Jim Dever and Tracy Taylor. This fun event is free and open to the public! RSVP>>
  • April 27: South Seas Dreams: Tahiti as a Cinematic Paradise 
    In Oviri (The Wolf at the Door), Donald Sutherland gives a passionate portrayal of Gauguin. Get ticket info>>
  • April 28 & 29: Tahitian Dancing and Drumming 
    Enjoy Tahitian dancing and drumming brought to you by Te Fare O Tamatoa and their performance group Te’a rama. Be prepared to experience a Marquesan haka (a Polynesian traditional welcome) followed by additional performances. Watch a preview>>
On April 28 and April 29 at the Seattle Art Museum, enjoy Tahitian dancing and drumming brought to you by Te Fare O Tamatoa and their performance group Te’a rama.

Photo by Dan Bennett

Gauguin & Polynesia at the Seattle Art Museum is the only U.S. stop for the exhibition. Don’t miss your chance to see Gauguin’s brilliantly hued paintings, sculptures and works on paper, which are displayed alongside major examples of Polynesian art. Reserve your tickets online now>>

-Madeline Moy, Digital Media Manager

Top photo: Reclining Tahitian Women (The Amusement of the Evil Spirit) Arearea no varua ino, 1894, Paul Gauguin, French, 1848-1903, oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 38 9/16 in., Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Photo: Ole Haupt

Happy Earth Day!

Seattle Art Museum on Apr 22 2012

Happy Earth Day!

If you liked Earth Hour then you’ll love Earth Day (it’s like 24 times better than Earth Hour). While Earth Hour challenged people to make lasting change, Earth Day is a celebration of all that we have achieved and a look forward to differences we can still make.

SAM has already made a number of changes in an effort to be more sustainable. They include:

  • Reduced the museum’s carbon footprint, including cuts in energy use, paper conservation, and waste reduction
  • Switched to 100% recycled copy paper
  • Earned Salmon-Safe certification of land management practices at the Olympic Sculpture Park. (Watch this video of Gardner Bobby McCullough employing one of those practices)
  • Supported SAM’s museum educators in designing art activities that use repurposed, recycled and non-toxic supplies
  • Created a culture of sustainability within SAM, including meeting with departments to identify barriers to “going green”

And now that it’s Earth Day, the SAM Goes Green team isn’t letting this opportunity go by without challenging our coworkers to continue moving forward and establishing more green habits. This week we are asking SAM staff to pledge to make a difference. We’re going to track the changes they make at home and at work and offer incentives for the most actions taken. A little positive reinforcement will hopefully encourage big change!

-Liz Stone, Operations Assistant/Digital Media Support Specialist

Specter, 2011, Gretchen Bennett, American, b. 1960, blown glass, hemp rope, Photo: Robert Wade

Designing Memories

Seattle Art Museum on Apr 20 2012

Designing Memories

We’ve all been swept away by the ability of an album to evoke memories, ideas, or particular moods. How does the design of an album cover relate to the music and how do music and cover together evoke these memories, ideas, and moods? In the Theaster Gates: the Listening Room exhibition the wall of records is an aesthetic display of the importance of visual imagery to the music we listen to. I can pick up any of these records and attempt to date the year it was released and the type of music that will be heard on the album. Just from looking at the album cover I have an idea formed for what I’m about to experience and something visual to stimulate more thoughts as I listen to the music.

Stan Gets’ “Another Time, Another Place” and Teena Marie’s “Robbery” and are examples of records that tie my ideas of trends popular in an era to the  music and design that characterize this era.

 

What associations do we have of visual designs, colors, and images to musical rhythms? There’s a whole set of abstract visual artists (past and contemporary) who base their design on connecting to some sort of musical rhythm, or spiritual rhythm of which they believe music and visual art are the expressions. Examples of this connection between music and visual art are Wassily Kandinsky’s “Composition” paintings or the intimate relationship between jazz music and visual artists. I would say a musical rhythm relates to emotions, but we all feel emotional sways a little differently and we have different dreams and myths that we associate with certain emotions, music and imagery. Where do we find the overlap between each of our personal dreams and associations to a type of music and imagery?

Critical discussions around trends in artistic and cultural media play a game of informing and being informed by music of an era. These criticisms impact our own experience of music as well. I don’t think the whole arena of critical review and genre categorization hold only arbitrary value, but I wonder what key effects in a song or an album do we agree make it interesting to discuss? How does the social climate affect our experience with music? How does an album or song become iconic or timeless? What does this record collection tell us about certain times in our communal history and our personal relationship to this history?

These are the sorts of questions that Theaster Gates: The Listening Room brings up for us to think about and discuss together.  Think about what ideas, fantastical or historical, are evoked in you the next time you listen to something that someone recommends to you, or that you find in a store. Why is this record valuable to remember? What about its album design tells us about when the album was released and the cultural history it represents?

 

SAM Art: A Message (and a Lecture) from the Deep

Seattle Art Museum on Apr 17 2012

SAM Art: A Message (and a Lecture) from the Deep

Inspired by the artifacts excavated from Junk shipwrecks that brought “china” from Asia to Europe, Koi Junk alludes to the migration of culture through trade, and specifically the culture of tea. It also references the forms, techniques, and ornamentation that dominated the aesthetics in the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century age of colonization. Thus, Koi Junk speaks in a contemporary voice to a long history of objects which bridge cultures and time.

Message from the Deep: Koi Junk, a Sculptural Teapot by Michelle Erickson with Julie Emerson
Members Art History Lecture Series: New Perspectives
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
7—9 pm
Plestcheeff Auditorium, first floor, SAM downtown
Open to SAM members and their guests only please.

Koi Junk Teapot, 2009, Michelle Erickson (American, born 1960), porcelain, colored earthenware agate, indigenous clays, 12 ½ x 11 in. overall, Howard Kottler Endowment for Ceramic Art, 2011.23. © Michelle Erickson. Currently on view in Here and Now, third floor, SAM downtown.

This Time Drawing on the Walls is Allowed

Seattle Art Museum on Apr 11 2012

This Time Drawing on the Walls is Allowed

Brazilian artist Sandra Cinto is bringing a literal sea change to the Olympic Sculpture Park.

At the beginning of April, Cinto and two assistants started work on a site-specific installation titled  Encontro das Águas (Encounter of Waters), an expansive wall drawing in the park’s PACCAR Pavilion. In addition to her two assistants, Sandra wanted to involve people from SAM’s community, so 20 volunteers and three SAM preparators have helped complete the piece.

Volunteers assist artist Sandra Cinto with her new installation at the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park

Here is more detail on the installation from Marisa C. Sánchez, SAM’s Associate Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art:

The Seattle Art Museum unveils Brazilian born, São Paulo–based artist Sandra Cinto’s site-specific installation for the Olympic Sculpture Park’s PACCAR Pavilion. Influenced by artists as diverse as Sol LeWitt and Regina Silveira, and the woodblock prints of Japanese artists including Katsushika Hokusai, Cinto’s Encontro das Águas (Encounter of Waters) includes an intricate wall drawing, whose ambitious proportions convey a mesmerizing view of an expansive waterscape. Through humble materials—including blue paint and a silver paint pen—Cinto works directly on the wall and transforms a single line, repeated at different angles and lengths, into a titanic image of water that expresses both renewal and risk. As a counterpoint to this unbridled seascape, Cinto incorporates stories about individuals who were rescued at sea, to show the endurance of the human spirit in difficult circumstances.

Progress on Sandra Cinto's installation "Encontro das Águas" at the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park

Cinto’s work has been shown internationally, including Argentina, France, Portugal, Spain and the United States. She was included in the XXIV Bienal Internacional de São Paulo, in 1998; Elysian Fields, a group show at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, in 2000; TRANSactions: Contemporary Latin American and Latino Art, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, in 2007–08; and the second Trienal Poli/Gráfica de San Juan: Latin America and the Caribbean, San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2009; among other solo and group shows. She is represented by Casa Triângulo Gallery, São Paulo, Brazil, and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York.

Artist Sandra Cinto at work on her installation "Encontro das Águas" at the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park

Artist Sandra Cinto

Encontro das Águas will be on view at the Olympic Sculpture Park’s PACCAR Pavilion April 14, 2012 to April 14, 2013.

-Madeline Moy, Digital Media Manager

Photo Credit: Robert Wade

SAM Art: A Different Kind of Storytelling

Seattle Art Museum on Apr 11 2012

SAM Art: A Different Kind of Storytelling

Next week, the museum’s gallery dedicated to Australian Aboriginal painting will be closed, and the current paintings taken off view. Why? They will be re-studied, re-thought, and re-installed in the museum’s summer exhibition Ancestral Modern: Australian Aboriginal Art from the Kaplan & Levi Collection.

The paintings currently on view are a first glimpse at the coming exhibition. Deceptively abstract in appearance, these works recount stories of land, of history, of experience, and of Dreaming. This painting tells part of the legend of two brothers who traveled across the Tanami and Great Sandy Desert to teach people about food, fire and hunting, while they were creating many of the land forms.  When they arrived at the vast salt lake, Lake MacKay, they made camp for a night’s rest. The central horizontal line shows the windbreak the constructed, while the parallel lines designate water. Strong white vertical lines represent sandhills.

Can you see the story in this image?

Wati Kutjarra is only on view in the permanent collection galleries through Sunday. It can be seen next in the summer exhibition Ancestral Modern, opening 31 May.

Wati Kutjarra (Two Brothers Dreaming), 2004, Tjumpo Tjapanangka, Australian Aborigine, Kukatja people, Balgo (Wirrimanu), Kimberley/Western Desert, Western Australia, 1929-2007, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 70 7/8 x 59 1/16 in., Promised gift of Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum. Photo: Susan Cole. © Tjumpo Tjapanangka.

Funky Samples

Seattle Art Museum on Apr 6 2012

Funky Samples

The Record Store, which closed its doors at [storefront] Olson-Kundig January 31st and was featured at SAM’s Arnold Board Room during last February’s Remix, is due for re-open later this year. I have had a lot of reflections on the energy that project has erupted.

I was alone at the Record Store one day, one of my first volunteer shifts towards the beginning of the store’s opening. I was playing records as people filtered in and out throughout the day when I found an album I knew but haven’t listened to much on a regular basis: Parliament’s Mothership Connection.

I was familiar with Parliament’s iconic status as Funk originators and with this album in particular, and I’ve listened to Funkadelic, the alter-ego band of Parliament. Later, both bands merged as one into P-Funk. I am familiar with the classic album cover and I knew I’d recognize the songs if I played the album. The first track was spinning and I immediately recognized the song, but was a little confused why it was so familiar if I don’t listen to this group regularly. Then it came to me that I knew the song from Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. The last song on The Chronic, “The Roach (The Chronic Outro)” samples this song, “P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)” pretty heavily.

Of course I recognize a classic funk song because later a hip-hop album, very iconic itself, sampled this original funk classic. Apparently I hadn’t researched into Dr. Dre’s samples closely enough to already know he used this Parliament song. Once again I’m caught in a time in our culture where I learn to find legendary music of decades before not only from my parents but more through contemporary songs that sample classics of music history. The great thing about this was that I consistently heard other guest selectors at the listening events of the Record Store also play this very Parliament song during their own sets.

Everyone is pointing out that Funk music revolutionized musical creativity, and that later musicians pay tribute by referencing this iconic trend in their own music through samples and funk rhythms. Contemporary hip-hop, R&B and electronic artists and producers are all huge players in the reinterpretation and reference of past musical eras. Through both direct sampling and creating sounds that suggest those of iconic albums or eras of music, recent artists salute the innovation of past artists and evoke the moods associated with the iconic music they admire. The mixing of old and new sounds and the use of references and sampling in general is one of the clear innovations of current and contemporary music. The lines between genres have blurred and  undefinable.  The sampling and referencing of old songs makes them ever more memory-striking and iconic, and for the new generation of music listeners they solidify a history of musical culture. The truly classic records played at the Record Store reach the memories of both young and old generations because of their timeless listening quality and their celebrated influence over time across all types of contemporary musics.

-Paige Smith, Curatorial + Community Engagement Intern

SAM Art: Seasons

Seattle Art Museum on Apr 5 2012

SAM Art: Seasons

As Seattle oscillates between winter and spring, take a moment to consider four clearly defined seasons—as seen on this Chinese bowl, now on view at the Seattle Asian Art Museum.

Poetic inscriptions caption the four seasons depicted from frame to frame around the bowl. Each season has its own defining text, and its own imagery:

“Green trees abound in village after village,” in summer;

“Withering branches sit silent in the depth of night,” in autumn;

“Bending low, the snow-covered bamboo still glints a cool emerald-jade green,” in winter;

and spring sees “Sprouting willows appear in the scattering mist.”

Guyuexuan type bowl, early 18th century, Chinese, Qing period, Yongzheng reign, porcelain with decoration in overglaze-enamels, 3 x 6 ¼ in. overall, Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 33.55, photo: Paul Macapia. Currently on view in the Seattle Asian Art Museum, Volunteer Park.

 

From Shy Teen to Arts Leader

Seattle Art Museum on Mar 30 2012

From Shy Teen to Arts Leader

Here’s a guest post by Maddie Thomas, of SAM’s Teen Advisory Group!

Three years ago I was strolling through SAM’s Olympic Sculpture Park and saw a poster for an event called “Art Attack – Teen Night Out.” The title of the event seemed appealing, but the poster design is what really caught my attention: an abstract, romantic depiction of a teenage Rapunzel-esque girl with billowy swirls of hair. Fascinated by the uniqueness of the occasion’s advertisement, I marked my calendar with the date and time and was excited to attend. I had only been to the SAM a handful of times before and loved it, so going to a teen focused event there seemed great.

There was only one problem. Three years ago also marked my first year of high school. As a freshman I was fairly timid. I’d grown up loving art but none of my friends at the time were artistic. I couldn’t think of anyone to invite who would appreciate the event. The evening Teen Night Out rolled around, I didn’t end up going. I was too scared attend an event of that scale on my own and never found anyone to go with me.

Filled with regret, the following summer I checked SAM’s website to see if there were any other upcoming teen events. I realized Teen Night Out only happens twice a year, once in fall and once in the spring. But while browsing the website I discovered a teen program at the museum called the Teen Advisory Group (TAG). The website described TAG as a group of teen leaders who were “highly opinionated, creative, visionary, loud, committed, etc.” It also revealed that TAG did the planning for Teen Night Out! Mystified, I immediately filled out an application for the program online. A few months later as a sophomore, I got an email informing me about an approaching meeting for teens who were interested in the program. I attended the meeting, and a few other interviews, then received a confirmation email saying I’d been accepted into the program. I was ecstatic!

At the very first meeting, I felt an energy and common ground with the other teens in TAG I had never experienced before. Everyone seemed united. Even though there were over 20 of us, we all had mutual creative interests and a strong appreciation for art. Additional meetings and various “ice-breaker” games revealed that we shared even more collective interests. I was finally making up for the lack of artistic friends that I had freshman year.

Making new friends was a definite bonus of TAG, but it wasn’t why we were there. Members of TAG get to interact with the community through volunteering at local events, be creative with art activities and occasional lessons from SAM Teaching Artists, and are granted opportunities to meet and interview artists. While the Nick Cave: Meet me at the Center of the Earth exhibition was at the SAM, TAG members got a preview of the exhibit. Three days before it was open to the public, Nick Cave himself came to the museum and gave us a personal tour of his work. The tour with Nick was stunningly intimate; wet paint signs covered the walls, various sculptures still needed to be unpackaged and assembled. The raw version of the exhibit was the most fascinating time I viewed that show (I probably saw it over 20 times): I never had been part of something so exclusive. SAM provides amazing opportunities for teens, that moment in the galleries with Nick being a fine example. Though volunteering and special opportunities are wonderful, the major focus of the group is curating Teen Night Out.

I’m a junior this year. I have returned for a second year to be part of TAG, and I’m currently in the process of helping to plan our next Teen Night Out on Friday, April 13. The event is being organized to show off the museum’s special exhibition: the fabulous Gauguin & Polynesia, as well as showcase local musicians, dance groups and artists. The focus of the event will be to bring teens into the museum and prove that SAM breaks traditional museum stereotypes: the notion of museums being boring places with stuffy security guards telling you not to touch things. That image doesn’t fit SAM in any way. SAM is a friendly, modern, energetic museum full of diversity, which will be showcased at Teen Night Out.

As an efficient way to plan for Teen Night Out, we’ve divided our TAG group into specific committees to focus on individual elements of the event. These committees include: promotion, tours & event operation, interactive activities, and performance. I am on the performance committee and will be stage managing the event with my fellow TAG member Chris Cosby. Stage managing will give me the chance to interact with the performers by helping them load in, make them comfortable in their green room spaces, make sure all goes well with sound checks and set up, as well as load out. I stage managed during last year’s Nick Cave focused Teen Night Out; it can be rather stressful, but I know everything will go smoothly this year with help from Chris.

Looking forward to the upcoming event has also caused me to reflect on my entire experience with TAG so far and how much I’ve changed. Being a member of TAG has boosted my self-confidence tremendously. I’m now a better leader and more efficient when working with a team. At our weekly meetings I’m exposed to a wide range of perspectives, which has helped me grow as a person and look outside of myself. Though I get the added bonus of service learning hours for school through TAG, my main motive for being a member is to participate in new experiences. I especially valued being a summer counselor at SAM Camp, and speaking at an Art Education Forum this past March with Mayor McGinn and other passionate youth. Being a TAG member has further increased my interest in the art world. I would love to be on a public relations or marketing team for an art museum someday. Most importantly, thanks to SAM I’m no longer that timid little freshman who felt like she had no artsy friends and was afraid to speak up for herself. I am now a powerful junior with a bright and creative future ahead, and enough confidence to inspire other teens to get involved.

-Maddie Thomas, Teen Advisory Group Member

TASTE-ing Gauguin & Polynesia

Seattle Art Museum on Mar 28 2012

TASTE-ing Gauguin & Polynesia

TASTE Restaurant at SAM has translated the vibrancy of Gauguin & Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise into flavors!  The modern, fresh and artistic restaurant is furthering the experience of the exhibition with their new exhibition-inspired menu.

In designing the menu, Executive Chef Craig Hetherington sought to evoke bold, individual flavors while upholding TASTE’s mission of using the best local ingredients.  With no more than five or six ingredients per dish, each choice reflects the vivid yet simplistic character of Gauguin’s work.  Instead of simply serving Hawaiian food, Hetherington added Polynesian flair to fine local ingredients for a refined interpretation of island cuisine.

The Gauguin-inspired dinner experience begins with a selection of small plates.  The St. Jude Albacore Poke is a traditional Tahitian dish highlighting flavors of soy, vinegar and ginger.  Another excellent choice is the House Made Spam, crafted from locally raised pork loin and shoulder.  The plate offers a sophisticated twist on musubi, a traditional island treat.

The Seared Qualicum Beach Scallops is the perfect entrée to complement the exhibition.  In designing this dish, Hetherington drew inspiration from Gauguin’s French roots as well as his travels in Polynesia.  A distinctly European chevre potato purée meets the tropical taste of pickled ginger on the plate.  TASTE offers special menu choices based on seasonal offerings.  Hetherington creates flavors with fresh market fare; a recent special was Mahi Mahi with Spicy Pineapple and Browned Butter.

The Rum Cake is the perfect sweet ending to a Gauguin-inspired dinner.  Made with fresh pineapple, mango, kiwi and papaya, and topped with mascarpone cream, this dessert is tantalizing and tropical.  Bring your GO! Gauguin coupon to get a free Rum Cake!

If you can’t make it to TASTE for dinner, stop by for lunch or happy hour!  The Lunch menu offers Grilled St. Jude Albacore.  Like the scallops, this selection combines French and Polynesian fare with a soy and truffle reduction.  Kahlua Pork Sliders are featured for happy hour and are served with a green papaya slaw.

At the TASTE bar, Lead Bartender Duncan Chase works for hints of Gauguin in his exhibition-inspired cocktails.  Chase explained that Gauguin would have been drinking absinthe in Paris during his life.  However, serving absinthe would have resulted in “a lot of very drunk guests” he points out with a smile.  Instead, TASTE hand crafted a double-infused pepper vodka for their Special Exhibit Gauguin & Polynesia drink “Hiva Oa.”

“Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good,” said Chase, admitting that the special vodka was simply a delicious experiment.  He mixes the liquor with mango puree and basil.  The cooling effects of the fresh ingredients make the cocktail drinkable for people who don’t necessarily like heat in their drinks.  The initial spice of the pepper vodka dissipates with the sweet mango and crisp basil.  Chase calls the cocktail “the fire and the extinguisher all in one glass!”

Chase invites you to come try the drink; he is very proud of the creation.  “Of all the bartenders in this city, I have the biggest license to be pretentious,” he jests, “after all, this is an art museum.”

Visit TASTE to extend your Gauguin & Polynesia experience and taste the flavors of the exhibition.  Visit www.tastesam.com for more information.

TASTE

Open Tuesday – Sunday

Tuesday | 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. – Lunch & Happy Hour

Wednesday – Saturday | 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. – Lunch, Happy Hour & Dinner

Sunday | 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Brunch

Closed Monday

Located at 1300 1st Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101
Reservations | 206.903.5291 | GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE!

– Sean C. Fraser, Public Relations Intern

SAM Art: A focus on ceramics

Seattle Art Museum on Mar 27 2012

SAM Art: A focus on ceramics

Through much of Greek art history—from the abstract grave or cult carvings of the Cyclades to the generalized portraits of the Hellenistic period—the Greeks often depicted women as ideals of beauty and grace. For both men and women, in fact, Greek beliefs held that external appearance was the manifestation of internal character. As a result, the artistry lavished on appearance and personal adornment rivals that given to public monuments.

This small ceramic figure was created in a world where Greek culture was dominant, and on the move. Following the path of Alexander the Great’s conquests across Europe and West Asia, Greek art and culture spread across the Mediterranean world. Ceramic sculptures already had a long history in these areas, but arguably reached an apex in the Greek region of Boeotia during this period. Produced in multiples in workshops, their compact size and relative inexpense allowed them to be exported to major Hellenistic markets. Tanagra figurines—these finely modeled figures of seated, standing and dancing women—exemplified the Greek ideals of femininity, celebrating the perfection inherent to beauty.

Seated tanagra figurine, 4th–3rd century B.C., Greek, Boeotia, Hellenistic period (ca. 323-31 B.C.), terracotta, pigment, 6 1/2 x 3 5/8 x 4 1/2 in., Norman and Amelia Davis Classical Collection, 66.101. Currently on view in the Ancient Mediterranean and Islamic art gallery, fourth floor, SAM downtown.

 

Art Going Dark: SAM’s Participation in Earth Hour

Seattle Art Museum on Mar 26 2012

Art Going Dark: SAM’s Participation in Earth Hour

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about global warming and the issues facing the world due to climate change. What you might not have heard about is a little event called Earth Hour. Earth Hour is a worldwide event that was started in Sydney, Australia in 2007 by the World Wildlife Federation and over the last 5 years has exponentially grown to include135 countries and more than 5,200 cities and towns around the world. It occurs on the last Saturday of March, from 8:30–9:30 pm. The goal of the event is to encourage environmental action and change on a grassroots level. So on March 31st at 8:30 pm people, businesses and cities around the world are encouraged to shut off non-essential lights in their homes, offices and facilities with the hope that people will commit to ongoing environmental change. And SAM will be among the multitude participating! Read More

Vinyl Records: A “Comeback” Reinterpreted

Seattle Art Museum on Mar 23 2012

Vinyl Records: A “Comeback” Reinterpreted

I’ve had many conversations about the supposed “comeback” of vinyl records throughout my time interning at the Theaster Gates: The Listening Room installation and the Seattle Art Museum Record Store project that was located in Pioneer Square from December 13, 2011 to January 31, 2012 . Being from a younger generation who came of age in the last decade or so, it’s interesting to be engaged in these conversations with people of all generations.  It’s as if a reawakening to the objects of records has struck contemporary culture into a jolt of nostalgia and remembrance. People of older generations have expressed sudden excitement to get all their friends to go down into their basements or open closets and shuffle through boxes of old records.  This is exactly what we interns did to relocate the 2,000 or so records owned by Bernie Hall to our Record Store; his collection makes up over half of the records included in the Record Store project. It’s as though these objects are buried treasures from long ago, or perhaps tokens of a forgotten past among old metal keys, old photographs, or old newspaper clippings. These records are time capsules of cultural history and each record collection reflects the owner’s personal relationship to this past, their own path through history.

Many in my generation started by discovering records from someone else’s collection before we got into buying our own. In growing up shuffling through our parents’ records, we established a new kind of relationship with these vinyl objects. This younger generational relationship to records is about learning our cultural history through listening to these material recordings of the past, but this is a past we haven’t experienced ourselves. We discovered record albums’ significance to past and present culture through not only listening to their innovative sounds but through the storytelling and literature glorifying the weight these iconic albums hold. From our engagement with these time capsules, our own creation and collection of musical taste developed into the colorful complexity that is contemporary music and culture.

I’ve grown up during the era of post-modern reflection and recycling of past pop-culture. Every decade in the 20th century has its own style and culture and the music of each decade sets the tone of attitude behind the decade’s style of pop-culture. Ordinary objects are stylized by colors, patterns, typefaces, and graphics. I grew up loving the adventure in discovering objects that embody the style of particular decades.  I established a permanent love for ‘thrifting’, or object-seeking. I always search for records because they are objects with more than just style; the music narrates ideas and moods of a cultural era and the album cover, through visual design, embodies a link to cultural ideas and moods of a period.

Often “thrifters” of my generation have an interest in the era our parents grew up in, and in the exchange of styles from decades before and after. Though records have been reinterpreted as an aesthetic phenomenon, they never lost their historical relevance; their quality and influence continue to inform contemporary culture.

Both collecting the material object and the activity of playing records on a record player are seen as an aesthetic art.  In owning physical records, you accumulate a collection that expresses a certain knowledge of aesthetic taste and historical knowledge.

Though not every kid I knew had their own record player, they most likely had someone in their family, if not their parents, who had an appreciation and insight to the timeless quality of vinyl sound and of the quality in the activity of playing a record. There is an art to slowing down and appreciating the music and design of a record, both in exploring the cover and sleeve design, and in setting up the stylus and sitting back to soak up the highest quality analog sound to come from a piece of physical material. It takes patience and agility to gently set up the record player and continuously attend to the player to keep the music playing.  My generation grew up defining this experience as cool, sophisticated and well-cultured.

So why the noise about a reawakening and resurgence of an object never really lost of appreciation, let alone lost from sight? Maybe it has something to do with our day and age of uncontrolled digital information exchange and virtual experience of media and culture. The preciousness of a physical material object which holds memories and creativity on record, a vinyl record….this is a treasure that younger generations have rediscovered and desire to collect for their own study of our historical past. Studying these objects allows new generations to impact their own creative intentions by reflecting on and overtly referencing iconographic records. This isn’t a ‘comeback,’ it’s a reinterpretation of these iconic objects that embody music which will always be relevant to future creative culture.

 -Paige Smith, Curatorial + Community Engagement Intern

Last photo: Joe Lencioni, shiftingpixel.com

 

SAM Art: A model, a saga, a lecture

Seattle Art Museum on Mar 21 2012

SAM Art: A model, a saga, a lecture

The small-scale totem pole is an indigenous genre that pre-dates contact: Captain James Cook personally collected one at Nootka Sound in 1778. Some model poles are diminutive, specific versions of the forty- to sixty-foot poles erected to honor the lineages of deceased chiefs and nobles. Small-scale examples of Native longhouses with totem poles erected in front were commissioned by anthropologists for World’s Fair and museum displays. By the mid-19th century, these easily portable and compelling sculptures were in steady demand by outside buyers, as they are today.

A master carver of ceremonial arts, nearly all of Hemasilakw’s life was shadowed by the potlatch ban. He pushed the traditional origins of his art style toward distinctively modern refinements, evidenced in the bold sculptural forms and exuberant painting of his full-size poles. Even his model poles powerfully convey the personalities of each mythic figure.

Joseph Hillaire and the Saga of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair Totems with Barbara Brotherton
Members Art History Lecture Series: New Perspectives
March 21, 2012
7:00–9:00 pm
Plestcheeff Auditorium, SAM downtown

Model Totem Pole, early 20th century, Arthur Shaughnessy (Hemasilakw) (Kwakwaka’wakw, Dzawada’enuxw, Kingcome Inlet, 1884–1945), wood and pigment, 36 ¾ x 10 ¼ x 5 ¾ in., Gift of June Bedford in honor of Steve Brown, 2000.51. Currently on view in the Native American Art galleries, third floor, SAM downtown.

 

Copacino + Fujikado – Creative Minds Surrounded By Art

Seattle Art Museum on Mar 15 2012

Copacino + Fujikado – Creative Minds Surrounded By Art

We asked our dear friends at Copacino + Fujikado (a local brand and marketing communications agency) to blog about how they use the SAM Gallery to bring art into their creative work environment. Here’s what they have to say.

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

                  — Pablo Picasso

Our company uses the tools of art to do the work of commerce.  We tell stories about the brands we represent through design, photography, illustration and creative writing.

 Our product is innovation. So, naturally, we want our work environment to inspire original thought and expression. Provocative visual art on our walls is important as it reminds us that our job is to look at familiar things in fresh, new ways.

That’s why, every three months, we take a happy, three-block trek from our office building to the Seattle Art Museum Gallery at the corner of Third Avenue and University Street. There, we browse through hundreds of original works from Northwest artists—available for rent at very reasonable prices.

We’ve displayed several pieces since we moved to our new office space eighteen months ago. Some notables include:

  • “The Jacks”—a Warholian portrait by Troy Gua that’s a mash-up of Jack Kennedy and Jack Kerouac
  • “Jove”—a playful abstract collage by Richard Hutter
  • “Ascending” by Kentree Speirs”—a celebration of nature using dramatic colors and forms

The last piece was so admired by a visiting client (and avid collector) that she sought out this Portland artist and purchased two of his works.

Thanks to the SAM Gallery, we have an impressive rotating art collection that that inspires our staff and guests. At prices that please our CFO.

-Jim Copacino, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Copacino + Fujikado

For more information, visit SAM Gallery.

 Future of the Past, Todd J. Horton, oil on panel, 2009, 36”x36”

 

 

 

A Night Out with GO! Gauguin

Seattle Art Museum on Mar 9 2012

A Night Out with GO! Gauguin

The exotic flavors and colors associated with Gauguin & Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise have inspired bartenders around town to create special exhibition drinks.  This Friday night, enjoy a Polynesian-influenced libation with your GO! Gauguin coupon!

SAM is hiding two Gauguin & Polynesia tickets at one of these partner locations.  At noon today on Facebook and Twitter, we will reveal a clue for the location of this hidden pair of tickets.  The first person to reach the location and say, “Go Gauguin!” wins the tickets.

The following restaurants all have special Gauguin & Polynesia cocktails.  Tweet a picture of your cocktail tonight to @iheartSAM!

TASTE Restaurant
At SAM Downtown, 1300 First Ave. 

If you’re already at the museum, present your GO! Gauguin coupon while dining at TASTE to receive a complimentary exhibit inspired dessert. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts.

Lecosho
89 University

Come on down to Lecosho – just a stroll away from SAM on the Harbor Steps – and receive 15% off your bill with your GO! Gauguin coupon. You may also enjoy The Gauguin, a special Polynesian-inspired cocktail, for only $5. Not valid with other offers, discounts or during happy hour.

Library Bistro and Bookstore Bar
92 Madison Street

Present your GO! Gauguin coupon during happy hour from 4–7 pm for a Polynesian-inspired cocktail at the Bookstore Bar or take 10% off your food bill in the Library Bistro Monday–Friday, 11:30 am–2:00 pm. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts.

Marché
86 Pine Street

Dine at Marché located in Pike Place Market and delight in their special Gauguin-inspired menu items. Enjoy the Pousee au Crime cocktail, which means “the drink made me do it,” an intoxicating blend of French agricole rhum shot with cane sugar and lime juice for $8. Or try the Tahitian vanilla bean pot de crème with huckleberry conserve for $7.

Wild Ginger Asian Restaurant & Satay Bar
1401 Third Avenue

Satisfy your taste palette with a discounted, special Polynesian-themed appetizer and cocktail when you present your GO! Gauguin coupon at Wild Ginger Asian Restaurant & Satay Bar. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts. No substitutions.

– Sean C. Fraser, Public Relations Intern

GO! Gauguin Restaurant Deals

Seattle Art Museum on Mar 7 2012

GO! Gauguin Restaurant Deals

On Thursdays and Fridays, SAM is open until 9 pm. So spend a night at the museum and have dinner before or after your visit to Gauguin & Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise. A variety of Seattle restaurants are offering special menu items and discounts. To take advantage of these deals, simply print out your GO! Gauguin coupon.

SAM is hiding two Gauguin & Polynesia tickets at one of these partner locations.  At noon today on Facebook and Twitter, we will reveal a clue for the location of this hidden pair of tickets.  The first person to reach the location and say, “Go Gauguin!” wins the tickets.

TASTE Restaurant
At SAM Downtown, 1300 First Ave. 

If you’re already at the museum, present your GO! Gauguin coupon while dining at TASTE to receive a complimentary exhibit inspired dessert. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts.

Andaluca
407 Olive Way
Please present your GO! Gauguin coupon for dinner and enjoy 15% discount on your entire food purchase. Offer cannot be combined with any another discounts or promotions.

Fonté Café & Wine Bar
1321 First Avenue
Come see Gauguin & Polynesia at the Seattle Art Museum and present your ticket stub or GO! Gauguin coupon to enjoy 15% off your bill at Fonté Café & Wine Bar located just across the street from the museum. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts, not available at happy hour.

Gordon Biersch
600 Pine Street
GO! Gauguin and save at Gordon Biersch, conveniently located in the heart of downtown at the Pacific Place Shopping Center. Present your GO! Gauguin coupon to enjoy 20% off your entire bill.

Harried and Hungry
1415 Third Avenue
Hungry? Short on time? Hurry on in with your GO! Gauguin coupon and treat yourself to a scrumptious Curried Chicken Salad or a delightful Hawaiian Pizza for a special art-lovers price of just $4.95. Open Monday–Friday from 11 am–2 pm. In honor of the exhibition, Harried and Hungry will be presenting Polynesian-inspired works by local artists on their walls starting in February, so you can bask in the ambience of the tropics while enjoying lunch.

Il Fornaio
600 Pine Street
Present your GO! Gauguin coupon at Il Fornaio at the Pacific Place Shopping Center for a complimentary appetizer or dessert with the purchase of an entree. Offer valid in the Cucina or Risotteria during the exhibition period. Cannot be combined with any other offer or discount.

Japonessa
1400 First Avenue
Just a hop and a skip away from SAM, at the corner of First Avenue and Union Street, Japonessa offers a 20% discount off your next bill when you present your GO! Gauguin coupon. Not eligible for happy hour items. Cannot be combined with other offers, discounts or promotions.

Lecosho
89 University
Come on down to Lecosho – just a stroll away from SAM on the Harbor Steps – and receive 15% off your bill with your GO! Gauguin coupon. You may also enjoy The Gauguin, a special Polynesian-inspired cocktail, for only $5. Not valid with other offers, discounts or during happy hour.

Library Bistro and Bookstore Bar
92 Madison Street
Present your GO! Gauguin coupon during happy hour from 4–7 pm for a Polynesian-inspired cocktail at the Bookstore Bar or take 10% off your food bill in the Library Bistro Monday–Friday, 11:30 am–2:00 pm. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts.

Marché
86 Pine Street
Dine at Marché located in Pike Place Market and delight in their special Gauguin-inspired menu items. Enjoy the Pousee au Crime cocktail, which means “the drink made me do it,” an intoxicating blend of French agricole rhum shot with cane sugar and lime juice for $8. Or try the Tahitian vanilla bean pot de crème with huckleberry conserve for $7.

Mexico Cantina y Cocina
600 Pine Street
At Mexico Cantina y Cocina, located in Pacific Place, you can redeem your GO! Gauguin coupon to enjoy a complimentary appetizer or dessert of your choice with the purchase of one entrée. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts.

Pike Brewing Company
1415 First Avenue
Present your GO! Gauguin coupon at the Pike Pub for your choice of $2 off of a Pike Pint, $4 off of a Pike Pitcher, or 15% off of their merchandise. The Pike Brewing Company is a gravity flow brewery, brewing fine ales and serving a local and sustainable menu. Located on the corner of First Avenue and Union Street, right across the street from SAM. Enjoy a beer before or after the museum. Offer not available during Hoppy Hour, Monday–Friday, 4–6 pm.

The Triple Door
216 Union Street
GO! Gauguin at the Musicquarium Lounge when you present your coupon and receive 15% off your bill during Gauguin & Polynesia. Named for its stunning 1,900 gallon freshwater aquarium, the Musicquarium features live music and entertainment most nights of the week. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts, not valid during happy hour. Located at The Triple Door on the corner of Third Avenue and Union Street.

Wild Ginger Asian Restaurant & Satay Bar
1401 Third Avenue
Satisfy your taste palette with a discounted, special Polynesian-themed appetizer and cocktail when you present your GO! Gauguin coupon at Wild Ginger Asian Restaurant & Satay Bar. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts. No substitutions.

-Madeline Moy, Digital Media Manager

Experience the Art and Culture of French Polynesia at Community Day on March 10

Seattle Art Museum on Mar 7 2012

Experience the Art and Culture of French Polynesia at Community Day on March 10

Join us at SAM Downtown on Saturday, March 10 for a fun-filled celebration of French Polynesian art and culture that the whole family can enjoy.

The first 400 people in line at Hammering Man at 10 am will receive free tickets to Gauguin & Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise! These are timed tickets, which means that they are for various time slots throughout the day. Please proceed to the Gauguin & Polynesia gallery entrance on the 4th floor 10–15 minutes prior to the time listed on your ticket.

Community Day activities include art making, tours, dancing and live music.

  • Experience the power and beauty of Tahitian dancing and drumming performances by Te’a rama, including a Marquesan haka (a Polynesian traditional welcome) with performances at 10:30 am and 1:45 pm in South Hall, and 11 am and 2 pm in the Plestcheef Auditorium.
  • Enjoy French café music by Rouge in South Hall at 12:30 pm.
  • Participate in all day art making activities will include: paper leis, Polynesian-inspired printmaking, tiki masks, mixed media postcards, and landscape pastels.

-Madeline Moy, Digital Media Manager

Photo Credit: Dan Bennett

GO! Gauguin Deals for Performing Arts

Seattle Art Museum on Mar 7 2012

It’s day three of GO! Gauguin Week and we’re highlighting deals that allow you continue exploring your inner artist through music and theatre.  Act soon to take advantage of these deals which provide an opportunity to explore French culture and modern art with specific performances in March and April.

Don’t forget that you’ll need to print your coupon, available here, in order to take advantage of these awesome deals.  At noon today on Facebook and Twitter, we’ll be releasing a clue for the location of the hidden pair of tickets for Gauguin & Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise.  The first person to reach the secret location and say, “Go Gauguin!” receives these tickets.

Seattle Symphony
200 University Street

Sights and sounds make for a profound experience and when you present your GO! Gauguin coupon at the Seattle Symphony Ticket Office you will receive 10% off the all French program Morlot Conducts Debussy & Ravel on March 15 and 16 at Benaroya Hall.  Hurry in to buy your tickets for next week’s concert as the offer is good through March 16, 2012.  This offer cannot be combined with other offers or discounts.

Taproot Theatre Company
204 N. 85th Street

Receive 20% off tickets to Taproot Theatre’s Freud’s Last Session running from March 23 through April 21, 2012.  In Freud’s Last Session  C.S. Lewis and Freud meet for a stimulating exchange about life, love, and God.  For tickets and more information visit their website.  To receive the discount use IHEARTSAM online or call the box office at 206.781.9707 and present your coupon at Will Call.  This offer is not valid with other offers or previously purchased tickets.

 

"Red" at the Seattle Repertory Theatre

Seattle Repertory Theatre
115 Mercer Street

Enjoy $5 off tickets to Red, playing at the Seattle Repertory Theatre until March 24, 2012.  Winner of six Tony Awards, this sizzling 90-minute drama about famed abstract expressionist Mark Rothko is one of the most intellectually riveting shows to hit Broadway last season.  The discount is available for any performance but not valid for D level seating.  Use SAM when purchasing your tickets online to receive the offer and don’t forget to visit a real Rothko at SAM in the Modern and Contemporary Galleries when visiting Gauguin & Polynesia.

Return tomorrow for information regarding the GO! Gauguin partner restaurants and learn about the fabulous food deals from local restaurants!

-Sarah Lippai, Public Relations Intern

GO! Gauguin Travel and Tourism Deals

Seattle Art Museum on Mar 6 2012

GO! Gauguin Travel and Tourism Deals

Whether you live near or far from Seattle, consider taking an urban vacation and join the city in celebrating Gauguin & Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise while taking advantage of great deals from our GO! Gauguin travel and tourism partners. Just print your GO! Gauguin coupon.

SAM is hiding two Gauguin & Polynesia tickets at one of these partner locations.  At noon today on Facebook and Twitter, we will reveal a clue for the location of this hidden pair of tickets.  The first person to reach the location and say, “Go Gauguin!” wins the tickets.

Amtrak
Take advantage of great Amtrak savings on your way to see Gauguin & Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise.  For those bound for Seattle, save 15% off your coach fare on Amtrak Cascades, Coast Starlight or Empire Builder routes.  This special discount offer is valid from any station stop along the way between Los Angeles and Vancouver BC, Canada to Seattle.  Along the route of the Empire Builder, valid for all stations in Montana, Idaho, or Washington state.

Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau
SAM is proud to participate in the SCVB’s 2days in Seattle campaign where they are spreading the love about traveling to Seattle in Portland, Vancouver and San Francisco.  The CVB also has two visitor information centers in Seattle to help visitors to our city plan their itineraries. One is at the Pike Place Market and the other is at the Convention Center.

Four Seasons Hotel Seattle
Our official hotel sponsor for Gauguin & Polynesia has put together a terrific package to celebrate. Stay in style at Four Seasons Hotel Seattle, located across the street from SAM, and enjoy VIP access for two to the exhibition. Perfect for art lovers, this package also includes a commemorative gift: a 400-page, full-color catalogue featuring more than 60 pieces of Gauguin’s work, including paintings, sketches and sculptures.

The Fairmont Olympic Hotel
The Georgian Restaurant at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel features the finest of Pacific Northwest Cuisine in one of downtown Seattle’s most historical settings.  Join them for dinner every Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30-10:00 pm to enjoy a $49 three-course menu inspired by fresh seasonal flavors and regional ingredients.

Hotel Ändra
The sophisticated Hotel Ändra is the perfect complement to Gauguin’s elusive paradise.  Guests who GO! Gauguin save 15% on their Seattle stay.  Mention the Gauguin rate while making your reservation (online using rate code GAUGUIN or by calling 877.448.8600) and present your online coupon or SAM ticket at check-in to receive the discount.  This offer is valid for new reservations only and cannot be combined with other offers.  Subject to availability and blackout dates may apply.

Many other Gauguin & Polynesia hotel packages are also available from partners including, the Alexis Hotel, the Inn at the Market, the Mayflower Park Hotel, and the Seattle Bed and Breakfast Association.

Gauguin’s life was dominated by travel. Follow him to Seattle and experience your own paradise!

-Sarah Lippai, Public Relations Intern

Get Great Deals and Win Exhibition Tickets During GO! Gauguin Week

Seattle Art Museum on Mar 5 2012

Get Great Deals and Win Exhibition Tickets During GO! Gauguin Week

As part of a city-wide celebration of the exhibition Gauguin & Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise, area businesses and arts and cultural organizations have created some wonderful special offers for visitors to the exhibition.

This week, SAM will be highlighting a select group of these GO! Gauguin partners each day to reveal great deals around the city.  If you haven’t already, be sure to print your coupon here.

Today we would like to recognize our retail partners participating in the GO! Gauguin program. Be sure to visit them and take advantage of these discounts!

Baby & Co.
1936 First Avenue
Present your GO! Gauguin coupon for something fabulous! Treat yourself to 10% off any single item at Baby & Co. during their celebration of Gauguin & Polynesia. Does not apply to sale items; certain restrictions apply.

Fran’s Chocolates
1325 1st Avenue
After your visit to SAM, cross the street to enjoy Fran’s Gauguin Salted Caramel Box which includes seven pieces of Fran’s award-winning gray and smoked salt caramels for $15. Savor local artisan chocolate while you support SAM, 20% of the proceeds from the sale of each box will be donated to the Seattle Art Museum. Present your GO! Gauguin coupon and receive a complimentary Fran’s award-winning dark hot chocolate beverage with any $30 purchase. Limit one per customer.

FriendShop in The Seattle Public Library
1000 Fourth Avenue
Receive a 15% discount from the FriendShop when you present your GO! Gauguin coupon or a ticket from SAM to the exhibition. The FriendShop features cards, jewelry and gifts by local artists and all proceeds benefit The Seattle Public Library. Open 7 days a week.

Macy’s
1601 Third Avenue
As a supporter of the Seattle Art Museum, Macy’s is offering you a special 10% savings! Take your GO! Gauguin coupon to the Fine Jewelry or Furniture department of the downtown Seattle Macy’s store to receive a 10% off Visitors Pass. Certain exclusions apply.

sandylew
1408 First Avenue
Just walk up a half block north of SAM and present your GO! Gauguin coupon at sandylew for 10% off storewide anytime during the amazing run of the Gauguin exhibition, February 9–April 29, 2012. Not to be combined with other special offers or discounts. Sandylew is a women’s boutique proud to be a neighbor and support of our remarkable Seattle Art Museum!

Perennial Tea Room
1910 Post Alley
Warm up with a visit to the Perennial Tea Room, located between Stuart and Virginia Street in Pike Place Market. Present your GO! Gauguin coupon or mention Gauguin & Polynesia to receive 10% off any purchase. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts. Excludes tea to go.

Vetri Glass
1404 First Avenue
Founded in 1998, Vetri Glass is proud to be recognized by collectors and artists alike as an exhibitor of exciting and innovative new work in glass. The mission of Vetri is to offer innovative work of the highest caliber, at accessible prices. Present your GO! Gauguin coupon for 10% off any one purchase during the Gauguin & Polynesia exhibition at SAM. Offer cannot be combined with other specials or discounts.

White House/Black Market
Pacific Place
Just present your GO! Gauguin coupon and enjoy 10% off your entire purchase at White House/Black Market located in Pacific Place. Cannot be combined with any other coupon or offers and valid only at the Pacific Place location.

As if awesome specials and discounts weren’t enough, SAM will also be hiding two Gauguin & Polynesia tickets at a partner location each day.  SAM will reveal the location of the pair of hidden tickets daily at noon on Facebook and Twitter.  The first person to reach the location will win the tickets.

Stay tuned for the first clue which will be released at noon today, and take advantage of all our special partner offers throughout GO! Gauguin Week and for the run of the exhibition!

-Sean C. Fraser, Public Relations Intern

Gauguin Gray and Smoked Salt Caramels
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