Muse/News: Meeting Ourselves, New Leader, and Pirate Myths

SAM News

Author and speaker Jodi-Ann Burey writes for ARTE NOIR about spending “an afternoon with Jacob Lawrence” at the Seattle Art Museum. A 13-work exhibition of the modern artist, Jacob Lawrence: American Storyteller, is now on view.

“Why does one painting call us more than others? What parts of ourselves, buried or thriving, known or unknown, does art draw out? What does it mean to stand in front of a Jacob Lawrence painting and think only of my mother? I make a mental note to call her on my way out.”

“An Uproarious Survey in Seattle Brings Together the West Coast’s Artist-Heretics”: Art historian  Patricia Failing reviews Poke in the Eye: Art of the West Coast Counterculture for ARTnews. You’ve got one month left to see it at SAM!

“Wrapping together art-historical revisionism and kid-friendly displays, the Seattle Art Museum’s new exhibition, “Poke in the Eye: Art of the West Coast Counterculture,” flashes back to artistic rebellions of the 1960s and ‘70s associated with the Bay Area Figurative Movement, Funk art, and Northwest studio ceramics.”

Local News

The latest weekly newsletter of Cascade PBS’s Brangien Davis features Actualize AiR, the new endeavor in the Coliseum Theater, and mourns the passing of potter Reid Ozaki. BTW: Did you know that Davis has launched a new video series, Art by Northwest? It broadcasts on Friday nights and streams the following Mondays.

Here’s Jas Keimig for South Seattle Emerald with another helpful “Arts in the South End Roundup” for the month of August. 

Big news via Tat Bellamy-Walker of The Seattle Times: “Seattle’s Northwest African American Museum picks Brandon Bird as CEO.”

“Bird doubled down on the need for the museum to be ‘anchored and grounded’ in reflecting its mission to be a family-focused institution that uplifts the experiences of all Black people, particularly those in the Pacific Northwest.”

Inter/National News

Via Brian Boucher for Artnet: “Snoop Dogg Paid an After-Hours Visit to the Louvre. Zaniness Ensued.”

Andrew Russeth for The New York Times on Pacita Abad’s first retrospective, which opened at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis last year and is now on view at MoMA PS1.

Maev Kennedy for The Art Newspaper on the conservation of a rare pirate flag for an upcoming exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in London. 

“The exhibition will demolish cherished myths about pirates, including walking the plank and maps of buried treasure. It will also reveal that some kept disappointingly pragmatic rules on board—Bartholomew Roberts, better known as Black Bart, insisted on lights out by 8 pm.”

And Finally

Celebrating James Baldwin’s 100th birthday through his sentences.

– Rachel Eggers, SAM Associate Director of Public Relations

Photo: Chloe Collyer.

Muse/News: Timeless Calder, Trash Art, and Artsy Ceremony

SAM News

For Seattle Magazine, Rachel Gallaher interviewed collector Jon Shirley and curator José Carlos Diaz about iconic artist Alexander Calder and Calder: In Motion, The Shirley Family Collection. By popular demand, the exhibition has been extended through October 20.

“Calder invented an entirely new way to make sculpture,” Shirley adds. “His works of 70 years ago look like they were made yesterday. Not many artists have created a whole new art form, and have created works that seem timeless. To my mind, he is the most accessible artist ever.”

Seattle Refined’s “Artist of the Week” is Jasmine Novak, a coldwater scuba diver who creates evocative photographs from the watery depths. She is also a SAM Gallery artist whose work was recently shown at the gallery’s booth at the Seattle Art Fair.

And Poke in the Eye: Art of the West Coast Counterculture at the Seattle Art Museum is on Seattle Met’s list of “Things to Do in Seattle.” So come and see it already!

Local News

Via Seattle Met’s Adam Willems: “The Ultimate List of Local Olympians to Watch in Paris.”

The Seattle Times’ Erik Lacitis wrote a story about a half day driving tour to do with visitors; then he shared a follow-up sharing readers’ thoughts on what he missed (including the wise suggestion of a visit to Volunteer Park and the Seattle Asian Art Museum…).

Also in The Seattle Times: Gayle Clemans on “trash-talking art and other must-see Seattle shows in August 2024.”

“These thought-provoking exhibitions ask us to reconsider art and political history through carefully crafted works of art that elevate often-overlooked stories and materials.”

Inter/National News

Via Artnet’s Jo Lawson-Tancred: “5 of the Most Memorable Artist-Designed Olympics Posters.” (We’re partial to Jacob Lawrence’s Study for the Munich Games Poster (1971), which is now on view in Jacob Lawrence: American Storyteller at the Seattle Art Museum.)

Sarah Belmont for ARTnews on “Nine Must-See Exhibitions in Tune with the 2024 Olympics in France.”

Artnet’s Sarah Cascone name-checks all the references in the “unusually art-filled” Olympics Opening Ceremony in Paris. 

“The Mona Lisa escaped from the Louvre to catch the occasion, braving the rain along with an expected 300,000 Parisians and visitors from around the world.”

And Finally

“Snoop Dogg, NBC’s New Voice of the People.”

– Rachel Eggers, SAM Associate Director of Public Relations

Image: Installation view of Calder: In Motion, The Shirley Family Collection, Seattle Art Museum, 2023, © 2024 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, photo: Alborz Kamalizad.

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