Seattle Art Scene News…

Now, as we know, the public (ie, regular people’s) access to great art is usually dependent on some eccentric kajillionaire – his decision to donate say, 15 mil worth of Van Gogh and Monet to a Boston museum, or leaving his or her priceless collection of heirlooms to the Smithsonian. Well, here in Seattle, where the Seattle Art Museum (sadly, describing their art collection as “lame” would be too nice, and only every third year do they even get a special exhibit worth visiting) has long disappointed my art-seeking mania, our own eccentric kajillionaire, Paul Allen, has decided to (probably for a hefty fee) display his tremendous collection of art in the Experience Music Project building – for the story see here http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002652590_allenart29.html
Lichtenstein, De Kooning, Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Van Gogh…if you’ve heard of them, he probably has a piece by them. I’m especially excited about the Lichtenstein, I’m a huge fan of his work, which must be seen in person to appreciate. Now, the down side is this very rich guy who charges an arm and a leg to visit EMP, the also-housed-in-the-same-building Science Fiction Museum (yes, a seperate fee for each) will probably also charge an outrageous amount to see his art exhibit. But it’s still cheaper than a visit to San Fran, Boston, or NYC.
The Bellevue Art Museum is also trying to get back on it’s feet. The lofty, centrally-located building has sat empty for many moons now, and back when it did house art (art exhibits included colorful underwear strung across the ceiling, an entire room carpeted on all sides in astroturf, and an exhibit where you laid yourself down on a cube, put on earphones, and watched a video on the ceiling display endless loops of video game heroine Lara Croft being killed) it didn’t exactly bring in the crowds – though I enjoyed it 🙂 I’m hoping they build up a clientele so they can stay in business. The Tacoma Museum of Glass is another fun place to visit, although a bit of a drive from Seattle – their outdoor exhibits (which you can see for free) including a glass-ceilinged bridge containing hundreds of pieces of glass art by Chihuly, and one time, a fountain in which hundreds of red blown glass apples bobbed) often beat the indoors exhibits, except for the working glass shop studio, which is worth your time.
Anyway, visual art is very appealing to me – something I can’t do or make, but that I crave. So, this new infusion is welcome news…just think, with enough $$ you will be able to see Darth Vader’s helmet, Jimi Hendrix’s embroidered suits (he was tiny!) and Gauguin’s painting all in the same visit.