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Arts Capital

Posted by on April 26 at 10:02 AM

The press preview for the new, expanded Seattle Art Museum begins right now. I wasn’t in Seattle for the opening of the Robert Venturi building downtown in 1991, the first of the rash of capital projects across the region. But I was at the early walk-throughs for the Bellevue Art Museum, then the revamped Bellevue Art Museum, the Museum of Glass, and the Tacoma Art Museum, so I’m feeling a little nostalgic, and I’m tempted to consider how this building stands up to the others.

I’ve been through the new SAM a few times already. These spaces are much, much better than the Venturi galleries. But I don’t think this museum will steal the title of best work of Northwest museum architecture from Antoine Predock’s 2003 Tacoma Art Museum, which manages to be open and light-filled while providing a surprising level of intimacy and subjectivity in each space. It’s also warm where the new SAM is cool, even corporate.

This is TAM (photos from SAM forthcoming as they’re available):

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One exception: I’ve never been in love with TAM’s great big high-ceilinged contemporary gallery. I’m not sure whether it’s the dark slate floor that dampens the place, or the way the window slits are placed at the base of the room instead of up high. SAM has a gallery in the same mold, but, I think, far better—with a large corner window, a lookout onto the public area of the museum, and a cutout in an upper wall into the antiquities gallery.

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1

I'm not sure about all of your comparisons, Jen, emphasizing 'better' so much.

Living in Nebraska I still can see the small picture in Newsweek of the new Venturi museum in Seattle. He was one of the first architects I had heard described as 'po-mo'. Not thinking I'd move here, let alone visit SAM (never used that acronym until when? this past year?) so many times, I got excited and my then girlfriend introduced me to other buildings of his, like I think one's in Vegas.

The color scheme, sappy yes, of the Venturi main hall with the explanation of its sun rising/falling delighted me. I'm sure the revamped SAM (i cringe a little typing that) will have nice spaces to hide, from the growing number of strangers in town. If not, there's always the 3-4 block climb to the library, where I can reserve computer time to read about it online, or pretend parachuting from that little cove next to the top floor elevator.

2

Of course the new SAM feels corporate. It was designed to meet bank (WAMU) needs first and took art, display and public flow considerations as completely secondary matters. It truly was a missed opportunity for the entire city that SAMs board decided to share their expansion with a 42 storey office tower. Think how amazing it would've been if SAM had waited to expand until they could afford to build on and occupy the ENTIRE block north of the Venturi building, and built something truly interesting, and perhaps something that even challenged or responded to the Koolhaas library and Benoroya in an interesting or provacative way? Instead we're again stuck with a mediocre building that will be obsolete by the time SAM can expand into all of it, and a building that is completely overshadowed by a overscaled corporate tower that encroaches on the waterfront and Pike Place.

3

I don't agree totally about the building. The outside is ho hum (like I wish they could have somehow incorporated the Venturi building exterior feel all the way down to Union), but I think the inside is fabulous and loved every minute I was there. Expansive galleries are large enough to give lots of people space to view the art without feeling as though they are intruding on someone else's viewing experience. Inside, incorporating little areas for children and spaces for quite contemplation and rest are great. Remember that lots of museum goers are older people. Also, the entrance of the Venturi building is all about drama with little regard for the practical task of getting people upstairs to actually see the art. Not so with the new one. Easily accessible escalators bid patrons up to the good stuff. The new SAM is about the art, not the architect's ego.

4

cantante

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