AN OLD BLOG POST FROM A TRIP TO THE SEATTLE MUSEUM IN JULY 2010 - PART 1

Before my Dear Other Half retired, he went on a business trip for two weeks to Seattle.  These photos are from June 2010, so some of the exhibits, may have changed. 

I joined him midway when he was able to take the Friday through Monday off.  We spent a great time looking around the area, but on the Tuesday, when he had gone back to work, I set out on my own. 

Fortunately, he was working downtown and our hotel was nearby, within easy walking distance of many interesting places, which included the Seattle Art Museum. Outside the building stands the 48-foot-high silhouetted statue of a man with a hammer. I remember watching his arm in a continuous motion, slowly bringing the hammer down, and watching that arm go back up and come down again.  There is an article about it at this link.  It was created by Jonathan Borofsky and is part of the city's permanent public art collection.  If you click on Mr. Borofsky's name, you will see more of his work.  There are even taller versions shown of this particular sculpture in Soeul, Lillestrøm and Frankfort.  At the website it is described as representing a worker and "celebrates the worker’s contribution to society. He or she is the village craftsman, the South African coal miner, the computer operator, the farmer or the aerospace worker - the people who produce the commodities on which we depend."

I was surprised and fascinated to see nine actual cars suspended from the ceiling. The rods sticking out of them lit with pulsating lights. Its creator is Cai Guo Quiang and he has a similar sculpture at the Guggenheim in New York.  If you click on his name it will give you his biography.

I walked up the stairs and passed these beautiful ancient Chinese statues. Below is a ram and the sign read: "Ram. China - Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Thought to be from the spirit path of the tomb of Zhu Gaosui (died 1436), third son of the Yongle emperor (reigned 1403-24). Marble."

Do you see the picture of Picasso? I was disappointed that I would miss his exhibition of artwork as I was too early. His exhibit was due to start after I had left town.

The marker on the the above reads: "Civilian Guardian. China Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). From the spirit path of an unknown tomb of the 17th-18th century. Marble."

The one on the camel reads: "Camel - China - Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Thought to be from the spirit path of the tomb of Zhu Gaosui (died 1436), third son of the Yongle emporor (reigned 1403-24). Marble."

These sentences were printed on one of the walls I walked by.

I found this suit of armor entitled "Some/One" and was amazed to find that it was made using thousands of military dog tags representing soldiers. The creator of this piece is Do-Ho-Suh.  You can see a photo of the back view of this piece if you click here.  My photos don't give it the justice it deserves.  It was magnificent!

The next sculpture was made by German artist Katharina Fritsch, of a six foot tall black mouse sitting on a man in a bed, all snowy white in stark contrast to the mouse.  It was a very effective, visual piece. It is called 'Man and Mouse' and you can read about it at this link. I couldn't help but smile when I saw him.  All these years later as I transferred this blog post, and on doing more research of the artists, I was surprised to see a familiar blue cockerel among her works - I learned it is called Hahn/Cock. I remember it from one of the columns in London on our last visit there in 2015.  It was in Trafalgar Square and I didn't have the chance to take a photo.  We were on a double-decker bus and had passed it before I had the chance to react.  Click on the last link and you can see it also. That particular statue now resides as a permanent exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue.

There are more photos to share but I'll leave that for another day.  I will probably share it next Tuesday if I can get it done in time.

(Graphic for my signature is of the Seattle Skyline and I found it at pixabay.com)