Muse/News features art world news every week, with all the latest media coverage for SAM, Seattle, and beyond. The post Muse/News: Big Deal at SAM, Art Labyrinth, and Joyful Revolt appeared first on SAMBlog ..read more

Since 2022, we’ve followed the adventures of Bobby McCullough, SAM Facilities and Landscape Manager, at the Olympic Sculpture Park as part of our video series ? Botany with Bobby ?. In each episode, Bobby offers viewers an up-close look at the natural ecosystems living and thriving at the park as well as insight into its … The post Earth Day Rewind: ? Botany with Bobby ? Episodes 1–3 appeared first on SAMBlog ..read more

In Rain (C.S. 1854) (1990), long-handled silver spoons are adhered to a wood canvas. Below the spoons, oozing layers of paint, oil, wax, and ink punctuate the work’s surface like drops of rain. Contemporary Native artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith was inspired to create Rain (C.S. 1854) in 1990 while traveling through the northeast United States … The post Memory Map Smartphone Tour: Rain (C.S. 1854) appeared first on SAMBlog ..read more

SAM’s Gardner Center for Asian Art and Ideas presents the 2023–24 season of the Saturday University Lecture Series, exploring various topics on Asian art and culture across time. On Saturday, April 13, Aurelia Campbell, Associate Professor of Asian Art History at Boston College, will examine the artistry and significance of the elaborate Buddhist burial shrouds … The post Professor Aurelia Campbell on the Rarity and Artistry of Chinese Buddhist Burial Shrouds appeared first on SAMBlog ..read more

In Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People), images related to American colonization appear alongside newspaper headlines describing the dark reality of reservation life. Above, an array of cheap toys, souvenirs, and sports memorabilia—which speak to the commodification of Native American identity—are offered as gifts to white people in exchange for the return of … The post Memory Map Smartphone Tour: Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People) appeared first on SAMBlog ..read more

Muse/News features art world news every week, with all the latest media coverage for SAM, Seattle, and beyond. The post Muse/News: Thrilling Ali, Wake Floats, and Craft is Art appeared first on SAMBlog ..read more

By the 1950s, Alexander Calder had established himself as an internationally renowned artist. Although the public perceived him as a social butterfly, he preferred to work in his Roxbury, Connecticut studio alone and in silence. Few outsiders were granted access to the artist’s workspace. Among them, however, was acclaimed photojournalist and filmmaker Gordon Parks. Parks … The post Calder Smartphone Tour: Group of Photos appeared first on SAMBlog ..read more

In Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s striking abstract painting The Vanishing American (1994), a series of Native figures dressed in traditional clothing are surrounded by marks and newspaper clippings with headlines including ‘Support the Tribal Dollar,’ ‘Best if Used by 2000,’ and ‘Built-in Upgradability.’ Clustered together, the figures stand in defensive positions. This work represents the making … The post Memory Map Smartphone Tour: The Vanishing American appeared first on SAMBlog ..read more

Whose voice is missing from this conversation? It’s a question I kept coming back to during the six months I spent working in public engagement at SAM. In my mind, museums have shifted from being spaces of neutral cultural authority to being places of critical thought. Walking through any museum galleries, I encourage visitors to … The post Critical Thought in the Museum Industry: Emerging Arts Leader Sorel Nica Reflects appeared first on SAMBlog ..read more

In the late 1940s, Alexander Calder developed sophisticated sculptures with pierced elements and interchanging relationships, the largest and most resolved of which is Bougainvillier. The construction of this vibrant masterpiece includes three wispy tendrils with mobile bursts, the lowermost of which is suspended by a handmade chain. Although it derives its title from the French … The post Calder Smartphone Tour: Bougainvillier appeared first on SAMBlog ..read more