Love and Loss

January 30th, 2007

It was a gorgeous, spectacular, beautissimo day–actually weekend–in Seattle so we took the opportunity to visit the newly opened sculpture park at the Seattle waterfront. I don’t know if it was the weather, the happy people with their dogs and children, or the sculpture, but we had a lovely time. SAM did a wonderful job both with the space and the art–it was designed, usable, and beautiful at every turn. Ryan was more captivated by the many cute dogs and matching owners and I couldn’t stop taking it all in.

I was somewhat appalled by the mass amounts of security (two men per piece) and signage telling people not to touch the sculpture. Societal rules tell us not to touch art, which we shouldn’t, but the museum did decide to put all of the sculptures in an outdoor park where dogs and children are allowed free range, where the art does not have any protective fencing or covers, and where the park is without any fencing to officially close the place after hours. Honestly, weren’t they expecting the pieces to take that wear and tear? Apparently not, as the signage was an addition after the opening–some of it simply a recycled print-out tacked to the wall. The Times jumped on board and ran a front-page article in that Sunday’s paper reminding people not to touch the art, and the article, like the security, seemed ridiculous.

But, that’s one minor and somewhat comic flaw in an otherwise flawless, spectacular park. Well done, Emerald City! Go check it out if you have the chance. It’s truly inspiring. You can check out the rest of the Flickr set here.

Entry Filed under: Blog,Thoughts