Michaelangelo and Calder

I went to the Seattle Art Museum last night. What a great experience! It was the first Thursday so the art museum was open to the public at no cost. At first I was hesitant due to the large crowds that usually go along with a free event. That's the last time that I'll make that mistake.

It was pouring rain when I disembarked the bus beneath the Hammering Man. As I was getting ready to leave work I decided to listen to my favorite track on each Radiohead album in chronological order. It went like this:

Pablo Honey - Creep
The Bends - Black Star
OK Computer - Climbing up the walls
Kid A - The National Anthem
Amnesiac - Life in a glass house
Hail to the Thief - The Gloaming
In Rainbows - Reckoner


Reckoner was wrapping up just as NESF and MNom arrived. The timing couldn't have been better. There we people everywhere as we entered the museum. A couple in front of us were dressed as skeletons and giving out what appeared to be small dead flowers to people at random. There was some sort of band playing. I'm not sure who they were but I was digging the sound. It's always great to hear the museum full of life, as it's usually a very quiet place.

We ascended the escalator to find a GIANT line to get tickets. The museum was free, but they still require everyone to get a ticket. Fortunately I am a SAM member (thanks Claudia!) so we were able to go to the member's line which was nonexistent and breezed right through.

We spent a little time checking out the new acquisitions on the way up to the fourth floor. There are some great new pieces. I'm a total idiot and didn't write down the names of the pieces or the artists name (I'll try to go back to get that info). However there is one I believe was titled "Untitled (Dining Room)" that I absolutely loved. Also the piece on the same wall to the north I loved.

So we get up to the fourth floor to see the Calder/Michaelangelo exhibit. There was a small line to get in that moved fairly quickly. It starts you off with Calder. Wow. I was thoroughly impressed. The way that he was able to create these beautiful pieces is amazing. It became even more amazing when I realized how many of them were balancing on display. I didn't even consider that part of it with the hanging pieces until I came to a large piece that was moving ever so slightly. It blew my mind.

As I got further into the exhibit I realized that this mans talent went far beyond just sculpture. There was a small section (i wish they'd had more) of his jewelry displayed. One of the highlights though was a short film they were showing "Calder's Circus". I'm going to have to find a copy of that on DVD. It was hilarious.

After the short film came Michaelangelo. I have to admit I was less that impressed with this exhibit. The majority of it was prints of his larger works. For instance, they had a small replica of how they moved "David" and behind it a large image of the original. It's was cool to see the piece in full size however I'd have liked it more if they had multiple images from different angles. It was the standard front shot of the sculpture that we've all seen a hundred times. If they had incorporated various views I think that it would have been much more insightful and beneficial.

In the following rooms there were the actual sketches that he did. I think that they did this better. They had sketches that he did as a preliminary for the Sistine Chapel, both the ceiling and the "Final Judgement". It was very interesting to see the process he went through. The other really cool thing was the quotes of his that they had all over the exhibit. There were some killer ones. The one that stood out the most to me was at the end: "I am dying just as I am beginning to learn the alphabet of my profession."



Overall I'd recommend that you all check it out. It'd be an afternoon well spent.