Ouch! [Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle ] Canon EOS 20D w/10-22mm super wide zoom
Yesterday I made my first visit to The Seattle Art Museum's new Olympic Sculpture Park. The park's grand opening was last weekend. Yesterday, I made a quick 30-minute stop at the park to get a first impression and snap a few photos while I was out running errands.
My first thoughts, as I approached the park on foot were "wow, this is cool! This is really metropolitan and progressive! Beautiful." I could see several funky modern pieces of art from a couple of blocks away. The landscaping was striking and unique. The Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains were in the background, and the sky a rare bright January blue, with brilliant white wispy clouds.
As I crossed the street and entered the park, though, the first words I was greeted with were those on this sign. My heart dropped a little.
I can understand the urge that is felt to protect the art, but I still felt deeply offended. After all, isn't it public art, our art? If it's our art, why are we not allowed to feel it, put our ears to it, view it from every angle? Further into the park I discovered some of the pieces even had little fences around them. It gradually gave me the sense that I wasn't in a park at all, not even in a true public space, but rather in a museum, inside a private art collection. My earlier excitement started to fizzle. It felt stale.
I do love the park, and the photographer in me can't wait to get back to it on a day where I have more time, and when the lighting is brilliant. But I can't help but be disappointed by the unprogressive demeanor of the park. Perhaps it's the Burner in me, but I truly believe in art that resonates with people because the people get to experience it, participate in it, and be a part of it. A sculpture park seems like such an easy venue for art that the public can interact with. Sculpture is often hearty, solid, resonant, and tactile. Sculpture can easily offer ways to engage all of the senses: seeing the vibrant colors and pattern in the form and materials, touching the varied textures and tempturtures, hearing the wind whistle through its parts or the sound of a drumming thumb, smelling the scents of wood and iron, even tasting (if you wish) the metallic buzz of tongue on metal or salt spray. Instead, the signs not to touch and the little keep-away fences inform me that only my eyes get to enjoy this art, and only from the designated perspectives.
It seems ironic that it took amazing creativity and vision to birth this park into our city, yet that vision fails to embrace or challenge the imaginations and creativity of those it was created for. Rather than a park that feels like our park, with art that feels like our art, it feels like we're guests a private garden. I love the vision that brought it here, but I think that vision is not yet fully actualized, perhaps not yet even realized. But I hope to see the park grow into something that would truly be a fitting tribute to this vibrant and progressive city that we live in. I'd love to see our grassroots art culture transform The Olympic Sculpture Park into a truly interactive public space, with art that resonates with the people.
Posted by Dawn at January 25, 2007 10:59 PM
i second that emotion! maybe it would have been difficult/more expensive, but they should have made all the sculptures superdurable enough to handle human touch - i assumed they would be, what with being out in the elements and all.
Posted on January 26, 2007 10:33 PST
oops - messed up my URL on the last comment. just in case anyone thought i was *that* ben haley - you know, the one into affordable human cloning. wth? i had no idea that weird site existed until joriel pointed out my mistake!
Posted on January 26, 2007 18:53 PST
you KNOW i'm gonna be the one w/ my hands all over that art...b/c i can't resist...
bail me out later?
Posted on January 28, 2007 00:26 PST
While I sympathize with your need to interact with the art, your understanding of the Olympic Sculpture Park as a public space isn't correct. The "park" is a privately owned space, purchased, designed and developed by the Seattle Art Museum. If you felt you weren't in a public space, you're right. SAM chose to open it to the public, but for all intents and purposes you're in their space looking at their artwork. The people who created the space are the same people that hang art on walls in an enclosed space.
Maybe it's not ideal, but it's better than condos, which is what was slated to go there originally.
Posted on January 30, 2007 18:16 PST
I agree, it seems more like an "outdoor museum" and not a true attmpt to have human interaction with the art. In Minneapolis they also have a sculpture park, one of the sculptures is a swing and you can often find people having picnics, touching the art and playing games. I think S.A.M missed a big oppotunity to create an inviting atmosphere. I've worked at many museums and know that art that is handled the wrong way can easily be damaged but that's indoors where everything can be controlled. S.A.M will have a hard lesson about the human tendancy to discover art through touch.
Posted on February 03, 2007 16:36 PST
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