Emp Museum Seattle, What an interesting world we live in -- how trash and the destruction of material things can inspire an expression of art. Like that infamous scene from Sam Mendes' American Beauty in which the audience is regaled with 5 minutes of descriptive narrative regarding a trash bag seemingly dancing in the wind. Or the annual Burning Man desert art, such as the pieces described here at a gallery in San Francisco in 2009 .
I was lucky enough to witness a structure in Seattle recently that was created from master contemporary architect Frank Gehry, whom allegedly was inspired by a pile of trash (although there are recollections of admiring a smashed guitar, which I don't see at all) to create the Experience Music Project (now 'EMP) Museum in Seattle, Washington, a striking collection of exhibition spaces located in the Seattle Center near the base of the Space Needle. Formerly known as the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum, this building resembles many other well-known Gehry works, specifically those primarily constructed from sheet metal. The Bilbao Guggenheim, the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the BP Pedestrian Bridge in Chicago's Millennium Park, all seemingly ebb and flow like a violently crumpled and tossed piece of crumpled tin. Some have described the building as 'The Hemmorrhoids', a Blob, and one of the 10 ugliest buildings in the world. I think it's outlandish to call something so outrageously different, ugly. When Rolling Stone magazine released their 100 Best Singers list, Bob Dylan cracked the top ten. Ask most vocally coached singers, and Bob Dylan doesn't stack up - his tonal quality, irreverence for pitch, and intonation (or lack thereof) are all lacking. But Rolling Stone's justification of Dylan's placement struck me and made sense - no one (apart from, say, Bjork) has had as significant a resounding and long lasting impact on the traditional parameters of what is considered 'pleasant to the ear' vocals as Dylan has had. In a similar vein, no buildings as seemingly chaotic or misplaced as they may be are without some beauty, if not only for how a building such as the EMP museum shakes our understanding of pleasant-looking architecture, but at least for its rich use of textures, angles and color. The deep fusion of colors and textures that this mess of a building exhibits in the heart of Seattle - deep red, hues of purple haze, blue and silver -- catch the attention of even the least discerning of passerby and gives them pause to think and reflect on what the visual does to him or her. Aside from the functionality of architecture, I would think that this at least represents what forward-thinking architects, such as a Gehry or a Gaudi, are looking for when constructing such a building -- to get people's attention, and get their cranial juices pumping. Basically, injecting us with an aesthetic high from our lows of the 'familiar' and 'safe'. I wouldn't recommend entering the building with a propensity of claustrophobia. The wide open space of The Sky Church is the only area of the building that doesn't feel cramped nor like a large jutting piece of sheet metal is going to come crashing down onto your head. The Guitar Sculpture in one of the main atriums is stunning, and a central symbol of the museum's initial theme. The sculpture is located just outside of an area dedicated to Jimi Hendrix. I am mesmerized by the natural surroundings and man-made architectural beauty of Seattle. The city takes architectural chances, starting with the Space Needle for the 1962 World's Fair. Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, founded this museum dedicated to the history of popular music and, over time, the museum was meant to further promote the history and expansion of Science Fiction. As the use for the structure finds its footing, I continue to be amazed by buildings like this, which in my opinion have the power to imprint themselves onto city culture and the the fabric of our greater society. It lends itself to the art of appreciating our surroundings, our places of business and learning and socializing, and find something beautiful for its stark contrasts rather than familiarity.
I was lucky enough to witness a structure in Seattle recently that was created from master contemporary architect Frank Gehry, whom allegedly was inspired by a pile of trash (although there are recollections of admiring a smashed guitar, which I don't see at all) to create the Experience Music Project (now 'EMP) Museum in Seattle, Washington, a striking collection of exhibition spaces located in the Seattle Center near the base of the Space Needle. Formerly known as the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum, this building resembles many other well-known Gehry works, specifically those primarily constructed from sheet metal. The Bilbao Guggenheim, the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the BP Pedestrian Bridge in Chicago's Millennium Park, all seemingly ebb and flow like a violently crumpled and tossed piece of crumpled tin. Some have described the building as 'The Hemmorrhoids', a Blob, and one of the 10 ugliest buildings in the world. I think it's outlandish to call something so outrageously different, ugly. When Rolling Stone magazine released their 100 Best Singers list, Bob Dylan cracked the top ten. Ask most vocally coached singers, and Bob Dylan doesn't stack up - his tonal quality, irreverence for pitch, and intonation (or lack thereof) are all lacking. But Rolling Stone's justification of Dylan's placement struck me and made sense - no one (apart from, say, Bjork) has had as significant a resounding and long lasting impact on the traditional parameters of what is considered 'pleasant to the ear' vocals as Dylan has had. In a similar vein, no buildings as seemingly chaotic or misplaced as they may be are without some beauty, if not only for how a building such as the EMP museum shakes our understanding of pleasant-looking architecture, but at least for its rich use of textures, angles and color. The deep fusion of colors and textures that this mess of a building exhibits in the heart of Seattle - deep red, hues of purple haze, blue and silver -- catch the attention of even the least discerning of passerby and gives them pause to think and reflect on what the visual does to him or her. Aside from the functionality of architecture, I would think that this at least represents what forward-thinking architects, such as a Gehry or a Gaudi, are looking for when constructing such a building -- to get people's attention, and get their cranial juices pumping. Basically, injecting us with an aesthetic high from our lows of the 'familiar' and 'safe'. I wouldn't recommend entering the building with a propensity of claustrophobia. The wide open space of The Sky Church is the only area of the building that doesn't feel cramped nor like a large jutting piece of sheet metal is going to come crashing down onto your head. The Guitar Sculpture in one of the main atriums is stunning, and a central symbol of the museum's initial theme. The sculpture is located just outside of an area dedicated to Jimi Hendrix. I am mesmerized by the natural surroundings and man-made architectural beauty of Seattle. The city takes architectural chances, starting with the Space Needle for the 1962 World's Fair. Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, founded this museum dedicated to the history of popular music and, over time, the museum was meant to further promote the history and expansion of Science Fiction. As the use for the structure finds its footing, I continue to be amazed by buildings like this, which in my opinion have the power to imprint themselves onto city culture and the the fabric of our greater society. It lends itself to the art of appreciating our surroundings, our places of business and learning and socializing, and find something beautiful for its stark contrasts rather than familiarity.
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