Filling the Silence at the Heart of Things

This week I had occasion to go to Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill. It is a large and beautiful treasure which includes a formidable old world glass plant conservatory, the Asian Art Museum, lovely grounds for strolling, and a large round tower. As I was looking at the view, a woman climbed into the "Black Sun" sculpture by Isamu Noguchi (or as Soundgarden titled this inspiration on their song "Black Hole Sun") to see what the view of the reservoir and Space Needle might look like. Don't let the sunshine fool you; the reservoir she's peering into was partially frozen and gulls were walking and sliding on the ice!

Asian Art Museum

I thought you might like to see the art deco era exterior of Seattle's Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park. It was designed by Carl F. Gould, the head of the University of Washington's school of architecture and opened in 1933 as the Seattle Art Museum.The building was privately funded by Art Institute of Seattle president Richard Fuller and presented as a gift to the city. When the Seattle Art Museum moved to new digs on 1st Avenue downtown in 1991, SAM rededicated this building as its Asian Art Museum. One year ago this month SAM dedicated its third campus, the Olympic Sculpture Park. All three sites are wildly popular. For a photo of the shadows cast by the interesting metalwork you see on the glass panels of the entryway, click on my More Seattle Stuff site.