SAM Old, SAM Old

The recent field trip was not enough, so last weekend we met up with my family (parents, sister, and niece) back at Seattle Art Museum for more time in the various galleries beyond the main special exhibit (though we spent more time there, too). Also I’m almost out of SAM puns.

One piece I really enjoyed is this random poetry split-flap sign Song Cycle by Chris i. It really reminded me of the vibe of the main hall of 30th Street Station. As far as I can tell it is generative art but not AI, randomizing crafted lines of text. You can check this out in the lobby without admission.

A split flap sign viewed from below and to the right currently reads: A trillion gratitudes In midday stillness In a dusty house
<img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="768" data-attachment-id="8598" data-permalink="https://blog.ultranurd.net/img_3717-2/&quot; data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/blog.ultranurd.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/img_3717.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&quot; data-orig-size="1200,900" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.78","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 17 Pro","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1780749066","copyright":"","focal_length":"6.7649998656528","iso":"125","shutter_speed":"0.0083333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_3717" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/blog.ultranurd.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/img_3717.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&quot; data-id="8598" src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.ultranurd.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/img_3717.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1&quot; alt="A split flap sign viewed from below and to the left in the middle of changing its text reads: <random characters> The sounz <characters> That makes

Our first priority was to spend more time in the Calder and Donovan Monochrome exhibition. I love massive abstract sculpture like this; it was one of my favorite things about having an ICA membership years ago in Boston.

A wall mounted sculpture of welding winding overlapping slinkies viewed from below at an oblique angle.
An explosion of varying size folded mylar balls sits in a large art gallery, viewed from above at a balcony. A city street is visible through a large vertical window on the right.
A collection of bright abstract prints in white frames on white walls, with a mix of shapes in red, blue, and yellow.
A dim reflection of Nick taking a selfie in front of an almost entirely black piece of his hand is in his pocket and three intersecting white lines hit at his forehead, almost as if he's been sniped. In the background you can see the Mylar sculpture and a large black steel sculpture.

I really liked Samantha Yun Wall’s What We Leave Behind exhibition.

Two tweens contemplate a large black and white print of a feminine silhouette on an art gallery wall. The taller one has hair extensions and her hand is out gesturing at the composition. Her the hand holds her phone. The shorter one looks one. They are both viewed from behind.
Looking along a gallery wall at a collection of similar square black and white prints, each of which looks like a dangling flower with a superimposed eye at the center.
A black and white print of overlapping women's silhouettes with flower eyes dangling from the top edge of the frame.

There are too many pieces to enjoy! A few other random highlights:

A large wooden sculpture sits on a gallery floor. It consists of interlocking cedar beams resembling a nest.
A large abstract oil painting in mostly green and yellow shades with vintage soda cans crushed into it. Near the bottom right in dripping text is written "whatever befalls the earth befalls the inhabitants of earth". It is intentionally framed so the left side of the painting is cut off.
Two abstract black splotches; the one on the left is kinda curved like an apostrophe where the one on the right moves towards it like a comet.
Mark Tobey, Space Ritual #18
A lithograph of a steam locomotive moving along a track with telegraph wires beside it. Everything is a little distorted to show its speed.
Thomas Hart Benson, Going West
A surreal scene with perspective lines of colored shapes fading into the distance. The figure on the left is vaguely human but with a donut hole in its middle. The colors are reminiscent of a '90s productivity suite software box art
An abstract wave landscape painting, mostly black on the bottom and pink on the top
Morris Graves, The Genesis of Life Lay Deep and Anticipant Under the Sky

Over the course of our visit and lunch break we slowly split up to head to various other commitments. My dad took this picture before he had to get to an event at his old school.

A family squeezes onto a small round couch in the middle of an exhibit of Grand Coulee Dam watercolors. On the left are two children obscured by emoji. Nick is sitting in the middle foreground in a green shirt and jeans next to a white woman in a floral shirt who bears a family resemblance. Behind them on the right is Andrle, a smiling white woman in black, and and older white woman in a blue shirt turning her neck.

With our child’s interest in art, and our aquarium membership about to expire, we decided to flip our tickets into a membership. As with most museums around here the break even point seems to be about two visits. I’m excited to come back at least once more in the next year, or maybe pop over to SAAM again? Also the sculpture park is apparently getting artsy mini golf this summer?

#art #museum #seattle