ART IN THE PARK

摘要

Though the city of Seattle has a spectacular location overlooking Elliott Bay and Puget Sound, its waterfront is defined by a jumble of leftover spaces, elevated highways, rail lines and the continual presence of heavy traffic. However, recent initiatives by the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) not only project art into the city but also reconnect it with the water. The SAM, which opened in 1933 on a site overlooking Seattle, expanded and moved into the city in 1991. Designed by Venturi Scott Brown, the early '90s building was distinguished by an assertively decorated facade that wrapped around a corner site on First Avenue and University Street with a mix of supergraphics, colour and conspicuous historical pastiche. With a more recent infusion of energy and new-found wealth from coffee, computers and the internet, the museum has expanded again. As a result of a collaboration with the Washington Mutual Bank it now occupies prime frontage along an entire city block on First Avenue.