It was raining. A light rain, but cold. I had my hood up. My sister was wearing a knit cap. A woman walked past us wearinng nothing on her head. We all smiled, and I said something stupid about the rain and her bare hair.
“Oh!” she said, holding her hands up as though to capture the rain in her palms. “I love the rain.” And she really seemed to mean it.
My sister and I were about to enter the museum. The woman was continuing to walk through the park in the rain. We were about to explore art objects from another time and another place. She was continuing to enjoy the here and now.
Nice, I thought. I pushed back my hood as we walked toward museum entrance and enjoyed the rain.
The Seattle Asian Art Museum
I’ve visited this museum several times over the years, but not for a while. One thing that’s the same now, is the stone camels on either side of the entrance. People used to climb on them for a photo-op. Recently, though, the museum has been advising against it.
Much of the camels’ history is hazy. They were bought from a San Francisco art dealer by the Fuller family. But how, when, and by whom they were brought to San Francisco is uncertain. Did someone haul them away from China during the Boxer Rebellion of 1899? That’s one possibility. They’re thought to be from the 15th century tomb of Emperor Yun Lo’s third son. Or maybe they were robbed from the tomb of a previous dynasty.
Mysteries are fun, and the camels are real favorites. But our energy and attention span is limited. We can’t spend too much time on every single exhibit if we want to make it through the museum.
Here are a few of the many exhibits we enjoyed:
I like this sculpture from the 14th century. He is Dragon Tamer Luohan.
More dragons. See their heads at the top, clouds at the bottom. Chinese dragons fly.
Many heads, many hands.
Outside, near our car, stood this heavy big black circular sculpture. I don’t know what it signifies, but I like the hole in the middle. If you look closely, you can see the Space Needle through the haze.
Here’s a post I published in 2013 about a visit to see another Asian art exhibit, one by the contraversial Chinese artist and activist, Ai Weiwei. It’s called “According to What?”
How lovely to join you on your visit and see the pieces through your eyes.
Thank you, Kizzie. I should have taken more pictures, but I was too busy looking.
After my grandmother’s death, my grandfather took up with a new lady who was very snippy about my grandmother’s collection of Asian art and artefacts. Foolishly, my grandfather didn’t attempt to stop her getting rid of much which had emotional connections for extended family. It later transpired that she gave them to her daughter’s family to sell in London – which was a heartbreaking discovery.
Love the Chinese dragons – they look stunning and not something I’ve seen before in that form.
That’s so sad, Debs. Collections like that have a lot of meaning to the family.
Something similar happened in my family. My grandmother was an immigrant from Ireland, my grandpa, a carpenter from Scotland. He was in California looking for work while she stayed in Vancouver with the four boys. But she suffered from schizophrenia, and so Canada sent her back to Ireland and put the kids in an orphanage until he returned for them. Eventually my grandpa married again to a woman who didn’t get along with the four boys. At one point, she burned all the photo albums, erasing the memory of their mother and their childhood. Somehow, my mom was able to save one picture, a beautiful photo of my dad as a baby.
Sometimes, placement is everything when it comes to sculpture! I like how the Space Needle is offset, rather than centered.
I wonder if there was a name or description of the sculpture that I missed. I know it’s up to us to find meaning or just admire the juxtaposition of shapes, but I’d love to know something about what the sculptor was thinking.
Nicki, I’m glad you have someone to go with to share your joy and appreciation. It’s been so long since I entered a museum!
Our mom and grandma were both amateur artists and passed on their love for art to us. This was a medium-sized museum, but I’m been to some really enjoyable small museums. A recent one was a lighthouse keepers’ house. Fascinating!
Ah, I haven’t been there in a few years. Thanks for the reminder to visit a place I love.
They did a big remodel and were planning a formal opening. Then they had to cancel for a few months because of COVID. The new space is very nice.
I think it’s great that you are able to hang out with your sister so frequently . . . and that you seem to share similar interests.
Remember “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head”? 😀
When you know someone well, you tend to notices the differences. But you’re right: My sister and I do have similar interests.
How could I forget. It’s such a joyful rainy day song…written by Burt Bacharach. Then there’s that other rainy day song, “Singin’ in the Rain”.
Seeing the Space Needle through the large black sculpture is beautiful. It’s intentional I suppose. I haven’t been to an art museum in ages, but I have wandered around outside with the rain falling on my head so I’ve got that going for me.
Yeah. I’m pretty sure the view of the Space Needle is intentional.
Art and literature are a big thing in Edmonds where I live. We have an excellent art museum, the Cascadia Museum, that displays Northwest artists, with an emphasis on our history. But we also have some great art galleries. Visiting them is even better. A popular activity is the First Thursday Art Walk.
You’ve gotta appreciate the rain, even here in the green Pacific Northwest. This January was drier than usual, and we missed it. We also count on lots of snow in the mountains for our summer water supply.