Artful Afternoon

Artful, and art full -- what a wonderful afternoon I had at Seattle Art Museum (SAM)with my dear friend A, seen here with The First People (2008), a stunning work in red and yellow cedar by Susan Point of the *Coast Salish people. The eight faces connected by root-like forms reference the shared genealogies of Fraser River (British Columbia) inhabitants and the importance of inherited histories that unite Coast Salish people.

We had a delightful lunch at the TASTE Restaurant in the museum, and then a leisurely look at the varied and interesting exhibits of some of the 23,000 objects in SAM's permanent collection, plus a number of artworks on loan. I was delighted to see that for the most part, photography was allowed in the museum, and cannot resist sharing a trio of images here.

-- These upside-down white cars with pulsing sequential colored lights hanging from the ceiling are just some of the nine identical vehicles in Cai Guo-Qiang's Inopportune: Stage One (2004). I could have sat there all day watching the light show! (Read more about it here.)

-- Don't miss Caterpillar Suits I and III (2008) of anodized aluminum wire, brass, and razor wire by South African artist Walter Oltman!

-- I neglected to photograph the information about these wonderful life-size Masaai ceremonial figures, but do look at them, as they are compelling, particularly the lead one.

Phil had an equally pleasant afternoon at the Belgian Beer Festival with his son T -- check out a couple of "monks" having a fine time here.

*The Coast Salish are a subgroup of the First Nations in British Columbia, Canada, and Native American cultures in Oregon and Washington, USA, who speak one of the Coast Salish languages.