Seattle Art Museum

Seattle Art Museum Review

Seattle Art Museum. Long the pride of the city's art scene, SAM is now better than ever after a massive expansion that connects the iconic old building on University Street (where sculptor Jonathan Borofsky's several-stories-high Hammering Man still pounds away) to a sleek, light-filled high-rise adjacent space, on 1st Avenue and Union Street. Wander two floors of free public space. The 1st floor includes the museum's fantastic shop, a café that focuses on local ingredients, and drop-in workshops where the whole family can get creative. The second floor features free exhibitions, including awesome large-scale installations.

Highlights

SAM's permanent collection surveys American, Asian, Native American, African, Oceanic, and pre-Columbian art. Check out Jackson Pollock's Sea Change and the anonymous 14th-century Buddhist masterwork Monk at the Moment of Enlightenment (note that this is often on view at the Seattle Asian Art Museum branch, on Capitol Hill). Collections of African dance masks and Native American carvings are both strong. Kanye Quaye's Mercedes Benz Coffin installation and the Italian Room, a reproduction of typical Lombard Renaissance-era room, are also favorites.

The grand staircase in the original South Building, with its imposing Chinese funerary statues, has always been fun to climb. As part of the renovation, SAM added murals and interactive installations.

Arty film series, from British noir festivals to Andy Warhol retrospectives, take place monthly in the Plestcheeff Auditorium; tickets are $7. Second Thursdays feature jazz ensembles from 5:30 to 7:30. The real party, however, is SAM Remix, which happens on select Fridays (8-midnight). The exhibits are open and complemented by live music and DJ sets, talks, and wacky performance art.

Tips

SAM's free floors have the best attractions for kids, including an installation of cars hanging upside down from the ceiling and the WaMu OpenStudio. Select second Saturdays are Family Fun days, with kid-focused tours, performances, and workshops from 10 am to noon.You can download SAM Audio—podcasts about the museum's collection—to your iPod or smart phone.For the full scope of SAM's Asian-art collection—one of the best in the country—be sure to visit the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park—the collection here is just a sampling. TASTE (www.tastesam.com), the museum's stylish restaurant, has good weekday happy hour deals and a solid wine and beer list. It's a pleasant spot for a sit-down meal, too, but it's a bit pricey for food that is consistently good but not outstanding. Remember, Pike Place Market is only a block away.