We initially published this article on March 11, 2020, in the last Art and Performance (A&P) quarterly The Stranger put out before the pandemic forced us to scale back dramatically. I thought about it today when filling out Capitol Hill Seattle Blog’s reader survey, which asked: What were the most important Capitol Hill stories in 2020? I was excited to see “Seattle Asian Art Museum re-opens” as one of the options, and sad but not surprised to see it ranked so low by readers. (Only eight people have voted for it so far.)
The Seattle Asian Art Museum’s grand re-opening was a long time coming. It was something we wanted to put on a cover and send all over town. Our A&P covers had previously featured a string of profiles on artists having breakout moments, like DoNormaal and E.J. Koh and Anthony White. But we felt SAAM’s re-opening was big enough to break that pattern. SAAM was the star of the season. Then Covid came around.
As we continue to look back on 2020, the moments leading up to March’s shutdowns will stand out as an alternative path. And so, when I think of the world that could have been, I think of this piece from Jasmyne. Please give it a well-deserved read and then prepare for SAAM’s inevitable, maybe even grander re-re-opening. —Chase Burns
In the Jade Room at the Seattle Asian Art Museum, curator of Chinese art Foong Ping challenged me to find the most contemporary object in the room. It was no easy task. A long display case was lined with ceramic bowls, vases, plates, and cups arranged not by year, not by country of origin, but by color. Black to white to green to red.
The light from the bay of east-facing windows subtly illuminated the objects. Without labels, museum visitors are encouraged to find the commonalities in these works by taking in what’s in front of them rather than reading text.
