sculpture park trip

Last weekend we took advantage of the sunshine and visited the Olympic Sculpture Park downtown. Aside from one large sculpture at BYU's Museum of Art last summer, this trip was Sam's first exposure to 20th century sculpture.

This sculpture, Wake (2004) by Richard Serra was a lot of fun. I like how Serra's sculptures make me aware of my space and surroundings - so much, in fact, that I often feel like I'm losing my balance as I walk around them. These sculptures look like they are very thin from when viewed from the front, but you can see in the photo above that they spread out and fill more space when viewed from the side. It's quite unexpected (again, which ties into the idea of space) and pretty.

The boys with Split (left, 2003), Typewriter Eraser (center, fabricated 1999), and Eagle (right, 1971)


When we saw the creepy Eye Benches series, we immediately guessed that they were done by Louise Bourgeois. And we were right. But I kept wondering, what about the subtle and not-so-subtle psychological messages about sexual identity that are so typical of Bourgeois' work? These benches seem a little unexpected to come from Bourgeois, aside from their biomorphic, creepy nature. But never fear, Louise didn't fail us. While sitting on an eye bench in this plaza, one is facing another work by her, a fountain called Father and Son (2005). The phallic fountain form and wet water were almost too much for me - I had to roll my eyes a bit. Psychoanalysts, eat your hearts out.

You can see more photographs and information on the Olympic Sculpture Park here.