Experience Music Project
Encyclopedia
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
dedicated to the history and exploration of both popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
located in Seattle, Washington. The Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
-designed museum building is located on the campus of the Seattle Center
Seattle Center
Seattle Center is a park and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington. The campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition. It is located just north of Belltown in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood.-Attractions:...
, adjacent to the Space Needle
Space Needle
The Space Needle is a tower in Seattle, Washington and is a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and a symbol of Seattle. Located at the Seattle Center, it was built for the 1962 World's Fair, during which time nearly 20,000 people a day used the elevators, with over...
and the Seattle Center Monorail
Seattle Center Monorail
The Seattle Center Monorail is an elevated monorail line in Seattle, Washington, that runs a little over one mile along Fifth Avenue from Westlake Center in Downtown to Seattle Center in Lower Queen Anne...
, which runs through the building.
The EMP Museum was founded by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
co-founder Paul Allen
Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...
, and opened its doors in 2000. EMP struggled financially in its early years; as a result, Allen established the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (SFM), which opened in 2004 in the south wing of the EMP building. When SFM opened, EMP and SFM were treated as separate museums, and visitors had the option of purchasing admission to one museum, or, at a higher cost, a combined admission to both. In 2007, after mounting criticism, EMP|SFM ended the separate admissions policy and began charging a single admission price for entrance to both the EMP and SFM wings. The Science Fiction Museum was closed in March 2011.
EMP has provided funding for radio station KEXP
KEXP
KEXP-FM is a public radio station based in Seattle, Washington, that specializes in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys. Its broadcasting license is owned by the University of Washington, which operates the station in a partnership with Paul Allen's Experience Music Project...
in partnership with the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
. EMP was also the site of the demo and concert program for the first international conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression
New Interfaces for Musical Expression
New Interfaces for Musical Expression, also known as NIME, is an international conference dedicated to scientific research on the development of new technologies for musical expression and artistic performance...
(NIME-01) and the Pop Conference, an annual gathering of academics, critics, musicians and music buffs.
The EMP in collaboration with SIFF operates the Science Fiction Fantasy Short Film Festival
Science Fiction Fantasy Short Film Festival
The Science Fiction Fantasy Short Film Festival , is an international genre film festival devoted to fantasy and science fiction cinema from across the globe. The SFFSFF takes place annually every winter in Seattle, Washington at the world renowned Seattle Cinerama Theater...
(SFFSFF). Sffsff takes place annually every winter in Seattle, Washington at the world renowned Seattle Cinerama
Seattle Cinerama
The Seattle Cinerama Theatre is a landmark movie theater located in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington in the United States of America...
Theater. The festival brings together industry professionals in filmmaking and the genres of science fiction and fantasy to encourage and support new, creative additions to science fiction and fantasy cinema arts.
Experience Music Project
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
memorabilia and technology-intensive multimedia displays. The EMP Museum showcases rare artifacts from popular music history and allows the visitor to experience music through interactive exhibitions like Sound Lab and On Stage. The Northwest passage was dedicated to the history of Seattle music, including Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
, and the grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
music genre
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
.
Collections
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. Exhibits include Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
(Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
), The Kingsmen
The Kingsmen
The Kingsmen is a 1960s garage rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the #2 spot on the Billboard charts for six weeks...
(Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
), Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
(Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
), The Presidents of the United States of America
Presidents of the United States of America (band)
The Presidents of the United States of America, commonly referred to as Pot USA or "PUSA" or The Presidents, are a twice Grammy-nominated American alternative rock band. The band formed in Seattle, USA, in 1993. The three-piece group currently comprises vocalist and "basitarist" Chris Ballew,...
(Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
), Sir Mix-a-Lot
Sir Mix-a-Lot
Anthony Ray , better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot, is an emcee and producer based in Seattle, Washington. The founder of the Nastymix record label, he debuted in 1988 with Swass...
(Seattle, Washington), Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
(Aberdeen, Washington
Aberdeen, Washington
Aberdeen is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States, founded by Samuel Benn in 1884. Aberdeen was incorporated on May 12, 1890. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis...
, via Seattle), and Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
(Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
) . Also included are some less famous artists including Queensrÿche
Queensrÿche
thumb|250px|right|Queensrÿche's classic line-up performing at the [[Sauna Open Air Metal Festival]] 2011 in [[Tampere]], [[Finland]]. Left to right: bass Eddie Jackson, lead vocals Geoff Tate, drums Scott Rockenfield and guitars Michael Wilton....
(Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...
) and Culprit, and bands far more obscure, such as The Pudz
The Squirrels
The Squirrels are a novelty band based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1984 by lead vocalist Rob Morgan , the band has been through numerous lineups, but has stuck to the aesthetic that Peter Blecha describes as "cross-pollinat[ing] bubblegum sensibilities with punk attitudes."Although most of...
(Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
). Numerous video clips show interviews and performance footage, and extensive commentary and additional recordings are available via iPod audio guides (specially programmed iPods that can be rented, for a fee, from a desk on the second floor). In April, 2011 The Northwest Passage was de-installed to make room for the Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses exhibit.
The Guitar Gallery is dedicated to the history of the guitar. The massive sculpture entitled Roots and Branches was conceived by UK exhibit designer Neal Potter and developed by Trimpin
Trimpin
Trimpin is a Seattle, Washington-based kinetic sculptor, sound artist, musician, and composer, most of whose pieces integrate both sculpture and music in some way, and many of which make use of computers to play these instruments...
and made largely out of musical instruments, especially guitars, which are played by electronically controlled devices. The Sound Lab allows museum-goers to learn the basics of playing various instruments and On Stage features a simulated onstage experience.
EMP introduced a travelling collection exhibit in 2002 entitled Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights
Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights
Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights, organized by Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington, was the first major museum exhibition to explore the rich, complex world of disco...
. It remained in Seattle, WA for one year, then in 2003 it moved to the Henry Ford Museum
The Henry Ford
The Henry Ford, a National Historic Landmark, , in the Metro Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, USA, is a large indoor and outdoor history museum complex...
in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
and in 2004 to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
. It has since been retired.
Past exhibitions
Temporary exhibitions- Jimi Hendrix: An Evolution of Sound: On-going;
Exhibit illustrates Hendrix's musical evolution from his early days in Seattle, to his time as a journeyman musician touring the southern "chitlin' circuit" and in New York City, to his explosion on the popular music scene in London and beyond.
- Reflections: The Mary Wilson Supreme Legacy Collection: Through September 6, 2010;
A collection of more than fifty costumes worn by the Supremes.
Past exhibitions
- Artist to Icon: Early Photographs of Elvis, Dylan, and the Beatles: January 19, 2001 – May 1, 2001;
The exhibition includes 48 black-and-white photographs by five photographers. The photos, taken between 1956 and 1965 show early moments from Elvis, Bob Dylan, and The Beatles.
- Disco: A Decade of Saturday Night: February 2003 – October 2003
- Nirvana: April 2003 – October 2004;
Chronicles the first half of Nirvana’s career from 1987-1990, among the collection was rare 1990 footage of the band in Olympia, Washington, including Dave Grohl's first appearance as their drummer.
- Milestones: April 2003 – October 2004;
Featured a series of interconnected exhibitions celebrating diverse expressions of creativity and the independent spirit of rock 'n' roll. Highlights included the roots of rock, a focus on three key innovators—Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Janis Joplin.
- Paper Scissors ROCK: 25 Years of Northwest Punk Poster Design: May 2003- September 2003;
This exhibit explored the last 25 years of music-related poster art from the Pacific Northwest.
- Jimi Hendrix: June 7, 2003 – August 5, 2007
- Sweet Home Chicago, Big City Blues, 1946-1966 Traveling Exhibition: September 2003 - January 2004
- Annie Leibovitz: November 2003 - January 2004
- Springsteen - Troubadour of the Highway: January 2004- April 2004
- Costumes from the Vault: June 2004- January 2007;
This exhibit featured costumes and clothing from a variety of musicians, superheroes and science-fiction stars. Included were Michael Jackson’s sequined jacket and jeweled glove, Jimi Hendrix’s “psychedelic dandy” outfit, and the Superman costume from the original television series.
- Beatlemania! America Meets the Beatles, 1964: February 2004- December 2005
- Songcraft: The Art & Craft of Songwriting: July 2004-January 2006
- Bob Dylan’s American Journey, 1956-1966: November 2004 – October 2006
- Yes Yes Y’all: The First Decade of Hip-Hop: June 18, 2005 - January 6, 2008
- Art of Modern Rock: The Poster Explosion: May 2006 - October 2006
- Disney: The Music Behind the Magic: November 4, 2006 - September 9, 2007
- American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music: October 13, 2007 - September 7, 2008;
The first interpretive museum exhibition to tell the story of the profound influence and impact of Latinos in American popular music. The exhibition was created in partnership with guest curators from the University of Washington.
- Message to Love: Remembering and Reclaiming: January 26, 2008 - April 6, 2008;
Jimi Hendrix exhibit focused on the visitor’s experience and the visitor connection with Hendrix.
- American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print: October 11, 2008- July 16, 2009;
Features the work of one of the nation's oldest operating printing shops—Nashville, Tennessee's Hatch Show Print—the exhibition highlights the uniquely American posters produced to advertise everything from vaudeville shows, state fairs and stock car races to the Grand Ole Opry, Elvis Presley and Herbie Hancock.
Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame
The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame was one of two public science fiction museums in the world (along with Maison d'AilleursMaison d'Ailleurs
The Maison d'Ailleurs , is a museum of science fiction, utopia and extraordinary journeys in Yverdon-les-Bains...
, a science fiction museum in Yverdon-les-Bains (Switzerland). The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame was founded by Paul Allen and Jody Patton and opened to the public on June 18, 2004. Members of the museum's advisory board include Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
, James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, and George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
. Among its collection of artifacts are Captain Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
's command chair from Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, the B9 robot from Lost in Space
Lost in Space
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
, the Death Star
Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...
model from Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, the T800 Terminator and the dome from the film Silent Running
Silent Running
Silent Running is a 1972 environmentally themed science fiction film starring Bruce Dern and directed by Douglas Trumbull, who had previously worked as a special effects supervisor on such science fiction films as 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Andromeda Strain.-Plot summary:Silent Running depicts a...
. The X Prize trophy is currently on display in the museum's lobby.
The museum was divided into several galleries with a common theme such as "Homeworld," "Fantastic Voyages," "Brave New Worlds" and "Them!". Each gallery displays related memorabilia (movie props, first editions, costumes and models) in large display cases, posters, and interactive displays to sketch out the different subjects. "From robots to jet packs to space suits and ray guns, it's all here."
The EMP Museum is currently hosting a special exhibition that opened on October 23, 2010 on Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...
, with original props and cast members as guest speakers. On June 4, 2011, the EMP Museum opened Avatar: The Exhibition, housed in the former SFM wing of the building.
Past exhibitions
- Alien Encounters: September 10, 2006 - October 30, 2007 Featured 33 original paintings of artists’ envisions of aliens over the past 70 years. Artists included Frank Kelly Freas and Ed Emshwiller.
- Out of this World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television: June 16, 2007 - September 30, 2007 Featured costumes from Star Wars, Blade RunnerBlade RunnerBlade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
, The TerminatorThe TerminatorThe Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...
, Star Trek, Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...
, and many more of the most popular films and television shows of all time.
- Innersphere: Sculptural Works by Rik Allen: November 17, 2007 - April 27, 2008 Featured glass and metal sculptural rocket ships symbolizing journeys of outward exploration and inward discovery by Washington artist Rik Allen
- Jim Henson's Fantastic World: May 23-August 16, 2009
Jim Henson (1936-1990)—artist, puppeteer, film director and producer—created elaborate imaginary worlds filled with unique characters, objects, environments and even languages and cultures. His work is enjoyed in dozens of languages in more than 100 countries. Jim Henson's Fantastic World offers a rare peek into the imagination and creative genius of this multitalented innovator and creator of Kermit the Frog, Big Bird and other beloved characters.
- Robots: A Designer's Collection of Miniature Mechanical Marvels: May 16, 2008 - May 3, 2009 A Collection from designer Tom Geismar. Inspired by antique tin and wooden toys, samurai warriors and mid-20th century Japanese film characters.
Science Fiction Hall of Fame
The Hall of Fame was founded as the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1996 by the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society (Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
) and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction
Center for the Study of Science Fiction
The Center for the Study of Science Fiction is an educational institution, associated with the University of Kansas, that emerged out of the science-fiction programs that James Gunn created there beginning in 1970....
at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
. The Chairmen were Keith Stokes (1996–2001) and Robin Wayne Bailey
Robin Wayne Bailey
Robin Wayne Bailey is an American fantasy and science fiction author. He is a past president of SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America . He was South-Central Regional Director for SFWA nine years. He has also hosted three of SFWA's Nebula Awards weekends...
(2002–present). Only authors were eligible for recognition and four were inducted annually.
The Hall of Fame stopped inducting fantasy authors in 2004 when it moved to Seattle and became part of the Science Fiction Museum. Having inducted 36 authors in nine years, in 2005 it began to recognize non-literary media and reduced the number of authors from four to two in each annual class. Five people were honored in 2008: Ian Ballantine, Betty Ballantine, and three others.
As of fall 2011, there are 65 members. Nominations and inductions are made in four categories: Film, Literature, Media, and Open.
Science Fiction Hall of Fame Inductees
- 1996: Jack WilliamsonJack WilliamsonJohn Stewart Williamson , who wrote as Jack Williamson was a U.S. writer often referred to as the "Dean of Science Fiction" following the death in 1988 of Robert A...
; A.E. van Vogt; John W. Campbell, Jr.; Hugo GernsbackHugo GernsbackHugo Gernsback , born Hugo Gernsbacher, was a Luxembourgian American inventor, writer, editor, and magazine publisher, best remembered for publications that included the first science fiction magazine. His contributions to the genre as publisher were so significant that, along with H. G...
- 1997: Andre NortonAndre NortonAndre Alice Norton, née Alice Mary Norton was an American science fiction and fantasy author under the noms de plume Andre Norton, Andrew North and Allen Weston...
; Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
; H.G. Wells; Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000... - 1998: Hal ClementHal ClementHarry Clement Stubbs better known by the pen name Hal Clement, was an American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre.-Biography:...
; Frederik PohlFrederik PohlFrederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
; C.L. Moore; Robert A. HeinleinRobert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of... - 1999: Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
; Robert SilverbergRobert SilverbergRobert Silverberg is an American author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple nominee of the Hugo Award and a winner of the Nebula Award.-Early years:...
; Jules VerneJules VerneJules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
; Abraham Merritt - 2000: Poul AndersonPoul AndersonPoul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
; Gordon Dickson; Theodore SturgeonTheodore SturgeonTheodore Sturgeon was an American science fiction author.His most famous novel is More Than Human .-Biography:...
; Eric Frank RussellEric Frank RussellEric Frank Russell was a British author best known for his science fiction novels and short stories. Much of his work was first published in the United States, in John W. Campbell's Astounding Science Fiction and other pulp magazines. Russell also wrote horror fiction for Weird Tales, and...
- 2001: Jack VanceJack VanceJohn Holbrook Vance is an American mystery, fantasy and science fiction author. Most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance. Vance has published 11 mysteries as John Holbrook Vance and 3 as Ellery Queen...
; Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
; Alfred BesterAlfred BesterAlfred Bester was an American science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books...
; Fritz LeiberFritz LeiberFritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films, playwright, expert chess player and a champion fencer. Possibly his greatest chess accomplishment was winning clear first in the 1958 Santa Monica Open.. With... - 2002: Samuel R. DelanySamuel R. DelanySamuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein...
; Michael MoorcockMichael MoorcockMichael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
; James BlishJames BlishJames Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling, Jr.-Biography:...
; Donald A. WollheimDonald A. WollheimDonald Allen Wollheim was an American science fiction ' editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell.... - 2003: Wilson TuckerWilson TuckerArthur Wilson "Bob" Tucker was an American mystery, action adventure, and science fiction writer, who wrote professionally as Wilson Tucker....
; Kate WilhelmKate WilhelmKate Wilhelm is an American writer whose works include science fiction, mystery, and fantasy.- Career :Wilhelm was born in Toledo, Ohio....
; Damon KnightDamon KnightDamon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre.-Biography:...
; Edgar Rice BurroughsEdgar Rice BurroughsEdgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:... - 2004: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley; E.E. Smith; Harry HarrisonHarry HarrisonHarry Harrison is an American science fiction author best known for his character the Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! , the basis for the film Soylent Green...
; Brian AldissBrian AldissBrian Wilson Aldiss, OBE is an English author of both general fiction and science fiction. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss. Greatly influenced by science fiction pioneer H. G. Wells, Aldiss is a vice-president of the international H. G. Wells Society...
- 2005: Steven SpielbergSteven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
; Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
; Chesley BonestellChesley BonestellChesley Bonestell was an American painter, designer and illustrator. His paintings were a major influence on science fiction art and illustration, and he helped inspire the American space program...
; Ray HarryhausenRay HarryhausenRay Harryhausen is an American film producer and special effects creator... - 2006: George LucasGeorge LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
; Frank HerbertFrank HerbertFranklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
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; Anne McCaffery - 2007: Gene WolfeGene WolfeGene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
; Ridley ScottRidley ScottSir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
; Ed EmshwillerEd EmshwillerEd Emshwiller was a visual artist notable for illustrations of many science fiction magazine covers and for his pioneering experimental films...
; Gene RoddenberryGene RoddenberryEugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer... - 2008: Ian BallantineIan BallantineIan Keith Ballantine was a pioneering American publisher who founded and published the innovative paperback line of Ballantine Books from 1952 to 1974 with his wife, Betty Ballantine....
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; Rod SerlingRod SerlingRodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
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; Richard MathesonRichard MathesonRichard Burton Matheson is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and I Am Legend, all of which have been...
; Douglas TrumbullDouglas TrumbullDouglas Huntley Trumbull is an American film director, special effects supervisor, and inventor. He contributed to, or was responsible for, the special photographic effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Blade Runner and The Tree of...
; Roger ZelaznyRoger ZelaznyRoger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series... - 2011: Vincent Di FateVincent Di FateVincent Di Fate is an American artist specializing in science fiction and fantasy illustration.Di Fate studied at the Phoenix School of Design in New York City and received his MA in Illustration at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.He is the winner for the Hugo Award for Best Professional...
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; Harlan EllisonHarlan EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
; Jean GiraudJean GiraudJean Henri Gaston Giraud is a French comics artist. Giraud has earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Moebius, and to a lesser extent Gir, the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings, for instance the...
Architecture
The structure itself was designed by Frank GehryFrank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
, and resembles many of his firm's other works in its sheet-metal construction, such as Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art, designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, built by Ferrovial, and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. It is built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of Bilbao to the Atlantic Coast. The...
, Walt Disney Concert Hall
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the...
and Gehry Tower
Gehry Tower
Gehry Tower is a nine-story building constructed by architect Frank Gehry; it is located at the Steintor, Goethestraße 13a, in Hanover, Germany...
. Much of the building material is exposed in the building's interior. The building contains 140000 square feet (13,006.4 m²), with a 35000 square feet (3,251.6 m²) footprint. The central "Sky Church" room pays homage to Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
and other rock 'n' roll icons using a 40 feet (12.2 m) high, 70 feet (21.3 m) wide video screen and an 18-panel montage of images. The last structural steel beam to be put in place bears the signatures of all construction workers who were on site on the day it was erected. Hoffman Construction Company of Portland, Oregon was the general contractor.
Even before groundbreaking, Seattle Weekly said the design could refer to "the often quoted comparison to a smashed electric guitar." Indeed, Gehry himself had made the comparison, "We started collecting pictures of Stratocasters, bringing in guitar bodies, drawing on those shapes in developing our ideas." The architecture was greeted by Seattle residents with a mixture of acclaim for Gehry and derision for this particular edifice. "Frank Gehry," remarked British-born, Seattle-based writer Jonathan Raban
Jonathan Raban
Jonathan Raban is a British travel writer and novelist. He has received several awards, such as the National Book Critics Circle Award, The Royal Society of Literature's Heinemann Award, the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award, the PEN West Creative Nonfiction Award, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers...
, "has created some wonderful buildings, like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, but his Seattle effort, the Experience Music Project, is not one of them."
New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp
Herbert Muschamp
Herbert Mitchell Muschamp was an American architecture critic.- Early years :Born in Philadelphia, Muschamp described his childhood home life as follows: “The living room was a secret. A forbidden zone. The new slipcovers were not, in fact, the reason why sitting down there was taboo. That was...
described it as "something that crawled out of the sea, rolled over, and died." Forbes magazine called it one of the world's 10 ugliest buildings. Others describe it as a "blob" or call it "The Hemorrhoid
Hemorrhoid
Hemorrhoids or haemorrhoids , are vascular structures in the anal canal which help with stool control. They become pathological or piles when swollen or inflamed. In their physiological state they act as a cushion composed of arterio-venous channels and connective tissue that aid the passage of...
s".
Despite some critical reviews of the structure, the building has been called “a fitting backdrop for the world's largest collection of Jimi Hendrix memorabilia.” The outside of the building which features a fusion of textures and colors, including gold, silver, deep red, blue and a "shimmering purple haze," has been declared "an apt representation of the American rock experience."
Finances
The museum has had mixed financial success. In an effort to make ends meet, the "blue blob" at the south end of the museum—which originally housed the "Artist's Journey" exhibit, a motion platform ride featuring funkFunk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
music—now houses Avatar: The Exhibition.
In an effort to raise more funds, museum organizers used Allen's extensive art collection to create a 2006 exhibit within the confines of the EMP. The exhibit, which had nothing to do with either music or science fiction, was entitled DoubleTake: From Monet to Lichtenstein. The exhibit included Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
's The Kiss (1962), Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to...
's The Reader (1877), Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
's Orchard with Peach Trees in Blossom (1888), Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
's Four Bathers (1921) and several works of art from Claude Monet
Claude Monet
Claude Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. . Retrieved 6 January 2007...
including one of the Water Lilies paintings (1919) and The Mula Palace (1908). There have also been repeated lay-offs of museum staff in an attempt to cut costs.
A subsequent exhibit — Sound and Vision: Artists Tell Their Stories, which opened February 28, 2007 — had far more connection to the museums' missions. The first exhibit at the complex to bring together both music and science fiction in a single exhibit, Sound and Vision draws on the EMP Museum's collections of oral history
Oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
recordings.