Tacoma Art Museum
Encyclopedia
In May 2003, Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) opened a new facility twice the size of its previous home, allowing the museum to expand on its vision and mission. American Institute of Architects
AIA Gold Medal
winner Antoine Predock
designed the building located in the heart of Tacoma’s Cultural District. It features flexible exhibition space in a series of galleries that wrap around an open-air stone courtyard. The galleries showcase Tacoma Art Museum’s permanent collection of American, European, and Asian art, highlighting Northwest artists; and traveling national and international exhibitions. The interior reflects the museum’s spirit, from the emphasis on education spaces that are designed to make art accessible to the framed views of Mt. Rainier and Tacoma's growing core.
, 742 Broadway, a former jailhouse at 621 Pacific Avenue, a vacant Bank of Washington building at 1123 Pacific Avenue, and now 1701 Pacific Avenue. The museum was founded and run by volunteers until the 1970s, and it still receives outstanding community support today.
, Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, Edgar Degas
, Robert Henri
, Edward Hopper
, Robert Rauschenberg
, Pierre-Auguste Renoir
, John Singer Sargent
, and Andrew Wyeth
.
Nearly seventy percent of the collection consists of works from Northwest
artists such as Morris Graves
, Jacob Lawrence
, Joseph Park
, Barbara Earl Thomas, and Patti Warashina.
The museum is proud to have the premier collection of Dale Chihuly
’s work (dating 1977 to present) on public long-term display. He held his first museum exhibition at Tacoma Art Museum in 1968.
Stone Wave
, a major work by sculptor Richard Rhodes
, occupies the central court of the museum (see below).
The museum has gained some note for being more open to overtly gay
or queer
art than most American museums. In 2012, it will present the Hide/Seek show that was censored at the National Portrait Gallery
; TAM will present the show uncensored, and will follow it two years later with another show curated by Jonathan Katz, Art, AIDS, America.
, architect Antoine Predock
saw in Tacoma’s misty and muted light a great opportunity to design a building. Using the soft light of the Pacific Northwest
, the building reflects the surrounding industrial facilities, Mt. Rainier, and the neighboring museums that now mark Tacoma’s Cultural District.
The museum’s galleries – 12000 square feet (1,114.8 m²) in all – are large and well lit, and flexibility is provided through the design of a family of interconnected galleries and movable walls. Modern storage systems, a covered loading dock, and facilities for art handling and prep work ensure that the art is protected. The museum’s permanent collection is one of the premier collections of Northwest artists’ work and includes the consummate public collection of Dale Chihuly
’s work on permanent display.
The open-air interior Stone Wave
is encased in mirrored stainless steel and reflective glass. Designed by Richard Rhodes
of Rhodes Architectural Stone, in concert with building architect Antoine Predock
, the wave creates a visually simple space for visitors to rest their eyes between viewing the art in each gallery. The sculptural space also brings life to the center of the building.
Despite its visual simplicity, the design of the wave itself is complex, made of ancient Chinese stone pavers washing toward one wall. The shape unfolds to reveal new perspectives as the visitor travels the Weyerhaeuser
Company Foundation Walkway around the space to visit each of the five galleries.
Predock, who was inspired by the water and quality of light in Tacoma, envisioned a space “with an element of the Northwest, very quiet and contemplative.” Rhodes brings this vision to life by introducing the element of water and creating a sense of movement with a rigid material. “It is exciting to shape a hard, organic material so that it appears liquid – to manipulate the visual experience so that the pavements appear to wash against the glass,” notes Rhodes.
either North or South, take exit #133 and follow the signs toward the City Center. Exit at the 21st Street off-ramp. Turn left onto 21st Street, and then right on Pacific Avenue. The museum is located on the right past the Washington State History Museum
and Union Station. If you wish to park at the museum, turn right on Hood Street, just past the museum. The museum will be on your right. Then take the first right into the museum’s pay parking lot. Park in the numbered pay-parking stalls. There are stairs and elevators from this area into the museum.
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
AIA Gold Medal
AIA Gold Medal
The AIA Gold Medal is awarded by the American Institute of Architects conferred "by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture."...
winner Antoine Predock
Antoine Predock
Antoine Predock is an American architect based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Antoine Predock is the Principal of Antoine Predock Architect PC. The studio was established in 1967...
designed the building located in the heart of Tacoma’s Cultural District. It features flexible exhibition space in a series of galleries that wrap around an open-air stone courtyard. The galleries showcase Tacoma Art Museum’s permanent collection of American, European, and Asian art, highlighting Northwest artists; and traveling national and international exhibitions. The interior reflects the museum’s spirit, from the emphasis on education spaces that are designed to make art accessible to the framed views of Mt. Rainier and Tacoma's growing core.
History
Founded in November 1935 as the Tacoma Art Association, the museum has since moved to five separate locations: the Jones Hall Tower at the University of Puget SoundUniversity of Puget Sound
The University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college located in the North End of Tacoma, Washington, in the United States...
, 742 Broadway, a former jailhouse at 621 Pacific Avenue, a vacant Bank of Washington building at 1123 Pacific Avenue, and now 1701 Pacific Avenue. The museum was founded and run by volunteers until the 1970s, and it still receives outstanding community support today.
Curatorial Information
Tacoma Art Museum has more than 3,000 pieces in its collection, two-thirds of which are classified as Northwest art. Since 1935, Tacoma Art Museum has built a permanent collection that includes work from world-renowned artists such as Mary CassattMary Cassatt
Mary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker. She lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists...
, Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist...
, Robert Henri
Robert Henri
Robert Henri was an American painter and teacher. He was a leading figure of the Ashcan School in art.- Early life :...
, Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper was a prominent American realist painter and printmaker. While most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching...
, Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Rauschenberg is well-known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations...
, 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...
, John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
, and Andrew Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth
Andrew Newell Wyeth was a visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century....
.
Nearly seventy percent of the collection consists of works from Northwest
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...
artists such as Morris Graves
Morris Graves
Morris Cole Graves was an American expressionist painter. Along with Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, William Cumming, and Mark Tobey, he founded the Northwest School. Graves was also a mystic.-Early years:...
, Jacob Lawrence
Jacob Lawrence
Jacob Lawrence was an American painter; he was married to fellow artist Gwendolyn Knight. Lawrence referred to his style as "dynamic cubism", though by his own account the primary influence was not so much French art as the shapes and colors of Harlem.Lawrence is among the best-known twentieth...
, Joseph Park
Joseph Park
Joseph Park is a Korean American investment banker that founded Kozmo.com in 1997. He was profiled in the documentary film e-Dreams. He is a co-founder of Askville, which is owned by Amazon.com...
, Barbara Earl Thomas, and Patti Warashina.
The museum is proud to have the premier collection of Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor and entrepreneur.-Biography:Chihuly graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington. He enrolled at the College of the Puget Sound in 1959...
’s work (dating 1977 to present) on public long-term display. He held his first museum exhibition at Tacoma Art Museum in 1968.
Stone Wave
Stone Wave
Stone Wave occupies the central courtyard of Tacoma, Washington's Tacoma Art Museum and is a major public work by sculptor Richard Rhodes of Seattle, Washington. Completed in May, 2003, the wave is constructed using 650 unique pieces of antique Chinese granite laid on a substrate of closed-cell...
, a major work by sculptor Richard Rhodes
Richard Rhodes (sculptor)
Richard Rhodes is a Seattle, Washington-based sculptor, stonemason, entrepreneur, and scholar of stonework world-wide. As a designer, Rhodes combines the aesthetics of traditional stone construction with contemporary building codes....
, occupies the central court of the museum (see below).
The museum has gained some note for being more open to overtly gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
or queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
art than most American museums. In 2012, it will present the Hide/Seek show that was censored at the National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery (United States)
The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in Washington, D.C., administered by the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections focus on images of famous individual Americans.-Building:...
; TAM will present the show uncensored, and will follow it two years later with another show curated by Jonathan Katz, Art, AIDS, America.
The building
World-renowned Albuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, architect Antoine Predock
Antoine Predock
Antoine Predock is an American architect based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Antoine Predock is the Principal of Antoine Predock Architect PC. The studio was established in 1967...
saw in Tacoma’s misty and muted light a great opportunity to design a building. Using the soft light of the Pacific Northwest
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...
, the building reflects the surrounding industrial facilities, Mt. Rainier, and the neighboring museums that now mark Tacoma’s Cultural District.
The museum’s galleries – 12000 square feet (1,114.8 m²) in all – are large and well lit, and flexibility is provided through the design of a family of interconnected galleries and movable walls. Modern storage systems, a covered loading dock, and facilities for art handling and prep work ensure that the art is protected. The museum’s permanent collection is one of the premier collections of Northwest artists’ work and includes the consummate public collection of Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor and entrepreneur.-Biography:Chihuly graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington. He enrolled at the College of the Puget Sound in 1959...
’s work on permanent display.
The open-air interior Stone Wave
Stone Wave
Stone Wave occupies the central courtyard of Tacoma, Washington's Tacoma Art Museum and is a major public work by sculptor Richard Rhodes of Seattle, Washington. Completed in May, 2003, the wave is constructed using 650 unique pieces of antique Chinese granite laid on a substrate of closed-cell...
is encased in mirrored stainless steel and reflective glass. Designed by Richard Rhodes
Richard Rhodes (sculptor)
Richard Rhodes is a Seattle, Washington-based sculptor, stonemason, entrepreneur, and scholar of stonework world-wide. As a designer, Rhodes combines the aesthetics of traditional stone construction with contemporary building codes....
of Rhodes Architectural Stone, in concert with building architect Antoine Predock
Antoine Predock
Antoine Predock is an American architect based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Antoine Predock is the Principal of Antoine Predock Architect PC. The studio was established in 1967...
, the wave creates a visually simple space for visitors to rest their eyes between viewing the art in each gallery. The sculptural space also brings life to the center of the building.
Despite its visual simplicity, the design of the wave itself is complex, made of ancient Chinese stone pavers washing toward one wall. The shape unfolds to reveal new perspectives as the visitor travels the Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser is one of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world. It is the world's largest private sector owner of softwood timberland; and the second largest owner of United States timberland, behind Plum Creek Timber...
Company Foundation Walkway around the space to visit each of the five galleries.
Predock, who was inspired by the water and quality of light in Tacoma, envisioned a space “with an element of the Northwest, very quiet and contemplative.” Rhodes brings this vision to life by introducing the element of water and creating a sense of movement with a rigid material. “It is exciting to shape a hard, organic material so that it appears liquid – to manipulate the visual experience so that the pavements appear to wash against the glass,” notes Rhodes.
Visiting Tacoma Art Museum
From Interstate 5Interstate 5
Interstate 5 is the main Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific Ocean coastline from Canada to Mexico . It serves some of the largest cities on the U.S...
either North or South, take exit #133 and follow the signs toward the City Center. Exit at the 21st Street off-ramp. Turn left onto 21st Street, and then right on Pacific Avenue. The museum is located on the right past the Washington State History Museum
Washington State History Museum
The Washington State History Museum is located in downtown Tacoma, Washington. It is owned and operated by the Washington State Historical Society under the official approval of the Washington State Legislature....
and Union Station. If you wish to park at the museum, turn right on Hood Street, just past the museum. The museum will be on your right. Then take the first right into the museum’s pay parking lot. Park in the numbered pay-parking stalls. There are stairs and elevators from this area into the museum.