Ron Ho was a jeweler and art educator. The son of Chinese parents, he grew up in Hawaii surrounded by diverse cultures and their unique artistic expressions. His work, admired for the use of found objects, was influenced and informed by contrasts between American and Chinese culture and by the cultural diversity he encountered living … Continue reading Object of the Week – Vanished Wishes
“My pieces are meant for dialogue, for discussion, for thinking about…That’s my ultimate goal.” Thomas Haukaas In More Time Expected, ledger, beadwork, and doll artist Thomas Haukaas (Rosebud Sioux Tribe) depicts more than twenty horses, with their knees bent, simulating forward movement across the picture plane. The horses vary in color and adornment with some moving … Continue reading Object of the Week – “More Time Expected”
Marsha Burns has spent much of her career capturing people whose existence is self-defined. Working in Seattle in the 1970s, she focused on creating figure studies and nudes in her studio. Her models, usually friends and acquaintances with androgynous qualities, posed in a mostly empty setting in various states of undress accompanied by select objects … Continue reading Object of the Week – Untitled
Tacoma Art Museum joins in solidarity with our Black community in the fight for justice. We support Black Lives Matter and we are committed to championing policies and practices that value diversity, foster equity, and empower an accessible and inclusive culture as part of civic society. Many museums, including TAM, benefit from systems of structural … Continue reading In Solidarity with Black Lives Matter
Seattle based (and TAM collection) artist Steven Miller has been spending much of his time during the stay at home order creating a new series of work informed by the circumstances of the lockdown: Miller has been making photographic portraits of people as they self isolate in their homes. TAM spoke with the artist about … Continue reading Portraits Under Quarantine: An Interview with Steven Miller
In Tacoma Art Museum’s new exhibition Forgotten Stories: Northwest Art of the 1930s, explores how in 1930s the US federal government appreciated art and artists as critical to economic and social recovery. As we navigate through the repercussions of COVID-19, what can we learn from the ideals of the New Deal that can be applied … Continue reading From Despair to Hope- What We Can Learn for Today from Our Own Forgotten Stories
In February, Tacoma Art Museum opened Forgotten Stories: Northwest Art of the 1930s. In the 1930s, government investment in public art and artists in the Northwest supported communities and created a wealth of public art with stories that, until now, were nearly unknown. Although the exhibition was only available for public view for three weeks, … Continue reading The Contemporary Call for a New WPA
At the end of February, I was lucky enough to get to Washington DC., for a very special event. TAM’s quite outstanding work of art by Edgar Degas – Danseuses, 1879 – was being unveiled at the National Gallery, as one of the centerpieces in the exhibition Degas at the Opéra. which was co-organized by … Continue reading Degas and the Opéra
“I love creating open stories in my artwork” writes Seattle-based artist Saya Moriyasu. By using figurative elements, like those visible in “Waiting Lady 291,” and broad, yet informative titles, Moriyasu creates an implied story that connects with the viewer. This approach also provides enough material to encourage interpretation and allows the viewer to understand a … Continue reading Object of the Week – “Waiting Lady #291”
Ahead of TAM’s Virtual Spring Luncheon, we wanted to introduce guest speaker Manny Santiago, who was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee as Executive Director of the Washington State LGBTQ Commission in August 2019 . Manny has served as a leader of change in our South Sound community for several years. Born and raised on a … Continue reading Introducing Manny Santiago
