EMP Museum

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View of EMP Museum from the Seattle Center with the monorail traveling through it
Monorail tracks going through the EMP building

EMP Museum (formerly known as Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame or EMP|SFM) is a leading-edge, nonprofit museum, dedicated to the ideas and risk-taking that fuel contemporary popular culture. EMP Museum was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000. Since that time EMP has organized 46 exhibits, 17 of which have toured to major cultural institutions across the US as well as internationally.

The museum has founded numerous public programs including Sound Off! an annual 21 and under battle-of-the-bands that supports the all-ages scene and Pop Conference an annual gathering of academics, critics, musicians and music buffs. In addition EMP in collaboration with the Seattle International Film Festival SIFF presents the Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Film Festival, which takes place annually every winter at the world renowned Seattle Cinerama Theater. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Film Festival brings together industry professionals in film making and the genres of science fiction and fantasy to encourage and support new, creative additions to science fiction and fantasy cinema arts.

Contents

Institution Highlights [edit]

EMP Museum is home to exhibits, interactive activity stations, sound sculpture, and a wealth of educational resources.

Nighttime view of EMP Museum
  • A 140,000 square foot Frank O. Gehry designed building that houses multiple innovative galleries and Sky Church, which houses the largest indoor LED screen in the world.
  • Award-winning exhibits that cover a wide range of pop culture content, from the art of fantasy, horror cinema, and video games to science fiction literature and legendary costumes from screen and stage.
  • Interactive activities included in galleries like Sound Lab and On Stage where visitors can explore the tools of rock 'n' roll through myriad instruments and step into the spotlight to perform music before a virtual audience.
  • IF VI WAS IX, a soaring guitar sculpture made up of more than 500 musical instruments and 30 computers created by world-renowned sound sculptor, Trimpin.
  • The largest collections in the world of rare artifacts, hand-written lyrics, personal instruments, and original photographs celebrating the music and history of Seattle grunge luminaries, Nirvana, and legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix.
  • Educational resources including EMP’s Curriculum Connections in-museum workshops and outreach programs; S.T.A.R. (Student Training in Artistic Reach); Creativity Camps for Kids; Teen Artist Workshops; and Write Out of This World, an annual sci-fi and fantasy short story contest for 3rd to 12th graders.
  • Public programs such as EMP’s Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival, Pop Conference, the Youth Advisory Board (YAB), and Sound Off! the Northwest’s premier battle-of-the-bands.
An exterior view of the building

Current Exhibitions [edit]

The source for all exhibition information is the official website, versions 2007–2011 and 2011–2012.[1]

  • Hear My Train a Comin': Hendrix Hits London

Featuring lyrics, personal instruments, original photographs, outrageous outfits, and rare concert footage, Hear My Train a Comin': Hendrix Hits London celebrates the iconic musician's 70th birthday by inviting viewers to discover how Hendrix achieved prominence across the pond.

  • Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses

Featuring more than 200 iconic instruments, original poster artwork, photographs, albums, and 100 new and archived oral histories from key figures in the independent music scene, Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses introduces the world's most extensive exhibition of memorabilia celebrating the music and history of Seattle grunge luminaries, Nirvana.

  • Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic

Legendary artifacts from literature, video games, and comics; and celebrated costumes from TV and the silver screen including The Princess Bride, The Wizard of Oz, Xena: Warrior Princess, and Labyrinth.

  • Can't Look Away: The Lure of Horror Film

EMP presents an in-depth look at horror, and how it’s expressed through cinema, biology, history, and contemporary culture. Visitors can view iconic artifacts, get into the minds of monster makers past and present, and scream bloody murder.

  • Icons of Science Fiction

Featuring iconic artifacts from sci-fi literature, film, television, and art, including an Imperial Dalek from Doctor Who, Neo’s coat from The Matrix Reloaded, and Captain Kirk’s command chair from the classic television series Star Trek.

  • Guitar Gallery

Instruments on display span the development of the guitar through the lives and accomplishments of innovators such as Orville Gibson, Leo Fender, and Les Paul, and the musicians who played them to fame such as Bo Diddley, Dave Davies of the Kinks, Eddie Van Halen, and Kurt Cobain.

Past Exhibitions [edit]

  • Artist to Icon: Early Photographs of Elvis, Dylan, and the Beatles: January 19, 2001 – May 1, 2001;
  • Disco: A Decade of Saturday Night: February 2003 – October 2003
  • Nirvana: April 2003 – October 2004
  • Milestones: April 2003 – October 2004
  • Paper Scissors ROCK: 25 Years of Northwest Punk Poster Design: May 2003 - September 2003
  • 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
  • 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
  • Message to Love: Remembering and Reclaiming: January 26, 2008 – April 6, 2008
  • American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print: October 11, 2008 – July 16, 2009
  • Reflections: The Mary Wilson Supreme Legacy Collection: June 11, 2010 - September 6, 2010
  • Jimi Hendrix: An Evolution of Sound: April 26, 2008 - September 24, 2012
  • AC/DC: Australia's Family Jewels: April 27, 2012 - September 29, 2012
  • Worn to Be Wild: The Black Leather Jacket October 20, 2012 - May 5, 2013

Science Fiction Museum [edit]

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. It incorporated what had been the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame established at the University of Kansas in 1996. The museum was divided into several galleries with common themes such as "Homeworld," "Fantastic Voyages," "Brave New Worlds," and "Them!" Each gallery displayed 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."[2] Members of the museum's advisory board included Steven Spielberg, Ray Bradbury, James Cameron, and George Lucas. Among its collection of artifacts were Captain Kirk's command chair from Star Trek, the B9 robot from Lost in Space, the Death Star model from Star Wars, the T800 Terminator and the dome from the film Silent Running. Although the Science Fiction Museum as a permanent collection was de-installed in March 2011, a new exhibit named Icons of Science Fiction opened as a replacement in June of 2012, [3][4][3][4] at which time the new Hall of Fame display was unveiled and the class of 2012 inducted.[5] [6]

Selected 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 Runner, The Terminator, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, 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'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.[7]

  • 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 [edit]

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, Missouri) and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction (CSSF) at the University of Kansas (KU). The Chairmen were Keith Stokes (1996–2001) and Robin Wayne Bailey (2002–present). Only writers were eligible for recognition and four were inducted annually. The induction ceremony was part of CSSF's annual Campbell Conference at KU.[8]

The Hall of Fame stopped inducting fantasy writers after 2004, when it moved to Seattle and became part of the Science Fiction Museum affiliated with EMP. Having inducted 36 writers in nine years, in 2005 it began to recognize non-literary media.[8] It retained the quota of four new members and thus reduced the annual number of writers. In 2007 and 2008 press releases, at least, the new members were assigned to "Literature Category", "Art Category", and "Film, Television and Media Category".

EMP Museum de-installed the Science Fiction Museum as a permanent collection in March 2011. When a new temporary exhibition "Icons of Science Fiction" opened in June 2012, a new Hall of Fame display was unveiled and the class of 2012 inducted.[3][4][5]

Nominations are submitted by EMP Museum members but the selections are made by "award-winning science fiction authors, artists, editors, publishers, and film professionals."[6]

After inducting the class of 2012 there are 69 members—an odd number because five people were honored in 2008, exceptionally.[9]

Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductions[8][5]
Founders Circle at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame

Architecture [edit]

Design by Frank Gehry

EMP is located on the campus of Seattle Center, adjacent to the Space Needle and the Seattle Center Monorail, which runs through the building. The structure itself was designed by Frank Gehry, and resembles many of his firm's other works in its sheet-metal construction, such as Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Gehry Tower. Much of the building material is exposed in the building's interior. The building contains 140,000 square feet (13,000 m2), with a 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) footprint. The name of the museum's central Sky Church pays homage to Jimi Hendrix. A concert venue capable of holding up to 800 guests, Sky Church boasts 70-foot ceilings, state-of-the-art sound and lighting, and a mammoth indoor HD LED screen.[16] 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."[17] 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, "has created some wonderful buildings, like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, but his Seattle effort, the Experience Music Project, is not one of them."[18] New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp described it as "something that crawled out of the sea, rolled over, and died."[19] Forbes magazine called it one of the world's 10 ugliest buildings.[19] Others describe it as a "blob"[20] or call it "The Hemorrhoids".[18] 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.”[21] The outside of the building which features a fusion of textures and colors, including gold, silver, deep red, blue and a "shimmering purple haze,"[22] has been declared "an apt representation of the American rock experience."[23]

Finances [edit]

The Sky church

The museum has had mixed financial success.[24][25] 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.[26] The exhibit was entitled DoubleTake: From Monet to Lichtenstein. The exhibit included Roy Lichtenstein's The Kiss (1962), Pierre-Auguste Renoir's The Reader (1877), Vincent van Gogh's Orchard with Peach Trees in Blossom (1888), Pablo Picasso's Four Bathers (1921) and several works of art from Claude Monet including one of the Water Lilies paintings (1919) and The Mula Palace (1908).[27] Since then the museum has organized numerous exhibitions focused more specifically on popular culture:Sound and Vision: Artists Tell Their Stories, which opened February 28, 2007, for example, brought together both music and science fiction in a single exhibit, and drew on the museum's extensive collection of oral history recordings.[28] The museum's recent exhibitions have ranged from horror cinema, video games, and black leather jackets to fantasy film and literature.

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ • "Exhibitions / Past Exhibitions". Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum (empsfm.org). Archived 2007-09-23. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
    • "Exhibitions / Past Exhibitions". Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum (empsfm.org). Archived 2011-01-27. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
    • "Exhibitions / Past Exhibitions". EMP Museum (empmuseum.org). Archived 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  2. ^ "Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame". Travel Guides: Seattle. The New York Times. July 7, 2009. Archived 2009-07-07. Retrieved 2013-04-27. Footer: "Content Provided by Frommer's Unlimited. Excerpted from Frommer's Seattle 2009 © 2009  [ — space — ]  Powered By Frommers".
  3. ^ a b c Kareiva, Celina (January 19, 2012). "Coming to EMP: Hendrix, AC/DC — and some leather, too". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
  4. ^ a b c "Guide to EMP's 'Icons of Science Fiction'". CBS Seattle. May 22, 2012. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  5. ^ a b c d "Science Fiction Hall of Fame: EMP Museum Announces the 2012 Science Fiction Hall of Fame Inductees". EMP Museum (empmuseum.org). Version 2011–2012 at Internet Archive. Archived 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  6. ^ a b "Science Fiction Hall of Fame". EMP Museum (empmuseum.org). Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  7. ^ "Jim Henson's Fantastic World". Exhibitions / Past Exhibitions. Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum (empsfm.org). Version 2007–2011 at Internet Archive. Archived 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  8. ^ a b c "Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame" (official website to 2004). Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  9. ^ a b "2008 Science Fiction Hall of Fame Ceremony Tickets On Sale May 15". Press release April/May 2008. Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (empsfm.org). Archived 2008-05-10. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  10. ^ "It's Official! Inductees Named for 2005 Hall of Fame Class". Press release March 24, 2005. Science Fiction Museum (sfhomeworld.org). Archived 2005-03-26. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  11. ^ "Presenting the 2006 Hall of Fame Inductees". Press release March 15, 2006. Science Fiction Museum (sfhomeworld.org). Archived April 26, 2006. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  12. ^ "Science Fiction Hall of Fame to Induct Ed Emshwiller, Gene Roddenberry, Ridley Scott and Gene Wolfe". Press release March/April/May 2007. Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (empsfm.org). Archived 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  13. ^ "EMP|SFM Announces its 2009 Science Fiction Hall of Fame Inductions". Press release 2009(?). Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (empsfm.org). Archived 2009-08-14. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  14. ^ "Science Fiction Hall of Fame". [Quote: "EMP|SFM is proud to announce the 2010 Hall of Fame inductees: ..."]. Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (empsfm.org). Archived 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  15. ^ "Science Fiction Hall of Fame". [Quote: "EMP is proud to announce the 2011 Hall of Fame inductees: ..."]. May/June/June 2011. EMP Museum (empmuseum.org). Archived 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  16. ^ Benedetti, Winda (June 22, 2000). "The Sky Church: A sanctuary for rock disciples". Seattle PI. Retrieved 2007-06-19. [dead link]
  17. ^ Downey, Roger (February 18, 1998). "Experience This!". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved 2006-10-22.[dead link]
  18. ^ a b Raban, Jonathan (April 4, 2004). "Deference to nature keeps Seattle from becoming world-class city]". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2006-11-24. 
  19. ^ a b Barnett, Erica C. (June 17, 2004). "EMPty: The Experience Music Project is a flop on all fronts--financial, musical, and intellectual". The Stranger. Retrieved 2006-11-24. 
  20. ^ Cheek, Lawrence W. (September 26, 2006). "On Architecture: Corrugated steel is a nice wrinkle". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2006-11-26. [dead link]
  21. ^ "Experience Music Project Review". Seattle. Fodor's Travel Guides (fodors.com). Archived 2010-08-18. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  22. ^ Enlow, Clair (July 12, 2000). "Frank Gehry Rock Temple". Architecture Week 9.
  23. ^ Skelton, Lauren (2008). "EMP: Experience Music Project". Seattle.net. Archived 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  24. ^ Cook, John (January 8, 2002). "Recent layoffs at local companies: Experience Music Project". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2006-10-22.[dead link]
  25. ^ Associated Press (March 22, 2005). "Experience Music Project still struggling five years later". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
  26. ^ Farr, Sheila (November 29, 2005). "Paul Allen's Experience Art Project". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
  27. ^ "Full List of Works Announced for Upcoming DoubleTake: From Monet to Lichtenstein Exhibition". Press release. March 21, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-22.[dead link]
    "From Monet to Lichtenstein: Exclusively @ EMP". Press releases 2005/2006 (directory). Archived 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  28. ^ • "The EMP|SFM Oral History Program". Programs / Oral History. Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum (empsfm.org). Archived 2007-09-21. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
    • "The EMP|SFM Oral History Program". Programs / Oral History. EMP Museum (empmuseum.org). Archived 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2013-03-19.

External links [edit]

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Coordinates: 47°37′17″N 122°20′55″W / 47.6215°N 122.3486°W / 47.6215; -122.3486

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