SAAM Stories
Image Not Available
11/22/2005
Easily one of the iconic visual artworks from the last few decades—and all the more so for having been seen by so few people—Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty (1970) has possibly never looked better. Underwater for years, the land art sculpture reemerged in 2002 after the Great Salt Lake's waters subsided slightly.
Kriston
![Media - 1985.66.86 - SAAM-1985.66.86_1 - 81461](http://cdn.saam.media/EPLTvr_PruEVN38QnjaUwXdxi8M/960/0/center/cover/jpg/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ec1vt3scx7rr.cloudfront.net%2Ffiles%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2F1985%2FSAAM-1985.66.86_1.jpg)
11/15/2005
A little background: In the 1830s George Catlin, a painter, traveled across the Great Plains in order to document the "manners, customs, and conditions" of the Native American Plains tribes. Catlin roughly followed the Missouri River, journeying nearly 2,000 miles, and in doing so produced his Indian Gallery, a body of work that catalogued individuals and activities of fifty different tribes.
Kriston
![Media - 1990.55 - SAAM-1990.55_1 - 52079](http://cdn.saam.media/rs5I1x2WlzVZ2CIwnTl87XwPIJ0/960/0/center/cover/jpg/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ec1vt3scx7rr.cloudfront.net%2Ffiles%2Fartwork%2Fimages%2Fbb4a0004efdd306e96e99273e57d7210.jpg)
11/02/2005
Edward Winkleman wrote about Andrew Wyeth recently, commenting on the distinction between art we love for the pure visual pleasure it provides and the art we value conceptually. Winkleman observes, "In the end, this discussion seems to turn on whether we place more value on concept or pleasure in artwork. . . . [I]f we're honest, we'll admit we don't have as many qualms about celebrating concept sans pleasure . . . it's just the other way around that makes us squeamish."
Kriston
![Media - 2003.39.1 - SAAM-2003.39.1_1 - 61866](http://cdn.saam.media/SvxkC1PKrK5N5Dn9GtqamPA3sX4/960/0/center/cover/jpg/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ec1vt3scx7rr.cloudfront.net%2Ffiles%2Fartwork%2Fimages%2Fb6f96f7dcec9f70d64f612d61cabd8a0.jpg)
10/31/2005
I don't think I'm alone when I say that, from time to time, an artist whose work I've always casually admired will—without warning—completely capture my attention. In my case, after some light research into the artist's background, I began devouring anything I could find about Sean Scully and his abstract work.
Kriston
![Cottingham and Clyde's](http://cdn.saam.media/8Vy5KYjxyhYx7l_7ouw-SvV5DfA/960/0/center/cover/jpg/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ec1vt3scx7rr.cloudfront.net%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2F2018-08%2Fcottingham_clydes.jpg)
10/20/2005
When you work in an office building, especially if you sit at a computer all day, you need to force yourself to get outside every once and a while. Fortunately a stroll around here often rewards one with something interesting to see. The museum is in a neighborhood full of change: new stores, restaurants, clubs, and dwellings open every day, not to mention the hubbub of the renovation of our building.
Michael
![Media - 1980.49.11 - SAAM-1980.49.11_1 - 6023](http://cdn.saam.media/Sbmv0MkzfHu3jrsYYPh3vgNoi_I/960/0/center/cover/jpg/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ec1vt3scx7rr.cloudfront.net%2Ffiles%2Fartwork%2Fimages%2Fd7ba64050f2f1aac9b6651998be7b7cc.jpg)
10/14/2005
While focusing on providing material aid and relief to the thousands displaced by Hurricane Katrina, it's certainly the case that much in the way of charity will be required to rebuild the unique cultural capital that is New Orleans and to restore the many Gulf Coast arts institutions damaged by the storm and subsequent flood.
Kriston
Image Not Available
10/07/2005
Peter Schjeldahl said that he didn't think it was important that the community of art lovers (the "tent") grow much larger than it is right now—that art shouldn't play a larger role in the lives of Americans.
Kriston