Museum of Pop Culture

MoPOP

View of MoPOP from the Seattle Center with the monorail traveling through it
Established 2000
Location 325 5th Avenue N
Seattle, Washington
Coordinates 47°37′17″N 122°20′55″W / 47.6215°N 122.3486°W / 47.6215; -122.3486
Type Popular culture, music, science fiction, video games
Website www.MoPOP.org
Monorail tracks going through the MoPOP building

The Museum of Pop Culture, or MoPOP (earlier called EMP Museum) is a nonprofit museum, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since that time MoPOP has organized dozens of exhibits, 17 of which have toured across the US and internationally.

The museum, which used to be known as Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (EMP|SFM) and later EMP Museum until November 2016, has founded many 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.

MoPOP, 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 Seattle Cinerama Theater.

Activities

Nighttime view of MoPOP
Guitar sculpture at MoPOP

MoPOP is home to exhibits, interactive activity stations, sound sculpture, and various educational resources.

Science Fiction Museum

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 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame which had been established in 1996 (below). 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."[4] 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 2012,[5][6] at which time the new Hall of Fame display was unveiled and the class of 2012 inducted.[7][8]

Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame was founded 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 (2002–2004). Only writers and editors were eligible for recognition and four were inducted annually, two deceased and two living. Each class of four was announced at Kansas City's annual science fiction convention, ConQuesT, and inducted at the Campbell Conference hosted by CSSF.[9][10]

The Hall of Fame stopped inducting fantasy writers after 2004, when it became part of the Science Fiction Museum affiliated with MoPOP, under the name "Science Fiction Hall of Fame". Having inducted 36 writers in nine years, in 2005 it began to recognize non-literary media.[9] It retained the quota of four new members and thus reduced the annual number of writers. The 2005 and 2006 press releases placed new members in "Literature", "Art", and "Film, Television and Media", and "Open" categories, one each.[11][12] In 2007 and 2008 the fourth inductee was placed in one of the three substantial categories.[13][14]

MoPOP de-installed the Science Fiction Museum in March 2011. When the exhibition "Icons of Science Fiction" opened in June 2012, a new Hall of Fame display was unveiled and the class of 2012 inducted.[5][6][7]

Nominations are submitted by the public but the selections are made by "award-winning science fiction authors, artists, editors, publishers, and film professionals."[15]

MoPOP restored the original name online during June 2013 and announced five new members, one daily, beginning June 17. The first four were cited largely or wholly for science fiction but the last was J.R.R. Tolkien, "hailed as the father of modern fantasy literature".[16]

The class of 2014 brings the number of members to 84, four annually except five in 2008 and 2013 to 2015.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inductions[9][17]

MoPOP rebrand

In November 2016 EMP Museum announced a rebrand to Museum of Pop Culture, or MoPOP.[22] In an email to current and past members, CEO and Director Patty Isacson Sabee wrote:

Spanning science fiction, fantasy, horror, fashion, sports, and video games, MoPOP reflects our vision for curating, exploring, and supporting the creative works that shape and inspire our lives.

Architecture

The Sky church
An exterior view of the building

MoPOP 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.[23] 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. Magnusson Klemencic Associates of Seattle, Washington were the structural engineers for the project.[24]

Design by Frank Gehry

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."[25] 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."[26] New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp described it as "something that crawled out of the sea, rolled over, and died."[27] Forbes magazine called it one of the world's 10 ugliest buildings.[27] Others describe it as a "blob"[28] or call it "The Hemorrhoids".[26] 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.”[29] The outside of the building which features a fusion of textures and colors, including gold, silver, deep red, blue and a "shimmering purple haze,"[30] has been declared "an apt representation of the American rock experience."[31]

Finances

The museum has had mixed financial success.[32][33] 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 MoPOP.[34] 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).[35] 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.[36] The museum's recent exhibitions have ranged from horror cinema, video games, and black leather jackets to fantasy film and literature.

References

  1. ↑ Frank Hammel. "PLSN - Seattle's EMP Equipped with High-Res LED Display for Sky Church Music Venue". plsn.com.
  2. ↑ http://nealpotterdesign.co.uk/3.html During 1997 Neal worked alongside Frank Gehry Architects and the EMP curatorial team to establish a masterplan for the attraction. The detail design was undertaken locally. Originally called "The Collision Sculpture", the point of collision of different genres of music to create rock and roll. A living electronic sculpture as relevant today as it might have been in 1955
  3. ↑ http://empmuseum.org/at-the-museum/museum-features/if-vi-was-ix.aspx More than 500 musical instruments and 30 computers were used to create IF VI WAS IX. Created by Seattle-based sound sculptor, Trimpin, IF VI WAS IX is equipped with earphones that allow audiences to tune into the various musical permutations performed.
  4. ↑ "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".
  5. 1 2 Kareiva, Celina (January 19, 2012). "Coming to EMP: Hendrix, AC/DC — and some leather, too". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
  6. 1 2 "Guide to EMP's 'Icons of Science Fiction'". CBS Seattle. May 22, 2012. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  7. 1 2 3 "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.
  8. ↑ "Science Fiction Hall of Fame". EMP Museum (empmuseum.org). Archived 2013-05-31. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  9. 1 2 3 "Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame" (official website to 2004). Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  10. ↑ "Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame". 2005(?). Center for the Study of Science Fiction (sfcenter.ku.edu). University of Kansas. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  11. 1 2 "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.
  12. 1 2 "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.
  13. 1 2 "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.
  14. 1 2 "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.
  15. 1 2 "Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame". EMP Museum (empmuseum.org). Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  16. 1 2 "Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame". [June 17 to 21, 2013]. EMP Museum (empmuseum.org). Archived 2013-06-23. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  17. ↑ "Science Fiction Hall of Fame". Science Fiction Awards Database (sfadb.com). Mark R. Kelly and the Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  18. ↑ "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.
  19. ↑ "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.
  20. ↑ "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.
  21. ↑ "2015 SF&F Hall of Fame Inductees & James Gunn Fundraiser". June 12, 2015. Locus Science Fiction Foundation (locusmag.com). Retrieved 2015-07-16.
  22. ↑ Daniels, Chris (Nov 15, 2016). "Experience Music Project gets new name: MoPOP". KING5 News. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  23. ↑ Benedetti, Winda (June 22, 2000). "The Sky Church: A sanctuary for rock disciples". Seattle PI. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
  24. ↑ "404 - Page Not Found" (PDF). modernsteel.com.
  25. ↑ Downey, Roger (February 18, 1998). "Experience This!". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved 2006-10-22. Archived May 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  26. 1 2 Raban, Jonathan (April 4, 2004). "Deference to nature keeps Seattle from becoming world-class city]". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2006-11-24.
  27. 1 2 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.
  28. ↑ Cheek, Lawrence W. (September 26, 2006). "On Architecture: Corrugated steel is a nice wrinkle". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved 2006-11-26.
  29. ↑ "Experience Music Project Review""Experience Music Project Review". Seattle. Fodor's Travel Guides (fodors.com). Archived 2010-08-18. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  30. ↑ Enlow, Clair (July 12, 2000). "Frank Gehry Rock Temple". Architecture Week 9.
  31. ↑ Skelton, Lauren (2008). "EMP: Experience Music Project". Seattle.net. Archived 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  32. ↑ Cook, John (January 8, 2002). "Recent layoffs at local companies: Experience Music Project". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
  33. ↑ Associated Press (March 22, 2005). "Experience Music Project still struggling five years later". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
  34. ↑ Farr, Sheila (November 29, 2005). "Paul Allen's Experience Art Project". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
  35. ↑ "Full List of Works Announced for Upcoming DoubleTake: From Monet to Lichtenstein Exhibition". Press release. March 21, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
    "From Monet to Lichtenstein: Exclusively @ EMP". Press releases 2005/2006 (directory). Archived 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2013-04-27. Archived September 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  36. ↑ • "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.
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