Abstract Patterns, Experience Music Project Walls, Seattle
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The exterior of the Experience Music Project (“EMP”) by the Space Needle at the Seattle Center, provides the photographer with an almost unlimited number of opportunities to create wonderful abstract patterns and designs.
When Frank O. Gehry began designing EMP, he was inspired to create a structure that evoked the rock ‘n’ roll experience without being too literal. He purchased several electric guitars, sliced them into pieces, and used them as building blocks for an early model design.
A fusion of textures and a myriad of colors, EMP’s exterior conveys all the energy and fluidity of music. Three thousand panels, made up of 21 thousand individually cut and shaped stainless steel and painted aluminum shingles, encase the outside of the building. Their individual finishes respond to different light conditions and appear to change when viewed from different angles, reminding audiences that music and culture is constantly evolving.
The EMP, or to give it its full name, the “Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame” was founded by Microsoft founder Paul Allen in 2000. The museum has housed dozens of exhibitions since its founding, 17 of which have toured across the U.S. and internationally. In November 2016, the museum changed its name to the Museum of Pop Culture.
