TACOMA — Please do touch. That’s the unstated advice visitors to Seattle’s latest attraction are given.
WNDR Seattle opened on the city’s waterfront in late March. On Thursday, press and other guests were invited to tour the experiential space that merges art and technology with the counsel, “We are all artists.”
Artists, both local and international, are exhibited.
Andy Arkley, once based in Seattle and soon again, he said Thursday, has built a wall of shapes, colors and lights.
“When they were opening a museum here in Seattle, I was like, ‘Please, let me do something here,’ ” he said Thursday.
If You Go
What: WNDR Seattle
Where: 904 Alaskan Way, Seattle.
When: Noon to 9 p.m., daily.
Admission: $32 adults, $22 child (3-12), free for ages 2 and under.
Information: wndrmuseum.com/location/seattle/
The color and intensity of the lights in Arkley’s installation and its accompanying sounds can be controlled by a panel of 16 buttons.
“This piece is a way for somebody to sort of connect with me through my art,” he said.
In one of the few parts of the museum with windows, one of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s trademark gourds is on display. Kusama is known as “the princess of polka dots” and this piece lives up to her reputation.
This WNDR (pronounced “wonder”) is the third in a chain that opened recently. The others are in Chicago and San Diego, with another slated for Boston.
WNDR representative Eric Sawitoski said WNDR began as a pop-up in Chicago.
“As people were looking for more experiences to get out, the decision was made for it to become permanent,” he said. “And then with that decision, expansion became part of the business.”
While the core of visitors to WNDR are in the 18-35 age category, the museum appeals to anyone who wants to create art, even if it’s ephemeral, he said.
Light shows
If Thursday night’s reception was an indicator, one of WNDR’s most popular exhibits will be a greenhouse-like structure created by Studio Leigh Sachwitz. Visitors can watch from outside or inside the structure (it’s called “Insideout”) as projectors recreate an artistic version of a storm, first with rain drops and then lightning. A thin mist permeates the air, adding to its surreal quality.
Another popular exhibit is an infinity room, completely covered (floor, walls, ceiling) in mirrors. A large video display plays thematic images of your choice. The room holds only four people, so visitors might have to queue up for entry.
Artificial intelligence, the current bogeyman or darling in the tech and art worlds, is part of the museum. “Untitled By You” allows visitors to type in key words and then quickly see several AI-generated images on screens.
In other areas, floors and walls interact with a visitor’s touch and movements, creating personal light shows.
There is one thing very traditional about this museum. Visitors exit through the gift shop.
