Seattle Art Museum and Denver Art Museum bet on their team to win

January 27, 2014 – Seattle Art Museum  (SAM) and Denver Art Museum (DAM) are betting temporary loans of major works of art based on the outcome of Super Bowl XLVIII between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos.

The Stakes:

A majestic Native American mask reminiscent of a mighty “Seahawk” from SAM’s renowned Northwest Coast Native American art collection is wagered by Kimerly Rorschach, SAM’s Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director and CEO.

The Broncho Buster, a bronze icon of the West by Frederic Remington from the renowned western American art collection at the DAM is wagered by Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director.

The winning city will receive a three-month loan of the prized artwork. All shipping and expenses will be paid by the city that loses the big game.

“I’m confident that we will be enjoying Remington’s The Broncho Buster at SAM. We are already making plans to host it here in Seattle so that the 12^th Man can see it,” said Rorschach.

“We know the Broncos won’t be busted on Super Bowl Sunday,” Heinrich said. “I am looking forward to giving the losing team’s mascot a special place of honor in Bronco Nation.”

Reprinted courtesy Seattle Art Blog.

I remember standing in front of the Jasper Johns painting, willing all that color and light into my puny brain. I’d never seen anything like it. I’d grown up in a small town and I’d never been to a museum but now I was in art school in the big city and I couldn’t believe a painting could have so much depth and life. I breathed the words on the canvas, sussing out what the artist was trying to say to me. I was knocked out and I wanted to paint like that.

Now I incorporate text in my paintings all the time. I like the idea of the work having a kind of sound to it. People say the words and sometimes look at me, puzzled. It gets them thinking about what it’s trying to say and they find personal meaning. Just like I did, staring at that Johns painting. All those years ago.