This is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. It is one of several museums founded by the Guggenheim Foundation, and by far the most famous. (I have posted on the other famous one, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum). This one was designed by Frank O. Gehry. His style of architecture falls under the category "Deconstructivism". Here is a link about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstructivism. Gehry, though, does not associate himself with that style.
As I mentioned before, Gehry often used steel or titanium to clad his structures. That is evident here. Guggenheim Bilbao is totally recognizable with it's rippling walls, layers, and titanium panels that look like scales. Some people say the building looks like a bucket of flopping fish and others say a sailing ship. Both of these analogies tie right in with the fact that the museum is right on the river, and that Bilbao is a port. The design also looks natural, which is another aspect of Gehry's works. The complex curves would not have been possible twenty years ago; the building was designed with complex computer programs.
The building houses artist's works; some permanent, and others rotating out. The largest exhibit is "The Matter of Time" by Richard Serra:
It is housed in a 430 ft. gallery, and consists of curving weathered steel sculptures. Outside the museum are other sculptures including one called "Tulips" made from material blown up like a balloon:
and a gigantic statue of a puppy made from flowers:
By the entrance of the building is a tall sculpture of a spider which can be seen in the first picture in the post.
This building is VERY famous. It's pretty much put Bilbao on the map when the city was shutting down. Amazingly, critics, academics, and the public all love it. It was built on time and in budget as a result of careful supervision by Gehry. I would say this is the first building someone would associate Gehry with nowadays. I really like it.
No comments:
Post a Comment