I did not know what to expect on my trip to the Guggenheim museum.  I have never been there before nor have I even heard of the museum prior to this assignment.  I held high expectations of the Guggenheim because I was excited to see Mapplethorpe’s work in person after reading so much about his life and his work.  As my classmates and I approached the Guggenheim, I was amazed at the architecture of the building.  It had an impressive appearance and I was anxious to get inside.  When I walked in, I noticed drilling noises and my attention quickly turned to the group of construction men working in hard caps.  As I was paying for my ticket, I asked the lady behind the desk if they were doing work on the museum.  She said they were doing construction and the whole ramp was off limits.  I then asked her where I could find the Mapplethorpe exhibit and she told me there was not an exhibit of Mapplethorpe’s work in the museum, but there was an exhibit in his name for the large donations he had made to the museum.  Somewhat disappointed, I decided to try and stay enthusiastic as we made our way up to the top floor.  I was amazed at the ramp and all the artwork lying around waiting to be hung along the ramp.  We entered the exhibit on the top floor, I noticed book pages hung up along the wall with what appeared to be doodles or stamp marks in the middle of all the pages.  In this room there was a blanket laid on the floor with security guards actively making sure no one stepped within a foot of the blanket.  There was also an art piece with metal rods hanging on strings from the ceiling.  Unimpressed, we browsed another exhibit and had the same uninterested reaction.  Overall, although this trip to the Guggenheim was not the best, I would consider revisiting the museum when all of the exhibits and the ramp are opened.