First off, I would like to applaud the Guggenheim for not only being extraordinary but for also diminishing any fear of claustrophobia I thought I would have in the museum. You see, as sad as it sounds, that is what comes to mind when I hear of “museums.” Personally, I’ve never been to a museum, so I went in blindfolded thinking it would be just how the stereotypes portray it. Small white rooms with bland pieces of art priced at extreme prices with a security guard yelling at you not to touch it. That wasn’t my experience however and if anything, it wasn’t even close to that. The Guggenheim had this wonderful way of expressing itself to the viewer and it was through nature. I cannot stress enough how much of an impact the location, Central Park, had on the overall experience of the museum. The museum showcased this sense of nature and openness to the world by being covered in small portions of grass, a fountain and an amazing open sky window. Small details such as triangle shaped headlights, golden water fountains, white wall separating the art, and the positioning of the artwork gave it that “wow”. These details showed how modernized the Guggenheim was as a whole and it told the story of American society in the past and even the present. In the past, I would expect a museum to be just as I thought they would, but the Guggenheim took a more modern and urban approach due to its location and its sole purpose, which is to portray beautiful works of art in the appropriate surroundings. This makes it almost “belong” in today’s present society by giving us that futuristic feeling just by the shape and structure alone. All of these aspects played a huge role on being an amazing trip but the one question I had every time we looked at a painting was, “why does it just stand there?” Why does this piece of history, that tells thousands of different stories to anyone visiting, just stand there? That question spiked me to think that this is what the influence of the museum truly does have. People, just regular generic people like myself who don’t go from museum to museum, look at paintings and think “Well I can draw two lines and a box”, but after walking just once around the loop that thought changed. It went from, “It’s a box” to “The message Piet Mondrian is trying to display in his painting ‘Lozenge with Four Lines’ is remarkable!” That’s what separated the Guggenheim from all these stereotypes that go around about museums being “boring.” It wasn’t only open to the public to observe, but the art was given to you in the raw form without any adjustments. The REAL Pablo Picasso’s painting was just hanging right in front of my eyes. The tour guide, the vibe, bright colors, tourists, amazing artwork, and even the gold water fountains, made the museum an experience to remember.
Tags: Elegance, Lively, Relatable, Symmetry, Unrestricted, Urban
Couldn’t agree more with your opening statements about your uncertainty going to a museum. As someone who hasn’t visited many museums as well, I can definitely empathize with you. For me the location also greatly helped to ease my mind of any fears as well. The detailed aspects of the Museum helped to separate it from other museums I have gone too and that helped leave a lasting impression on me as well. Liked how you mentioned the simplicity of the paintings as well, I often thought to myself that I could probably draw three lines on a blank white canvas and make millions off of it as well, but the meaning it had during that time period is what sets it apart. Overall, loved how relatable you made your blog, great job!