My favorite part of the experience was the location of the Guggenheim. Its located in a beautiful area so the walk to the museum is very pleasant and relaxing. Once I got to the museum, the first thing I noticed was the dome shaped windows behind a small white cement rise. The domes were surrounded by all kinds of bright green plants. As I walked through the doors, my bag was searched and a man in a suit scanned my body with a metal detector. I began to think back o other museums I visited in NYC and couldn’t think of the last time I went through that kind of security. Once I walked in, I was confused to see such an open interior design. Standing from the bottom as I looked up to the spiral ramp, I could see a lot of the paintings on display. As my eyes reached the top, I noticed that although windows covered the whole dome shaped ceiling, there wasn’t much light coming into the museum. Quickly I remembered the dome windows outside that looked like exact mini replicas of the ceiling right above me. Reverting my attention back to the building I took notice of each level. The building kind of looked like a ramp but at the same time each level flowed so perfectly into the next, and so they all looked as if they would be divided by stairs. At the beginning of the tour, I quickly realized that the whole building was in fact a ramp. Once we began to explore the art and their connection I saw that the windows all over the building seemed to be taped over. The tour guide explained that sunlight deteriorates paintings and they installed light fixtures to mimic the sun ray. I thought it was very interesting that all of the artwork was so spread apart. Each time you looked at a piece of art, there was no other distraction. It was very easy to spend a lot of time on one piece because you weren’t getting pulled into all of the other pieces of art. The only pieces that were grouped together were usually by the same artist in the same era and style. A lot of the pieces and artists that we saw, were somehow connected to either each other or the building itself. As you walk up the ramp each piece transitions flawlessly into the next.
I think my favorite piece of art was the oil painting of the woman. Looking close up, the piece was blurry and used colors that didn’t really look natural (like greens in her hair). The woman was looking into a mirror but her reflection didn’t show any specific features. Because of the blurriness of the piece, it didn’t look very realistic, but as you walked back, farther away from where the painting was hanging, the picture became more clear. It eventually looked like it could be a photograph. All of the details that were once a blur, now made sense because of our limiting eyesight.
I think if I were to create my own museum, it would be a sculpture museum. I would maybe build the interior into a sort maze and give each sculpture its own little corner. I also would probably have hanging lights that focus on each piece of art from above. In addition, I’d like to have some music playing around the museum, maybe from each era of each piece so the museum includes other senses besides sight. I also like opulent things, and I would like for the sculptures and designs in my museum to almost me overwhelming. My museum would try to include as many undiscovered artists (that fit into the theme) as possible. It’s always interesting to see beautiful work produced by undiscovered talent.
Key words:
- maze like
- modern
- undiscovered artists
- opulent
- extravagant
- huge
- overwhelming
Tags: huge, mazelike, modern, opulant, overwhelming, undiscovered
I like the observations you had regarding the practicalities of the museum, like the thing about the sunlight, and how you noticed the pieces were spread out. I also find those kinds of details interesting. Your museum sounds like it would be really interesting, and I can tell you put a lot of thought into it. Based on the words you used I would say your museum’s building would definitely be unique.
Like you, I also thought at first the museum consisted of floors, until I started walking and didn’t encounter a staircase, but rather just got higher on the spiraling ramp. I can definitely appreciate the idea of a maze-like museum, where walking through the museum and looking at sculptures would be an interactive experience for viewers. I also like the idea of playing music relevant to the artwork, and I’m surprised that other art museums haven’t acted on this notion. Merely looking at art, though can be enriching, would definitely be a lot more interesting with a historical soundtrack playing in the background. Great analysis of the Guggenheim!
We both wrote about the oil painting of the woman in our blog posts. I was mesmerized by the idea that far away, the picture so much different then when we viewed it up close which I think is what has made the painting so contemporary and intricate. As for your keywords, I can definitely picture your museum to be in a building with glass instead of walls overlooking the city. The glass would allude a “huge” feeling to your museum and the view as well as the artwork all in one place can be considered “overwhelming”. Great observation of the oil painting and very nicely written blog post as well!