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Blog #2 — 5 Comments
10
Sep 17

The Guggenheim Rollercoaster

On a sunny Tuesday morning, I arrived early to the first museum of many I will be attending this year as a part of my Macaulay class. As a result of my promptness, I had time to spare before entering the Guggenheim to meet with my fellow classmates. So, I walked across the street to Central Park and sat on a bench and read a book. In my opinion, Central Park was the first museum I stepped into that day. The park is full of foliage, peace and natural beauty.  When time came to enter the Guggenheim, I looked up at the museum and was amazed at its beautifully unique structure. The architecture of the museum was remarkable and upon entering the museum, I appreciated how the natural sunlight seeped from the top of the building as the spiral ramp hugged the surrounding walls that overflowed with art. The first topic of discussion initiated by the tour guide was the elephant in the room, the architecture. Who created it? And why did the architect build the museum like this?

The docent informed the class that the Guggenheim was built by the renowned architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, in1959. Wright had intentional motives for all the details of the museum. The location of the Guggenheim is right next to Central Park, thus, Wright built big glass windows facing the park. Wright purposely built these windows to escape the noise, distraction and congestion of the city while providing inspiration from nature. I wholeheartedly agree and experienced this isolation and inspiration when I arrived early to the museum. Additionally, the exposed rotunda presented the onlookers the special opportunity to view the art from different levels simultaneously. For example, as I walked up the ramp, the tour guide pointed down to a painting from on a lower level that we had seen earlier. When observing it from a farther and higher angle the painting became fascinatingly clearer.

Walking through the Guggenheim made me wonder how the museum choose its art and the frames that surround them? Is it the name of the artist or the artists’ followers that make the paintings grant entry into the museum? I was overwhelmed by the grandeur of the Guggenheim, that I never got answers to these questions. I hope on my next visit to a museum I explore these questions further.

I began to think as to why my grandma’s work is not hanging in the Guggenheim? My personal experience with art growing up were these beautiful landscapes water color paintings my grandmother made. Her artwork always drew my attention and my support. When looking at Pablo Picasso’s painting, arguably the most famous painter of the 20th century, I thought about how, if I were to open a museum or gallery, my grandma’s work deserved to be displayed next to Picasso’s The Poet.

 

The painting on the left is Picasso’s The Poet

My Grandma’s Artwork

Before the Mirror by Édouard Manet

Before the Mirror by Édouard Manet from a level above

Guggenheim “Rollercoaster (interior design of the museum)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew Langer

Blog #2 — 2 Comments
08
Sep 17

Winding Experience

As I stared up the winding rails of the Guggenheim, the memories of my five-year-old self came flooding back.

As a child, my mother was very adamant about taking me to endless amounts of museums and exhibits hoping to create a “cultured” child. I’m not sure if I could consider myself “cultured” by her/our society’s own definition, but I do think I’ve had a great amount of exposure to other cultures, especially through art.

So now, thirteen years later, the memories of myself as a child and being dragged to and fro to museums came flooding back as I walked along 5th avenue towards the Guggenheim. The complete awe of the scenery around 5th avenue has always amazed me since I was a child. Now, as I took the time walking down the avenue, I admired the scenery that seemed to stay the exact same as I remembered as a child.

Stepping into the Guggenheim brought nostalgia as I remembered myself as a small child looking up at the white winding ramp. I was amazed with how architecturally different this museum was compared to the MET or the Natural History Museum. As I view it now, the same amount of wonder and interest that flooded me as a child still encapsulated my mind.

Now, as I look at the architectural lay out and relate it to “American society” and its past and present, I can see the winding ramp almost as a path through time. As the viewer ascends the ramp, the viewer can see the progression of the art through time. The Guggenheim, in this sense, sets up the viewer to experience a predetermined tour without the viewer consciously realizing it. The lay out of the museum almost forces the visitor to go through the process of only going in two directions: up or down. You could try to be a rebel and start in the middle, but you’d still have to walk past the previous pieces of art in the same winding pattern. The Guggenheim then sets up the visitor to go through a designated path to see the pieces of art in a certain way.

In terms of the tour, I thought it was very informative. The tour wasn’t overwhelming with information, but I do wish it was more inclusive of the entire exhibit as a whole instead of just background information of the collectors. I did love how engaging our guide was by making us think past the mere background information of the specific piece of art. Of course, I did have class soon so I wasn’t able to fully appreciate the entire exhibit and truly be independent in my own thought process while looking throughout the whole museum.

The exhibition itself was very intriguing since I was able to see how the collectors’ entire lives revolved around collecting pieces of art. I questioned “why” and “what is their thought process when collecting certain pieces of art?” What must they be thinking? Is it pure aesthetic driven or personal friendships with a certain artist? As I viewed several pieces of art, these thoughts invaded my mind.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the tour and the opportunity to remind myself of my young, naïve self.

Claire Ng