The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao Amanda Rorabaugh 1 st Period 8/23/10

The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is a modern art museum that is considered to be one of the most important and admired architectural creations of the 20 th century. Art found in the museum mostly focuses on post-World War painting and American and European sculptures. The museum encompasses an international network of museums and is also an educational and cultural center. There are other Guggenheim Museums found in New York, Venice, Berlin, and Abu Dhabi. The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

The architecture found in the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum is very complex. Although at first glance the design may seem random, it is specially constructed to reflect light from the sun to give it a unique appearance. The many curves in the building are carefully arranged to catch sunlight properly. The museum is also made of special materials such as limestone, glass, and titanium. Architect Philip Johnson refers to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao as “the greatest building of our time.” However, although the building looks incredible, it is not entirely practical. The Construction of the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum

The Spanish Guggenheim Museum is located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. Bilbao is the fourth largest Spanish city. The lot is positioned alongside of the Nervion River. Bilbao is located in Northern Spain on the Bay of Biscay. The Guggenheim is considered the biggest landmark in Bilbao. The Guggenheim is very beneficial to the city. Because of its mass appeal, tourists are attracted to Bilbao, which is profitable for business in the country.

During the late 1980s, Basque Country went through major renovations. By 1991, many important facilities, such as the airport and subway system, had undergone new designs and improvements. In April and May of 1991, the Basque Government also decided to build a first-class cultural center in Bilbao. This would be the new Guggenheim Museum. The museum was officially opened on October 19, 1997.

Frank Gehry, a Canadian architect, was chosen to design the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao through an architectural competition. Gehry’s design was similar to Frank Lloyd Wright’s New York Guggenheim, but also gave the building its own, unique identity. In 1992 Juan Ignacio Vidarte, Director General of the Guggenheim Bilbao, was formally assigned the job of supervising the construction and development of the Guggenheim. Construction started in 1993 and the project was completed in Frank Gehry

When the Guggenheim first opened, a celebration was held in honor of its completion. Even Spain’s Queen Sofia and King Juan Carlos I attended this occasion. The government had high hopes that the Guggenheim would increase business in Bilbao. If the museum did not produce a profit, the money put into the expensive museum would be lost. People were confident, however, that the museum would bring about a lot of commerce to the city.

The hard work and money put into the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum paid off. As projected, people from across the world traveled to Bilbao to visit the newly built museum. Hundreds of thousands of tourists flooded into the city within the Guggenheim’s first years of establishment. The modern art interested many and the unique sculptures from foreign countries left visitors astonished. One of the Extraordinary Pieces of Art Found in the Guggenheim

Presently, the Guggenheim in Bilbao has almost ninety exhibits. Since the time it was built, over ten million people have visited the museum. The city of Bilbao is still benefitting from the tourism attracted by it. To this day, people from everywhere in the world still admire the stunning architecture and incredible diversity of art found in the Guggenheim museum. Puppy, the Huge Floral Mascot of the Guggenheim in Bilbao

The goal of the Guggenheim in Bilbao, to attract tourists, was reached. Not all present-day citizens of the city, however, appreciate the massive building. Although the architecture is beautiful, the museum is located almost in the center of Bilbao. This interrupts the flow of life through the city. When it was built, there was not much concern of how life would function around it. The main focus was on creating a building based more on looks than functionality.

Another issue with the Guggenheim was not realized until after it was built. Now that the enormous museum is the center of attention in Bilbao, many other attractions found in the city are ignored. The riverfront view is obstructed and vast public spaces feel smaller. The Guggenheim also does not possess enough security to monitor every bit of the vast space of the museum; safety is an issue for this reason. Many reports of thievery are reported, but there are very few times that anything is done in response.

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