Usually you go to museums for what's on the inside, for the priceless treasures that lurk inside what are usually quite generic how-many-Grecian-columns-can-we-wrap-around-the-outside type buildings. But not the Guggenheim Bilbao. Like her legendary sister on Manhattan's Museum Mile, Guggy B. is the star attraction; what's inside comes a distant second to the spectacular Frank Gehry designed exterior.
That's no building, it's a walk-in sculpture.
Lost your marbles?
The surrounding moat accentuates the ethereal quality of the building; despite its monumental scale it seems to float effortlessly above the ground.
Even the support structure has a sculptural quality to it.
A giant floral dog seems a little incongruous in front of the Guggenheim's sleek lines. But that's modern art for you; throw it all together and see what happens. Or, in artsy speak, challenge the viewer's innate perception of reality through the juxtaposition of disparate forms. Yeah, yeah, you're not alone, the art history examiners didn't buy that BS either.
Oh look, it's those dudes who barely scraped through 7th Form Art...
The windows have a scalar, reptilian quality to them. Shades of Gaudi there for sure.
Sometimes the absence of form is more powerful of all. Kind of like how this blog would speak louder without this inane commentary.
These days any good sculptural exhibit needs a corporate sponsorship. In this case ArcelorMittal has been kind enough to provide the steel. Keep that in mind next time some Williamsburg hipster tries to tell you that artists would never sell their soul to those corporate thugs.
Modern art always leaves one with that "huh?" feeling. But since that doesn't sell a lot of art history text books, they came up with phrases like "a thought provoking examination of spacial perception".
Mei's idea of art is those fine etchings you see on dollar bills.
ArcelorMittal's generous sponsorship probably just saved some starving artist's ear.
Guggenheim's brilliance is that one can never quite tell where the artwork ends and building begins.
Disney's Up, without the annoying chubby kid. Until Rock wanders into frame.
We're just going to cut out the four hours and 400 km on a sweltering Spanish roads and fast forward straight to Madrid. Although even at 4x you can probably hear the high pitched whining from certain individuals who will remain nameless. No wonder they scream Meiday when disasters strike. Ooops, did we give it away?
The Westin Palace is just that, old world Madrid at her best. Sending conquistadors to plunder loot from far off lands appears to be a winning strategy.
It's only when the clocks strike 10pm that things really get going. Every street in old Madrid is overflowing with tables and jugs on sangria.
Don't even think of heading back to the hotel before 2am.
It seems austerity has not yet extended to the Parks Department's tree trimming budget.
If you want to stand still in the blazing sun for another couple of hours, you might have the honor of appearing as a colorful smudge in this upcoming impressionist masterpiece. Just think, you could be the next Japanese Bridge.
Spanish love their arts almost as much as their football. Ok, fine, it's not even close. But still, they did put in the effort to convert a old greenhouse into a sculpture hall.
It's Real Madrid territory around here dude.
Street art in Spain comes in all forms, including these penguins who are a long way from the South Pole.
Spanish drivers actually turned out to be a lot less hot headed than expected. Until now.
Back on two feet - a wise move, best master a pedal bike before upgrading to something with an engine.
How many old squares does one city need?
The Mercardo San Miguel is a paradise for food lovers. An old wrought iron and wood shed has been transformed into a buzzing marketplace of boutique food stands, serving up the best of Spanish cuisine. Here's Mei's favorite stall.
It's amazing how a Spanish cook can transform something as simple as a green pepper into a gourmet offering. Less amazing is how quickly Mei can devour it.
Senorita!
The royal palace evokes a time when Spain was a superpower without equal, pushing out the very edges of the known world as its sphere of power grew. At least they still have their world beating football team...
If Spain wins Euro 2012 we'll see a few more cars like this rollicking down the street.
Is this a great country or what?
Finally, a portal of liquidity in a barren land.
And with that, we finish on a high note. They can take down our bonds, but they'll never take our paella!
No comments:
Post a Comment