Tuesday, we headed out about 10:30 for our timed entry to the
Guggenheim. It only took about 20
minutes to walk there. Again, I was
really impressed with this city – it is clean and feels very safe. The cars even stop at crosswalks to let you get across the street! Aside from the buildings from the last century, there are also some very impressive modern buildings as well. Of the numerous city walks we chose not to do, one was called Modern Bilbao so clearly there is something to be said about other parts of the city than just the old town.
The architect of the Guggenheim was Frank Gehry whose works are world-renowned. The building itself is the real attraction, I think, but then again I am not art aficionado! More photos of the building are further down in the blog. Aside from the photos we could take in the foyer, photography was prohibited in all the exhibits. So, other ones I have included in the blog, plus some of the text, are from the Internet.
The foyer has an installation in it which looks like a
multi-coloured octopus with its tentacles reaching throughout the space. It is quite something to see. Designed by Joana Vasconcelos, the monumental creature in the atrium called Egeria is one of the most ambitious of this important group of works inspired by the female characters from Norse mythology. The artist combined different industrial textiles with traditional handmade techniques and LED lights. This series of iconic pieces is characterized by its suspension from the ceiling and its unusual organic forms. Seductive bulbous shapes and elongated arms burst out of the main body reaching different levels of the building. Egeria will reveal an exuberant selection of colours, varied textures and rich details, resulting from an assertive combination of industrial textiles and artisanal techniques – patchwork, bead embroidery and crochet. The artist’s challenging work also incorporates thousands of LED lights, creating a spectacular play of light. Egeria will take on the character of a gentle guardian: the sublime heart of the museum that enlightens the creative spirit of woman.
More of Joana Vasconcelos' works were on the main floor with very interesting pieces often made with every day things – for example, one was a huge pair of high heels made from
pots and pans; another an enormous white chandelier that, when you got close, you realized was made from tampons; another, a pile of ringing telephones which were in the shape of a gun; and yet
another one, a helicopter made mostly from feathers. It was all apparently linked to feminism and the pieces were quite striking. It turns out the rooster and wedding ring photos I took yesterday around the exterior of the museum were also her works.
Recognizable from a distance, an imposing chandelier displays a candid cascade of glistening pendants. When stepping closer to it, the viewer is surprised. Appearing at first to be made of glass or crystal, the thousands of pendants are in fact immaculate feminine tampons. Its shine results, after all, from the reflection of light upon the transparent plastic wrappings of the thousands of tampons composing The Bride; a work thus titled in order to expose the imposition of a hypocritical and repressed feminine sexuality to the corrosive action of irony and ambiguity.
Call Center presents itself under the form of an enormous Beretta revolver built with 168 black landline telephones, each of the same exact model. The hyperbolized form of a Beretta revolver points directly towards the violence that may be produced through the power of mass communication. The title appears to report to the manipulation and dehumanized excess that is characteristic of many call centers.
The other exhibit on that floor is a permanent
one by an American, Richard Serra, called A Matter of Time. It is comprised of eight huge pieces of
torqued ellipses made of weathered steel and formed into giant curled walls
that you walk between. It is designed to make the visitor feel somewhat uncomfortable and reflective.
From there we went to the next floor which featured works by
Alberto Giocometti. His work, both
drawings and little sculptures, seemed dark and depressing to me. So, we moved on to the next exhibition which
was called Van Gogh to Picasso: the Thannhauser Legacy. This featured, obviously, works by Van Gogh
(mostly his newer and, in my opinion, not so weird stuff) and Picasso plus some others by
Monet, Renoir, and Henri Rousseau. They
were all part of a collection by the Thannhausers who were art dealers in
Europe in the mid-20th century and who came to New York in early 1930's.
Following that, we were pretty much done so we headed out to
take more photos of this iconic building.
It is really something to see. The only disappointment about the visit was that the iconic "flowered dog" was covered in scaffolding so we couldn't get a photo of it!
By
then, it was 1:30 and we set off to find somewhere to have lunch. It took a few tries and quite a bit of
walking but we really lucked out. We
went into a place called Restaurante Abando.
It was a bistro and we actually managed to sit on higher chairs. They had a set lunch menu for €15 which we
both ordered along with some rose wine.
I started with potatoes and green beans (Nawal had a salad) and then we
both had braised lamb served with chunky fries and lettuce. It was really good. The guy initially wasn’t very friendly to us
but we managed to get him to come around.
We had more wine and then dessert (included). I had some sort of caramel soaked cake (very
good) and Nawal had a chocolate cake. We
lingered there quite a while – it was packed and most people didn’t arrive
until 2:30 or 3. No wonder the Spanish
eat dinner so late! Anyway, it was a lot
of fun and a great way to finish off our time in Spain.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) we go our separate ways - Nawal to Amsterdam on her way home and me to Feldmeilen near Zurich to stay with my friends there a few days before I fly home next Tuesday.
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