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Astounding!
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Waking refreshed and ready to go, our strategy (as it usually is) was to get the important things out of the way and then continue on leisurely. With that said, it was a day trip to Bilbao. Well worth the bus fare, this city doesn't offer much, but what it does have is incredible to any artist or art lover... the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum.
Designed by Frank Gehry and opened in 1997, this building for the Guggenheim Museum is why so many people make the extra trip to visit. Gehry's design offers a glimpse into 21st century architecture, by using cutting-edge technologies, unusual materials, and daring forms he created a piece of sculpture that not only incorporates well with its surroundings, but also with the art work housed within. Using limestone and titanium tiles it gives the building a fish-scale type look integrating it with the river behind. The jostling forms also portray sails setting out to sea. All coming from his child-like fascination with carp, Gehry does an outstanding job with this museum.
Sitting outside the building, almost drawing your attention away, but not quite, is Jeff Koons' living landscape. Answering to the name of 'Puppy' he created a massive dog sculpture, out of wire mesh, with year-round blooming flowers covering the exterior. It reminded me of 'Rover' the big red dog, only full of colorful blotches! Yet another Koons' masterpiece!
The exterior of this museum is so entertaining it's hard to believe people actually make it inside for the exhibitions, but once inside you realize how spectacular this museum is as a whole. Only one permanent collection exists and if that were all that you got to see you would leave satisfied. Richard Serra's iron sculptures still continue to amaze my father and I. He addresses the issue of creating environments with differing effects on the viewers' movement and perception. Using spirals, spheres, and ellipses the viewer's movement through each piece shifts in unexpected ways leaving you with unforgettable sensations of space in motion. These sculptures were created using advanced computer technology and the help of manufacturing companies to form massive iron panels, which are then joined together to make various ellipses that you walk through, in and out of, or around. A didactic room explains his inspiration and planning for this huge instillation.
Another notable artist's works on exhibit, including one piece as a permanent collection, were those of Anselm Kiefer. Huge paintings using mixed media from oil and acrylic paints to steal, wood, glue, plaster, ash, rust, sunflowers, blood, clothes, pottery, chairs, to name just a few hung like giant landscapes. Greatly influenced by the 2nd World War, as he is German, these painting brought a shocking feel to the viewer. The audio guide, that is included with this museum, knocked our socks off and after only a few hours my brain was mush after so much information.
Not wanting to leave, but needing a mental break and having seen it all, we headed back outside for one last walk around the building before taking the bus back to San Sebastian. This time our dinner picnic was on the move as we drove through the mountains and sat in a major traffic jam. This was the perfect day for a museum visit and now it was time to play on the beach!
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