The Guggenheim museum

The other day I decided to take a spontaneous trip to Bilbao. I wanted to go to Bilbao for several reasons, here are but a few: it is only a one hour and half bus journey away; the Guggenheim museum; and lastly I was told my aunt and uncle that the food there is fantastic and a meal alone is worth a trip to this lovely city. And one this particular Thursday, I wasn’t working. So, I thought why not? Why not spend the day in Bilbao? And so I did. Unfortunately, this time round, I wasn’t able to spend a lot of time in the city, as I had private classes in the evening. But, I did have a perfect amount of time to visit the Guggenheim museum, have some lunch and take a stroll through some beautiful gardens.

The first challenge was getting there. The bus journey from Santander was no issue; it was getting from the station in Bilbao to the museum that I wasn’t sure about. I had consulted Google who insisted that I should take public transport: a tram, or a bus and then a bit of walking. But, for some reason, it just didn’t seem right to me (or at least I thought there was an easier way). I subsequently decided to go old-school and simply ask the person working at the information desk. And you know what? It pays talking to people. Not only did he tell me, in a very rehearsed fashion (I imagine he gets asked where is the Guggenheim museum all the time), that I could get to the museum with a short 15 minute walk, he even gave me a map, and a tourist guide to Bilbao free of charge.

And so, using the map that I had been given, I arrived at the Guggenheim museum pretty swiftly. Just seeing the exterior is amazing – the architecture really is incredible! It’s very impressive and the backdrop adds to its aesthetics: Bilbao is a city, but it sits in a valley-type thing, and so behind some of the amazing architecture and tall building you can see the greenery of hills and mountains. And the curves of the buildings, as well as its jagged edges … I don’t know, but it’s perfect for a museum dedicated to modern artwork. Props to you Frank Gehry, props to you

Moreover, outside you can also see the ‘puppy’ by Jeff Koons. This is probably one of the first pieces of the modern art collection at the Guggenheim you will see, should you visit. It is hard to miss – it is giant.

Eventually, I actually went into the building. I paid 6 Euros for a ticket, received a headset and 2 information booklets (one in English, and another in Castellano). I took extra care with my ticket as I want and hope to create a ´My Year Abroad´ scrapbook or something to that effect – which I feel, sounds like something Blue Peter would be proud of. And then, I wandered round the galleries.

It was all rather fab but I have to admit that I just do not ´get´ modern art sculptures. Unless these sculptures are clearly of a person or a thing, I am lost. Even with a headset telling me how this jagged angle represents the anger, and the window in the middle of what, to me, was nothing more than a rock is purposely done to let all this light through which is oh so moving, I still was just a bit like: who are you trying to kid? A rock is a rock is a rock ... What this artist has effectively done is reshaped the wheel! Made it worse even! To sum it up, modern art sculptures are not for me. As you might have guessed, I breezed past them.

That isn´t to say I disliked all the sculptures. I liked “Maman”: a 9 metre tall spider created by Louis Bourgeois. I liked this as firstly I can see something in it (obvs, a spider) and I can see the talent it takes to create such an art piece. I also like the background behind it. It was dedicated to Bourgeois´ mother who worked as a weaver. The spider, is also representative of maternity: a mother adopts a role of being a predator, doing anything for her child but also the role of protector. Just to be clear, I have regurgitated most of the info booklet ... I am not that pretentious.

I also liked the ´tulips´ which sat outside the museum created by the aforementioned Jeff Koons.  I think there is a deeper meaning, and maybe one day I will reflect on this and write a blog post on it. But for now, I liked it because it was pretty and colourful.

My favourite part was the different collections of paintings. We have established that I do not like modern art sculptures, but modern art paintings I actually do quite enjoy. Of course, there are some which I struggle to find the deeper meaning behind, but actually I like and understand a lot of them. In this case, most of my favourites related to Paris in some way (another city that I love) including one entitled: Paris through the window. It was by Marc Chagall, a Russian painter who moved to the French capital. It´s a surrealist painting with many strange and odd things in it but that´s what make it so interesting. I would recommend looking it up to learn more about it because it really is fascinating (in my opinion). For example, the Janus figure (in bottom right corner) with the two faces is often interpreted as the artist himself, look west towards his new home in France, and the other looking East to his homeland Russia - he supposedly missed Russia terribly. This need to return can be emphasised through the train next to the yellow cat. Speaking of, this yellow cat has a human face (which is a little creepy). It is thought in Judaism (a faith that the artist practised) that sinners come back to haunt their family in the form of a cat (making it all the more creepy). Anyway I am rambling ... the art GCSE I took at 16 is flooding back to me. But do look it up, I really liked it. 

Another piece that I loved was in the Film & Video gallery – a new space dedicated to video art and moving images. The piece currently on display is called “The Visitors” and it was created by Ragnar Kjartansson. This artpiece is a video installation made up of 9 different screens. It documents a musical performance that took place at Rokeby Farm in New York. Each musician was recorded individually so in each screen there is a different person in a different setting, but then they are combined together. It´s really interesting and very beautiful. You can find out more here: http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/en/exhibitions/ragnar-kjartansson-the-visitors-3/

When I finally left the museum, I was a bit peckish so decided to grab something to eat. As much as I would have liked to, I do not think I could afford a grand lunch in the restaurant, so I settled for the bistro. And that was quite expensive already: I had a coke and a pincho which amounted to 6 Euros. In Santander the same thing would have been less than 4. That said, I do not regret anything because it was simply delicious. This small snack of bread, ratatouille and anchovies was just incredible. I really mean it: I think I would go back to have these pinchos alone. So, just imagine what I full meal would be like?! I have a friend from home coming to visit at the end of November, and I think we are going to spend a day in Bilbao so maybe I could convince her to have a nice meal with me?

Another thing I hope to show said friend when she comes to visit, is the parks and gardens. In particular, on the way to and from the Guggenheim a lovely park which was quite magical with ponds and fountains scattered around. There is even a fountain surround by grand archways and walking through them you do feel as if you could be in a fantasy land.

Unfortunately I couldn’t spend too much time in the fantasy land as I had to catch the bus back to Santander. Overall I had such a lovely day, but I do know that I have to go back to see more of this beautiful place. I did not see enough – we have time though. Like I said, it is only and hour and a half away.  Hasta luego.