Guggenheim Museum, New York City

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For some reason, when i looked on the Guggenheim website, I was under the impression there was a more or less equal mix of modern and more classic style art. We went on a rainy day and the place was pretty busy. The main gallery is a spiral ramp and was lined with modern art exhibits from a Japanese artist. Pretty much incomprehensible for me. Two posts, one painted red and one white, with big nails pounded into it all over. That's art? How? There were one or two things I liked but mainly it was really not our thing. There was one small gallery with a couple dozen Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings. One. That's it. Another room was filled with childrens' artwork. Colourful but no, not my thing. It was a big disappointment but your mileage may vary. If you like modern and installation art, you will probably love it.

The Guggenheim overall left me cold. It costs about 25 dollars to get in and there really isn't an extensive collection on display that we could tell. There are two single-user toilets on each floor by the elevators. The cafe is small and difficult to get in and find a place to stand let alone sit. The Wright Restaurant next to it requires reservations though you can eat at the bar. The food there is expensive and very very fancy/gourmet. Not to most people's tastes, I wouldn't think.

The building is interesting, but you can look at that from the outside.

Try and go to the Guggenheim without much in your hands, as the cloak room is a hassle and they allow handbags in but not backpacks or satchels. Also wander around some of the side annexes as the art there can be really worthwhile, unusual and different but my visit today on a Saturday at 4pm meant I had a whole room to myself to ponder although the main lobby was busy.

The Guggenheim was easily my favorite of the New York Museums we hit. While I was there, they had up a show called Moving Pictures. There was alot of video art and my favorite exhibit was this little 8 inch tall hologram of an old woman sitting in a rocking chair telling a story. It was in this dark corner and was just magical. Very hip and easily viewable. I didn't feel like I was missing everything as I did at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Also, the amazing architectural design was done by none other than Frank Lloyd Wright. Another reason in itself to visit.

As a side note, you can also buy a city pass there for a discounted price that includes the Circle Line Cruises, Empire State Building, the other museums and a few other Tourist spots.

If your going to visit one museum in NY, make it this one. Not only do they have spectacular atr displays inside, they also have a spectacular bui;ding in which to house them in.

Make sure you read the directions as we got lost whilst trying to find this place.

The design (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1959) of this modern art museum is controversial, but in my opinion beautiful. The Guggenheim houses paintings by Picasso, Modigliani, Kandinsky, Chagall and Monet among others. Unfortunately when we visited in December 2001, there was a temporary exhibition and most of the permanent collection was stored in the basement at that time.

As we were in NYC with our art college, it was expected that we should visit at least one gallery during our stay. We chose the Guggenheim as some people I was travelling with enjoyed the Bilbao one, and in my opinion, I think that the time we spent in NY Guggenheim would have been better spent elsewhere.

I can appreciate art, I studied it, but the exhibits at the time we visited were, in a word, rubbish. I did not pay all that money to get in and just look at some flies stuck to the wall (seriously thats what one of the "pieces" was). At least at the Tate Modern in London if you don't like it then you haven't wasted your money.

The best part of the Guggenheim for me was a coca cola and a hotdog from the stall outside.

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There are buildings, which attract thousands of visitors not merely by their values which can be found in them, but rather because of their astonishing, amazing exterior.

One of them is the most special building of New York, the building of the Guggenheim Museum looking out on Central Park.
The American master, Frank Lloyd Wright gives the visitors not a daily architectural experience.
Curved lines border it, inside a spiral ramp curling around the central atrium defines the route of the visit. Entering the seashell we may be ready for a journey moving downwards.
The museum lacks the traditional exhibitor walls, they are replaced by a single continuous curved wall.
The building also has a huge glass dome, which is pouring plenty of light into this round museum, which hosts a very beautiful, modern artistic collection.

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You either love it or hate it, but you must admit that the Guggenheim is an unusual museum in an unusual building. Built in 1959, it tends to change exhibitions regularly and mostly focuses on one artist at a time. The building inside resembles a sloping spiral ramp. There are elevators serving different levels. The building itself just underwent a major restoration.

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One of New York's best contemporary art museums, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is also one of its most incredible structures. The museum was inaugurated in 1959 in this UFO-like structure, designed by the renowned American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. While the exterior itself is a masterpiece, numerous masterpieces by Impressionist, Post-impressionist and contemporary artists are exhibited inside. These include Picasso, Manet, Renoir and Cézanne, to name only a few.

It offers a great collection of contemporary arts but it worths a visit just also for its building. If you are not interested in visiting the museum, just go and take pics of the building, both outside and inside. In 1999 we enjoyed a wonderful jazz concert for free in the lobby, as well.