Every time Brent and I see a really bad piece of public art, we look at each other and say, "The bags of concrete in downtown Seattle!"
This "art" is what looks like three white bags of concrete that appear to have been left on a street corner. Why white bags of concrete in downtown Seattle? No, fricking idea, but IMHO it is stupid art. And I wonder how many folks have kicked them thinking they are actual bags!
I don't wish to be argumentative but you are wrong about art in Bilbao. There is more than one art museum/gallery in Bilbao. The Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa (Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao) is a fantastic museum and well worth several hours of your time. And the gigantic spider? Louise Bourgeois has created a number of them as she thinks spiders are a powerful symbol of resilience and adaptability and she often said the spiders were a stand-in for her mother, a tapestry restorer by trade. “The spider—why the spider? Because my best friend was my mother and she was deliberate, clever, patient, soothing, reasonable, dainty, subtle, indispensable, neat, and as useful as a spider.”
Worth considering that the artist is a female working in large-format metal sculptures - some as high as 30 feet. I loved the Richard Serra piece and I can respect that it didn't resonate for you. And isn't that the point of art? That we each have a unique experience? There is much contemporary art that I can't fathom but then again, much of what I enjoy was in its time considered hideous or worse. And, I agree, the museum itself is a piece of art; how it came to be in Bilbao is a terrific story of urban renewal/revitalization.
That big old spider is quite something though! When I was there, guys were up on a part of the roof cleaning the glass. That made a cool picture, rather arty actually....
Every time Brent and I see a really bad piece of public art, we look at each other and say, "The bags of concrete in downtown Seattle!"
This "art" is what looks like three white bags of concrete that appear to have been left on a street corner. Why white bags of concrete in downtown Seattle? No, fricking idea, but IMHO it is stupid art. And I wonder how many folks have kicked them thinking they are actual bags!
That's exactly the sort of art I think is stupid too! I'm not surprised loads of people have kicked them.
"I’d be willing to bet if you swapped some of the plaques around it’d take a couple of days before anybody noticed."
I've thought the exact same thing in some museums, too! Glad the Guggenheim comes recommended - the flower dog does look delightful.
Glad it's not just me! But yeah, the Guggenheim has some cool stuff.
“A building and not a crashed spaceship.” 🤣
I couldn’t do it either, Tom.
Delightful post. :)
Thanks Holly! :-)
I don't wish to be argumentative but you are wrong about art in Bilbao. There is more than one art museum/gallery in Bilbao. The Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa (Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao) is a fantastic museum and well worth several hours of your time. And the gigantic spider? Louise Bourgeois has created a number of them as she thinks spiders are a powerful symbol of resilience and adaptability and she often said the spiders were a stand-in for her mother, a tapestry restorer by trade. “The spider—why the spider? Because my best friend was my mother and she was deliberate, clever, patient, soothing, reasonable, dainty, subtle, indispensable, neat, and as useful as a spider.”
Worth considering that the artist is a female working in large-format metal sculptures - some as high as 30 feet. I loved the Richard Serra piece and I can respect that it didn't resonate for you. And isn't that the point of art? That we each have a unique experience? There is much contemporary art that I can't fathom but then again, much of what I enjoy was in its time considered hideous or worse. And, I agree, the museum itself is a piece of art; how it came to be in Bilbao is a terrific story of urban renewal/revitalization.
Not argumentative at all - I'll be sure to visit that when I'm next there! And I agree - we all have different experiences of art!
Don’t forgot Pinocchio lying facedown in a pool… ‘the death of innocence’ was likely on the plaque!
That big old spider is quite something though! When I was there, guys were up on a part of the roof cleaning the glass. That made a cool picture, rather arty actually....
Oh, rather them than me!
It isn't art. It's anti-art. The local expression of this trolling of Beauty by Hackdom is the new ugly warehouse of gold-plated junk here in Houston. https://open.substack.com/pub/birthofvenus/p/houstons-museum-of-the-joke?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=e6s49