Establishing New Museums - The Guggenheim Bilbao Experience

Establishing New Museums - The Guggenheim Bilbao ExperienceStacey Coenders

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ABSTRACT:

In the past, museums were long standing institutions underpinned by a substantial core collection of significant works acquired over a long period of time. Today, new museums that aspire to have a global profile lack the resources and expertise to achieve their objectives without external assistance. This essay considers the modern trend of established museums seeking to expand their global presence while contributing their resources to the success of new museums and draws on the successful experience of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. It will do this by looking at a number of elements between the association of the world famous Guggenheim Foundation and an aspirational regional Basque Administration, as well as looking at the importance of location, iconic architecture and the changing dynamics of the museum’s collection to what has become a world renowned museum experience provided by the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The case of Guggenheim Bilbao is an ideal example of new museums establishing an innovative and positive trend in museum thinking.


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In the past, public museums slowly emerged from royal collections of art and artifacts

and transformed into the idea of an eternal and permanent institution built upon a core

collection. Such established museums enjoy international recognition and visibility

based on their history, collection, expertise and facilities. By contrast, a new or

emerging museum cannot compete or solely rely on its collection in order to become

known. To establish a globally significant presence, a number of new museums have

sought to collaborate/partner with museum foundations such as the Guggenheim or the

Louvre to access branding prestige, expertise and collection material that is of

considerable assistance to achieving their objectives. These collaborations also benefit

the established museums by developing their international influence, scale and by

providing additional revenue. This expanding influence might be considered a

‘globalisation’ of sorts and whether the trend for new museums to partner with well-

established museum brands is good or bad ultimately comes down to whether the

respective parties each realise their objectives. This essay will consider to what degree

the international trend of using an entrepreneurial model to create a new world class

museum can be successful and will use the Guggenheim Bilbao (fig.1) as a case study to

consider whether the prestige and global aspirations of the Guggenheim Foundation

coupled with the glamour of an iconic building designed by an internationally famous

architect was a success.

Although the concept of globalisation has been traced back to the European discovery of

the Americas in an actual expansion of the known world, more recently the concept has

been attributed to the breaking down of barriers with the end of the Cold War, the

dismantling of the Berlin Wall and the development of democratization.1 Pinpointing a

1Chandan Sengupta, ‘Conceptualising Globalisation: Issues and Implications’ (2001) 36 Economic and Political Weekly, 3137.


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well-rounded definition for “globalisation” in a museum context is problematic. One

could go with the Oxford Online Dictionary definition of globalisation, ‘the process by

which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start

operating on an international scale’.2 But many scholars argue against a single

definition, as the concept is too multifaceted. Shalmali Guttal states that generally,

‘globalisation is used to describe a variety of economic, cultural, social, and political

changes that have shaped the world over the past 50-odd years…[and the development]

of geo-political boundaries in an ever-expanding, transnational movement'.3 As will

become apparent through this essay, both the Guggenheim Foundation and the Basque

Administration harboured global aspirations that could be considered as a globalisation

agenda but sought mutual success through a collaboration model.

Although aspects of museum collaboration may be considered by some as

indistinguishable from “franchising”, and therefore may be perceived as having negative

connotations, it is important to judge this on a case-by-case basis. In the case of the

Guggenheim Bilbao (opened in October, 1997), although it may be seen as a “franchise”

of the Guggenheim Foundation, and is even called “McGuggenheim” by scholars such as

Terry Smith,4 it was not forced upon the Basque people, but formed part of an urban

development project organized by the local Basque Administration in order to establish

Bilbao as the Basque capital and help put the city on the world map. Elsa Vivant believes

that the Guggenheim Bilbao should be seen as a ‘co-branding strategy where each

partner is promoting the other’.5 A new museum in Bilbao would struggle to compete

2 Oxford, Globalisation, (2014) <http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/globalization?q=globalisation>.3 Shalmali Guttal, ‘Globalisation’ (2007) 17 Development in Practice, 523.4 Terry Smith, The Architecture of Aftermath (Chicago University Press, 2006) 25.5 Elsa Vivant, ‘Who Brands Whom? The Role of Local Authorities in the Branching of Art Museums’, (2011) 82 Town Planning Review, 113.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/globalization?q=globalisation



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on an international level with museums like the Louvre, the British Museum, or the Rijks

Museum if it had to build its reputation or collection from scratch. Instead, the Basque

Administration sought to follow a contemporary path and accelerate the world standing

of their museum by working alongside the Guggenheim Foundation. By following this

path, the museum in Bilbao was able to borrow part of the Guggenheim’s contemporary

art collection, which now makes up one third of Bilbao’s overall collection.6

One of the major concerns about museum “franchising” is that the brand takes

precedence over the local art and community values. Ery Camara raises such concerns

in the case of regional Basque art and the lack of community involvement in the

Guggenheim Bilbao.7 While this is a valid concern, many believe that the Guggenheim

Bilbao is consciously considering the local culture and art. Both Smith and Vivant state

that the Guggenheim Foundation director Thomas Krens advised the Basque

Administration to invest fifty million euros in order to build a museum collection that

included both Spanish and international artists in order to make-up the final two thirds

of the overall collection.8 Within the ‘Mission, Vision, Values’ webpage, the Guggenheim

Foundation states that, in the case of Bilbao, the aim is to:

‘Contribute to the enrichment of artistic and cultural activity in the Basque

Country within the framework of the cultural strategies of its Institutions. The

Museum does not seek to be the center of all the artistic activity-taking place in

the community, but wishes to serve as a stimulus and a meeting place that

integrates other cultural institutions and renowned artists, gallery owners,

projects, and initiatives. Together, they contribute as far as possible to the

6 Vivant, above n 5, 106.7 Edy Camara, ‘The Franchise Museum: An Instrument of Cultural Colonization’, in Anna Maria Guasch and Joseba Zulaika (eds) Learning from the Bilbao Guggenheim (Reno, 2005) 207.8 Smith, above n 4, 28; Vivant, above n 5, 106.


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diversity and activity of the local art world…the Museum seeks to serve as a

symbol of the vitality of the Basque Country’.9

Values such as these are extremely important when considering whether “brand” or

“franchise” has a negative or positive implication. The Guggenheim Foundation itself is

obviously aware of the negative connotations that the term “franchise” implies, but is

working with the Basque Administration to actively promote the cultural aspiration of

the Basque people and present that on an international level. One might conclude that

the globalisation based on such noble values is a positive trend.

One way in which new museums can become established is by being the focal point in

urban development projects. The Guggenheim Bilbao is a prime example of establishing

a museum in this manner. Beatriz Plaza and Silke Haarich argue that museums are

placed as the focal point for many urban development projects because they are seen as

an easy way in which to reach development goals.10 Two of their key conditions

required for success are: ‘visibility effect through an iconic building’ and ‘branding

power of a museum or art foundation’.11 Fighting for or against urban development

delves into a separate debate. However, if museums are the focal point for development

projects, how could it be bad? By placing museums at the forefront of urban

development, are we not placing art, whether it is in the form of a museums art

collection or its architecture, as an important component in modern life? In the case of

the Guggenheim Bilbao, the Basque Administration was well aware that selecting the

9 Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Foundation, Mission, Vision, Values, (2013) <http://www.guggenheim-bilbao-corp.es/en/bilbao-guggenheim/mission-vision-values/ >.10 Beatriz Plaza and Silke N. Haarich, ‘Museums for Urban Regeneration? Exploring Conditions for their Effectiveness’ (2009) 2/3 Journal or Urban Regeneration and Renewal, 259-260.11 Plaza and Haarich, above n 10, 267-268.

http://www.guggenheim-bilbao-corp.es/en/bilbao-guggenheim/mission-vision-values/



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right site for their museum was vitally important to their urban development

objectives.12 The Guggenheim Foundation responded by sending Frank Gehry, long

before he won the design competition, to advise and consult with the Basque

Administration on the merits of potential sites. All parties recognised the early

importance of site selection to the overall success of the urban development project.

The importance of building an iconic building was also well understood by the

Guggenheim Foundation. Frank Lloyd Wright and the Guggenheim Foundation were the

first to create destination museum architecture with the Guggenheim New York. Steven

Conn argues that after the Guggenheim New York, many museum trustees demanded

‘signature’ buildings that would attract publicity, visitors, and donors while also creating

a new freedom in the architecture world, which allowed architects to explore a new

range of design opportunities and not be restrained by the common Beaux-Arts style of

architecture that was immensely popular in the past.13 As a result, in the decades that

followed the Guggenheim New York, the museum, as a building type, overtook the

skyscraper as an architect’s dream and became the ‘defining architectural category of

our time’.14 By associating with a recognised brand and employing a world famous

architect to design the museum building, communities are increasing the probability of

success and survival of their museum. In the case of the Guggenheim Bilbao, it is hard to

envision the museum gaining the success that it has had without the Guggenheim brand

or Frank Gehry’s masterpiece.

Another positive aspect of new museum architecture is that it forms part of the overall

12 Carlos Giordano and Nicolás Palmisano, Visual Guide to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (DesdeArte Publishers, 2011) 18-19.13 Steven Conn, Do Museums Still Need Objects? (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010) 11.14 Conn, above n 13, 15.


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museum experience. There is a vast amount of scholarship that analyses the

authoritative and restrictive nature of museums in the past. For many of those

museums there was an expectation that visitors had a level of education and cultural

appreciation for the arts. Edward Alexander argues that this was so much so that

museum displays were only aimed to impress ‘the aesthete, the scholar, the collector,

and the craftsman, a knowledgeable audience satisfied with a minimum of labels and

interpretation’.15 By contrast, museums today are expected to appeal to a wide

spectrum of society and must consider what they have to offer in regards to the overall

museum experience. Steven Conn argues that modern architecture has changed the

way museum visitors interact with the gallery spaces and attract visitors who come for

more than just an art experience but rather an experience that includes a café, a shop

and offers a variety of social events.16 When new museums incorporate these aspects

they are seeking a way in which to assist museum visitors into spending long periods of

time at museums and exploring all it has to offer, including the museums art collection.

Having iconic architecture is an important trend in museum thinking because it attracts

museum visitors. Many people in today’s society take pleasure in sharing their

experiences on social media websites. Photos of people next to landmarks such as the

Eiffel Tower or Leaning Tower of Pisa number in the millions. New museums with

iconic architecture, such as the Guggenheim Bilbao, are becoming a similar attraction.

But it is important to remember that everyone’s experience of a museum is different.

Dorian Wiszniewski argues that museum visitors have either a direct or indirect reading

of museums, because like a story, we often read bits at a time and rarely read an entire

15 Edward Alexander, Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums, (American Association for State and Local History, 1979) 10.16 Conn, above n 13, 12.


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book in one go.17 If we apply this book analogy to the Guggenheim Bilbao, the

architecture could be comparable to the title and cover of a book. It grabs your attention

and invites you to explore its content - the collection. However, unlike a book whose

story cannot change once written, the museum has the advantage of being able to

change its story in order to get its audience to view the content again and again.

Therefore, museum architecture can be said to get people in the door, but collection

management and the overall museum experience is important in bringing visitors back.

The Guggenheim Bilbao experience is increasingly about its collection. It is conceivable

that the museum will one day become as well known for its collection as its architecture,

primarily because pilgrims who come to see the museums architecture become

pleasantly surprised by what they find in and around the museum. In one’s own

experience visiting the Guggenheim Bilbao, Richard Serra’s monolithic sculptures titled

‘The Matter of Time’ (fig.2), and Jeff Koons’s sculpture ‘Puppy’, on the museum

concourse (fig.3) were standout aspects of the museum regardless of its architecture.

One of the best aspects of new museums that have glamorous or iconic architecture is

that they aim to reflect or be cohesive with the museum’s collection. The process of

building modern museums that reflect contemporary art has been slow because for a

long time museums were resistant to any modernist approach and stood instead as the

model of high culture.18 The Louvre in Paris is one example where the history and

grandiose style of the architecture enhances the experience of the art and collection held

within – a collection that holds art acquired by previous French monarchs over several

17 Dorian Wiszniewski, ‘City as Museum, Museum as City: Mediating the Everyday and Special Narratives of Life’, in Suzanne MacLeod, Laura Hourston Hanks and Jonathan Hale (eds) Museum Making: Narratives, Architectures, Exhibitions (Routledge, 2012) 128.18 Neil Levine, ‘Competing Visions of the Modern Art Museum and the Lasting Significance of Wright’s Guggenheim’, in Domenick Ammirati and Kamilah Foreman (eds) The Guggenheim: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Making of the Modern Museum, (Guggenheim Museums Publications, 2009) 72.


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centuries.19 In comparison, the modern design of Frank Gehry’s building in Bilbao

creates a modern context in which to display the contemporary art that it holds. David

Carrier argues that architecture is a ‘container for a rich array of feelings which

knowledge of the museum’s history permits us to articulate’.20 If we try to imagine the

Louvre’s collection, or any other collection that holds classical, medieval, or renaissance

art, and place them in a modern museum building, the context and history of those

pieces become conflicted with the architecture and may detract from the experience

gained when they are in a building that reflects their heritage/history. From this, we can

see that modern architecture has the ability to enhance the visitor’s view of

contemporary art through display in a contemporary context.

Not only do these glamorous and iconic museums give a contemporary context for

contemporary art, but they also act as art in themselves and break down barriers with

what is inside the museum. Like museum collections in the past, Edward Alexander

argues that traditional museum architecture made museums elitist as they were housed

in palatial or temple like structures that made ordinary people uncomfortable and feel

particularly unworthy.21 Whereas today, people are more inclined to see museum

architecture as having the ability to reveal to the public the artistic content that’s inside

the museum.22 In this sense, we may be overlooking the capacity of architecture to be

art in itself. David Prescott-Steed argues that an urban landscape, and the architecture

19 David Carrier, Museum Skepticism: A History of the Display of Art in Public Galleries (Duke University Press, 2006) 22.20 Carrier, above n 19, 29.21 Alexander, above n 15, 10.22 Josep Montaner and Jordi Oliveras, The Museums of the Last Generation (St. Martin’s Press, 1986) 7.


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in that landscape, impacts how people act, think and feel about the environment they are

in.23 This is certainly the case in the example of the Guggenheim Bilbao.

In spite of the importance of architecture and brand, museums today, even museums

that were built upon core collections, have to consider more than just the artistic value

of their collection; they also have to present its educational value. Kevin Moore has

argued that traditionally museum collections were seen as the most important

benefactor to the public because they were a source of high culture, but today a greater

emphasis has been placed on the educational value of museum collections to the point of

seeing education as the key function of a museum.24 While the educational value of

museum collections is important, stressing it as the main function of a museum may be a

slight exaggeration. On the Mission, Vision, Values page of the Guggenheim Bilbao

website, education is only one of eleven other values:

‘Museum education today is moving away from academic rigidity and instead

seeks to convey information in a way that will broaden people’s humanistic

outlook and enrich their understanding and experience’.25

This value can be recognised by way of the audio guides at the Guggenheim Bilbao.

Interestingly, the audio guides educate the visitor on both the interior and exterior

architecture of the building as well as informing visitors on the key pieces in the

collections. Not only is there an audio-guide, but also for those with particular interest

in arguably the most significant/monumental exhibition, Richard Serra’s ‘The Matter of

Time’ (2005), there is a movie that informs and educate the visitor of the artist’s

23 David Prescott-Steed, ‘Dérive and Defamiliarisation: Seeking Alternative Solutions amid Institutional Architecture’, in Christopher Crouch (ed) Subjectivity, Creativity, and the Institution (Brown Walker Press, 2009) 65.24 Kevin Moore, Museums and Popular Culture (Cassell, 1997) 16-19.25 Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Foundation, Mission, Vision, Values (2013) <http://www.guggenheim-bilbao-corp.es/en/bilbao-guggenheim/mission-vision-values/>.




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concept, fabrication, transportation and installation of the colossal artworks. This

relates to the idea discussed by Steven Conn that museums today are extremely

multifaceted, and fall between educational institutions and places of “info-tainment”.26

In partnership with the Guggenheim Foundation, the Basque Administration have

successfully revitalized Bilbao as the capital of the Basque region by creating a new and

exciting museum as the centre-piece of the areas transformation. The brand, values,

expertise and collection material provided by the Guggenheim Foundation has been

pivotal to the Basque Administration in achieving their goals. By working in

collaboration, both parties have enhanced their global recognition. The construction of

an inspirational and iconic building that is considered by many as Frank Gehry’s most

original work, combined with a surprisingly good contemporary art collection and

museum facilities, provides visitors with a world class museum experience. This new

type of museum experience aims to appeal to a wide spectrum of society through the

attraction of the architecture and gives a better context in which to view contemporary

art. Not only does this create a new context in which to view art, but also provides a

new and added emphasis on educating people about the architecture as part of the

museum’s collection. The Guggenheim Bilbao, therefore, is an ideal example of new

museums being an innovative and positive trend in museum thinking. This being the

status of new museums, it is hard not to agree with Steven Conn who claims that with so

many ways to think about museums, they ‘have probably never been quite so exciting'.27

26 Conn, above n 13, 6.27 Conn, above n 13, 6.


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Fig.1View of the GuggenheimMuseum, Bilbao.Photograph by StaceyCoenders.

Fig.2Richard Serra’s ‘The Matter of Time’.Photograph by StaceyCoenders.

Fig.3Jeff Koon’s ‘Puppy’.Photograph by StaceyCoenders.

Bibliography


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Books

Alexander, Edward, Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums, (American Association for State and Local History, 1979)

Bezombes, Dominique, The Grand Louvre: History of a Project, (Publications du Moniteur, 1994)

Buttlar, Adrian von, and Bénédicte Savoy, ‘Glyptothek and Alte Pinakothek, Munich: Museums as Public Monuments’, in Carole Paul (ed) The First Modern Museums of Art: The Birth of an Institution in 18th and Early 19th Century Europe (Getty Publications, 2012)

Carrier, David, Museum Skepticism: A History of the Display of Art in Public Galleries (Duke University Press, 2006)

Camara, Edy, ‘The Franchise Museum: An Instrument of Cultural Colonization’, in Anna Maria Guasch and Joseba Zulaika (eds) Learning from the Bilbao Guggenheim (Reno, 2005)

Conn, Steven, Do Museums Still Need Objects? (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010)

Connell, Raewyn, ‘Weaving History: An Essay on Creativity, Structure and Social Change’, in Christopher Crouch (ed) Subjectivity, Creativity, and the Institution (Brown Walker Press, 2009)

Giebelhausen, Michaela, ‘The Architecture is the Museum’, in Janet Marstine (ed) New Museum Theory and Practice: An Intro (Blackwell Publishing, 2006)

Giordano, Carlos and Nicolás Palmisano, Visual Guide to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (DesdeArte Publishers, 2011)

Greenberg, Stephen, ‘Place, Time and Memory’, in Suzanne MacLeod, Laura Hourston Hanks and Jonathan Hale (eds) Museum Making: Narratives, Architectures, Exhibitions (Routledge, 2012)

Kossak, Florian, ‘Productive Exhibitions: Looking Backwards to go Forwards’, in Suzanne MacLeod, Laura Hourston Hanks and Jonathan Hale (eds) Museum Making:


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Narratives, Architectures, Exhibitions (Routledge, 2012)

Lawson-Johnston, Peter, Growing Up Guggenheim: A Personal History of a Family Enterprise (ISI Books, 2005)

Levine, Neil, ‘Competing Visions of the Modern Art Museum and the Lasting Significance of Wright’s Guggenheim’, in Domenick Ammirati and Kamilah Foreman (eds) The Guggenheim: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Making of the Modern Museum, (Guggenheim Museums Publications, 2009)

McClellan, Andrew, ‘Musée du Louvre, Paris: Palace of the People, Art for All’, in Carole Paul (ed) The First Modern Museums of Art: The Birth of an Institution in 18th and Early 19th Century Europe (Getty Publications, 2012)

Michel, Dirk, ‘The Institution, Social Creativity and Subjectivity’, in Christopher Crouch (ed) Subjectivity, Creativity, and the Institution (Brown Walker Press, 2009)

Montaner, Josep and Jordi Oliveras, The Museums of the Last Generation (St. Martin’s Press, 1986)

Moore, Kevin, Museums and Popular Culture (Cassell, 1997)

Papadakis, Andreas, New Museology, (Art&Design Publishing, 1991)

Paul, Carole, ‘Preface: Toward a Collective History’, in Carole Paul (ed) The First Modern Museums of Art: The Birth of an Institution in 18th and Early 19th Century Europe (Getty Publications, 2012)

Prescott-Steed, David, ‘Dérive and Defamiliarisation: Seeking Alternative Solutions amid Institutional Architecture’, in Christopher Crouch (ed) Subjectivity, Creativity, and the Institution (Brown Walker Press, 2009)

Skolnick, Lee, ‘Beyond Narrative: Designing Epiphanies’, in Suzanne MacLeod, Laura Hourston Hanks and Jonathan Hale (eds) Museum Making: Narratives, Architectures, Exhibitions (Routledge, 2012)

Smith, Terry, The Architecture of Aftermath (Chicago University Press, 2006)


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Wiszniewski, Dorian, ‘City as Museum, Museum as City: Mediating the Everyday and Special Narratives of Life’, in Suzanne MacLeod, Laura Hourston Hanks and Jonathan Hale (eds) Museum Making: Narratives, Architectures, Exhibitions (Routledge, 2012)

Journals

Guttal, Shalmali, ‘Globalisation’ (2007) 17 Development in Practice, pp.523-531 Plaza, Beatriz and Silke N. Haarich, ‘Museums for Urban Regeneration? Exploring Conditions for their Effectiveness’ (2009) 2/3 Journal or Urban Regeneration and Renewal, pp.259-271

Sengupta, Chandan, ‘Conceptualising Globalisation: Issues and Implications’ (2001) 36 Economic and Political Weekly, pp.3137-3143 Vivant, Elsa, ‘Who Brands Whom? The Role of Local Authorities in the Branching of Art Museums’ (2011) 82/1 Town Planning Review, pp.99-115

Websites

Oxford Online Dictionary, Globalisation (2014)http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/globalization?q=globalisation

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Foundation, Mission, Vision, Values (2014)http://www.guggenheim-bilbao-corp.es/en/bilbao-guggenheim/mission-vision-values/



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Establishing New Museums - The Guggenheim Bilbao Experience