Visit: Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa

While in the previous chapter we witnessed the creation of an imaginary museum where the contents were the focus of our attention, in this chapter we attend to an example of a museum, and subsequently a literary generation, where location and façade take primacy over the content. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation's museum in Bilbao, opened in October 1997, is housed in what is undoubtedly a famous and iconic building, not only for its striking design by the celebrated architect, Frank O. Gehry, but also for its role in rejuvenating both the city in which it stands and also museum practices.

Any physical view of the Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa (GBM) will be partial. Of course, no (museum) building can be seen from all its perspectives simultaneously, and many have multiple entrance points, like the Prado, but nothing creates the spectacle of beholding the museum quite like the Guggenheim.