Art vs. Architecture……..or are they the same?

From Thursday, October 4, until Sunday, October 7, I spent my fall break in Madrid, Spain.

(By the way, I started my second sketchbook. I’m so excited!)

How can I see Madrid in three and a half days? What has priority? What does a person need to see in order to say “I’ve been to Madrid”? 

I found it overwhelming trying to prioritize, but overall, it was a spectacular experience. Over the next few days I will update my blog based on my experiences in Madrid.

When I go somewhere new, I seek out the museums.  

To see the art? Well, no. I like museums for their architecture.

Designing museums is my dream career (but hey, that might change).

Secretly, I love how the architecture can be a piece of art in itself and become a better piece of art than the ones on display.

Is it a bad thing if the architecture is better than the artwork?

I don’t think so. I think the architecture enhances the experience of viewing the art. 

In Madrid I was fortunate enough to see a permanent collection at the Museo Nacional del Prado and a small temporary exhibition of Zaha Hadid’s (an architect) work at Ivorypress Space.

The Museo Nacional del Prado was designed by architect Juan de Villanueva in 1785. This museum has a collection of artwork from the 12^th to the early 20^th century. It houses the largest collection of Velázquez, Goya and Rubens in the world.

 

What happens when museums need more room to display and store artwork? In this case, how can an addition be built/designed in the 21st century while respecting the original building that was built in the 18^th century?  Rafael Moneo designed an addition to this museum in 2007. In the picture below, his addition is on the left. Following that are pictures of the addition’s lobby that leads to the older building's galleries.

When I had taken just these few pictures, I was told by a security guard that I wasn’t allowed to take photos.

That crushed me.  Why am I not allowed to? I’m not going to recreate this exact building in my backyard and claim it as the real one. Plus, there wasn’t even any artwork worth trying to copy in my photos. I took photos of the architecture, not the artwork.

What a pity.

I thought Moneo’s addition was stunning. I wish I could have studied it more. Lighting is extremely important in a museum.  In the lobby I like how some of the lights are somewhat hidden between the wooden panels.

The museum was free from 6pm to 8pm so we didn’t have much time to walk around since we got there at 7pm.

The inside was breathtaking. The large scale of the ceilings compared to a human, the enormous length of the center gallery, and the intricate details in the ceiling were all great.

I saw the artwork of El Greco, Velazquez, Goya, and Rubens. They created breathtaking paintings, no doubt about that.

Since I wasn’t allowed to take pictures, I didn’t even try to sketch anything.

When I got outside, I quickly drew part of the interior that I remembered seeing and drew part of the exterior.

(a picture of me sketching)

The next day, I went to see Zaha Hadid’s exhibit.

If you haven’t heard of her, google her.

Here is the link to her firm:  http://www.zaha-hadid.com/

I was expecting a grand building with hundreds of people trying to get in. Instead, it was the bottom floor of a “hole in the wall.” I thought ‘Zaha Hadid would have an exhibition HERE?’

How to describe her work……hmm. It’s organic? Really “out there”? Effortless? Artistic? Makes you say “ooohh”? Abstract?

I can’t even describe it to you.

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of her work. Yes, her work is impressive, but to me all of her designs seem the same. They’re all curvy (from what I’ve seen in magazines and online).  Could she design just a straight, simple yet sophisticated, box? I don’t think she could. That’s not meant to say she isn’t talented enough, it’s just she has her own distinct style.

Should architects have one style that they excel at each time? Or be mediocre at a lot of styles? I don’t think it’s better to have one style you excel at, because clients will know what to expect when they hire you. However, as an architect I’d like to add an element of surprise to my client’s needs, as well as the city’s/neighborhood’s, and my own wants in a design. Therefore, each design will be different, whether it’s curvy like Zaha Hadid’s, or not.

The entry to this exhibit is at the upper right of this staircase/ramp.

I’d love a bookcase by a staircase (like this one) in my house, but I’d like it better if the bookshelf was inside of the wall instead of sticking out.

Talk about curvy/organic designs, look at Zaha’s silverware. Could you actually use that fork? Or that spoon? Wow.

Once I approached the greeter at the table he said I was allowed to take photos, but without a flash.  I laughed to myself and imagined that guy saying “HA! Good luck trying to duplicate THIS work.”

Here are some images of her work: 

Then I tried drawing some of her work. It was extremely difficult to do. 

What do you think of her work? The designs on display have influenced her architecture. Crazy right?

So, after seeing some of her exhibition is Zaha Hadid’s work art or architecture? Or both?

Is Moneo’s addition to the Museo del Prado a piece of art or architecture? Or both?

Architecture is an art, absolutely.

However, after seeing Zaha's exhibition I couldn’t help but consider her work as pure art, not architecture.

Overall I had a wonderful experience visiting these two places. Yay architecture (and art)!