Running Head: THE SPATIAL AND REVELATORY FUNCTIONS OF FRANK LLOYD

WRIGHT’S GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM.

The Spatial and Revelatory Functions of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum.

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation
THE SPATIAL AND REVELATORY FUNCTIONS OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S

GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM.

The Spatial and Revelatory Functions of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum.

For as long as it has existed, the Guggenheim Museum has been one of the most

significant buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright. Since its inception, the building is a monument to

modernism, and also with time, it has become a hub of new ideas and art. The museum began as

a house of an innovative collection of works, but to this day, it is a landmark that attracts visitors

worldwide. The museum depicts an architectural design that merges with nature to produce an

eye-catching landmark for all visitors, including those who love art, the architects, seasoned

artists, and the pedestrians. All these revelatory and spatial features play a significant role and

leave a memorable and impactful influence on the different visitors from various parts of the

world that visit the site.

The spatial functions ensure that the building meets the functional and technical

requirements to stand the test of time. That means that even when there are gaps that would be

challenging, the structure can serve the purpose, and with time everything else goes back to

normal. For example, the museum is spiral and from Wright's earliest education in

transcendentalism, it represented the geometric shape that was of utmost significance to Wright.

Guggenheim is a concrete masterwork with a top-heavy spiraling, and it forms a unique space

that displays art which was the ultimate goal of Solomon Guggenheim. Most times, people go

through situations that seem harsh, and in such times, they get lost of relief through looking for

free spaces where they could get solace, and the Guggenheim Museum is one of them. The

building has a ramp spiral around, and Martin Pedersen, a magazine editor, admires this

structure, saying that the relief of tension that it brings about it could lead one into a daydream.

This is because space is out of reality and thus relieves one from the ordinary world's conditions.
THE SPATIAL AND REVELATORY FUNCTIONS OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S

GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM.

More specifically, it has no straight path and no horizontals meaning that everything contained

therein is different from what exists in the real world, making one recover from what they are

facing. The book The Humanities through the art by Jacobus and Martin mentions that for art to

fulfill its purpose, it has to be a pleasing architect different from what people have previously

been used to; this is what the museum has done (Martin & Jacobus, 2014). The fact that it can

bring out the picture of what Jacobus and Martin mention in their book makes it more relevant

and valuable in today's world.

In terms of revelatory functions, the museum is structured to talk about art and stresses its

relevance today. While people would not have time to read books and get specific messages,

most times when they get tired, it only appears prudent for them to go out to see some of these

arts. Through that, they get messages contained in the artwork, like the action painting something

they would not have gotten in the books. Thus the museum promotes the appreciation and

understanding of the artwork and more especially during the contemporary and modern periods.

It does this through research initiatives, education programs, publications, and also exhibitions.

Jacobus and Martin state that it is pretty critical that people study the art, and they can do that by

looking at previous works which individuals have done, and through that, they will learn and

empower generations (Martin & Jacobus, 2014). In the contemporary world and how things

seem to be moving, people will be more into art as early as now, and before that time comes, it

would only be right to appreciate its role in people's lives such that even when that time comes,

things will not be as challenging.

THE SPATIAL AND REVELATORY FUNCTIONS OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S

GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM.

Reference

Martin, F. D., & Jacobus, L. (2014). Humanities through the Arts. McGraw-Hill Education.