Ever since the 1992 Olympics drew a flood of development funding, Barcelona has been dedicating its public spaces to design and architecture. Dramatic buildings and large-scale art works dominate the cityscape, often anchoring neighborhood transformations.
Barcelona's entire waterfront area got a makeover at the time of the Olympics, with new promenades, shopping areas and public spaces. A Frank Gehry-designed fish (pictured right) gleams above Port Olímpic, although the towering metallic canopy is best photographed from a distance (at close range it looks more like a giant woven wimple). Spend some time at one of the tapas bars of the gentrifying Barceloneta neighborhood before continuing your walk past a giant sculptural face (designed by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein) and on to the Rambla de Mar, the planked bridge that connects the giant Maremagnum mall to the Mirador de Colón, the monument at the base of La Rambla.
On a sunny day, the stark white facade of the Richard Meier-designed Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (pictured right) reflects a blast of light into the Plaça dels Angels (metro Universitat or Catalunya), at the heart of the up-and-coming El Raval neighborhood. Inside, a long ramp guides visitors past three floors of galleries; rotating exhibitions include selections from MACBA's collection, which includes works by not only Catalan artists like Joan Miró and Antoni Tapies but also international art stars like Larry Rivers and Marcel Duchamp.
For a more intimate artistic encounter, visit the installation Deuce Coop (pictured right), a creation of the Los Angeles-born artist James Turrell. The installation lights up a passageway in a former monastery (Comerç 23, metro Arc de Triomf), a typical setting for a work by this most spiritual of artists. The meditative, glowing space, transformed by colored light and marked by one of Turrell's signature oculi, frames the entrance to the ancient courtyard. (Turrell's installation is dangerously close to the enticing Museu de la Xocolata, at Comerç 36, which offers up a sampling of chocolate's history and its cultural role; naturally, there's a gift shop where you can get a taste for yourself.)
Other new additions: In the Sant Pere neighborhood, a run-down market square has gotten a boost from the newly renovated Mercat Santa Caterina (Avinguda Francesc Cambó, metro Jaume I). The rippling, pixelated roof shows off a rainbow of color, while the market's interior space feels light and elegant. The colors are similarly riotous on the cigar-shaped Torre Agbar (pictured right), a commercial skyscraper completed in 2004 at Plaça Glòries Catalanes (metro Glòries). On the other side of the roundabout, the new Teatre National de Catalunya (Plaça de les Arts 1) frames a glass box with classical Roman columns.
You can find the full article here
No comments:
Post a Comment