“第五大道的异军突起”

—索罗门·古根海姆博物馆

特约撰稿_Anita Xu 编辑_曹尔寅供图_AIP艺术留学供图《留学》（ 2014年11月05日）

《北京人在纽约》有一句话说得巧妙而隐晦：“如果你爱他，就把他送到纽约；因为那里是天堂；如果你恨他，就把他送到纽约，因为那里是地狱。”基于艺术从业者的角度来看，纽约毋庸置疑，是一片天堂，是一汪海洋，美好得令人垂涎欲滴，但又或因它的混杂善变、深不见底而逡巡着不敢前进。就在你犹豫着该如何迈出探索纽约的第一步时，在你还被《孤独星球》（Lonely Planet）上的一个个景点介绍搞得头晕眼花时，遍布城市大大小小的博物馆不会是错误的选择。

There is a saying that goes,” Send him to New York if you love him, for it’s heaven; Send him to New York if you hate him, for it’s hell.” From the perspective of practitioners of art and design, New York is everything, especially a paradise of inspiration. However, as you feel cautious and baffled to step forward, museum visiting is undoubtedly your best bet.

古根海姆博物馆和鬼才建筑师莱特

The Guggenheim Museum and Wright

纽约绝不是缺少响亮名头的博物馆的地界儿：大都会艺术博物馆（Metropolitan Museum of Art），自然历史博物馆（American Museum of Natural History），现代艺术博物馆（The Museum of Modern Art），惠特尼美术馆（Whitney Museum of American Art）等等不胜枚举，世界上都难找出第二座可以与它媲美的城市。就在你还埋首于旅游指南左右选择之时，笔者推荐不妨先去邂逅了那个矗立在街角，却又如鹤立鸡群一般，极具遗世独立之感的建筑—索罗门·R·古根海姆博物?馆。

相比于名声显赫的大都会，或自然历史博物馆这些从外表看来就好似已经承载了千百年历史的博物馆来说，古根海姆博物馆放眼望去，更像一朵白色的荷花，低调却又散发着难以遮掩的光芒。

由索罗门·R·古根海姆所奠基的古根海姆博物馆分别落户于纽约，柏林，毕尔巴鄂（Bilbao, Spain），威尼斯和拉斯维加斯。而纽约作为总部，自然要担负得起这个名头。支撑起它的，不仅仅是馆内印象派艺术、当代艺术、抽象艺术的丰富收藏，还有这个出自美国建筑鬼才弗兰克·劳埃德·赖特鬼斧神工之手的大楼。

比起我眼中白色的荷花，更多的人将这栋已成为纽约地标建筑的楼宇比作茶杯，弹簧，或是海螺。一个仅用了白色混凝土装饰外观的建筑，却赋予了人们如此宽广的想象，足可见赖特在看似简朴的建筑设计中，所灌注的深度和广度。

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum located at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is the permanent home of a renowned and continuously expanding collection of Impressionism, Post-impressionism, early Modern and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions throughout the year. The museum's collection has grown organically, over eight decades, and is founded upon several important private collections, beginning with Solomon R. Guggenheim's original collection. The collection is shared with the museum's sister museums in Bilbao, Venice, Berlin, and Las Vegas.

追溯至赖特所处的19世纪末20世纪初，美国资本主义工业急速发展。城市化加剧，人口密度猛增，过多不合理的街道被开辟出来，高楼平地而起。而赖特对于摩天大楼的建造一直都不感兴趣甚至是嗤之以鼻。幼年的成长环境注定了他对于城市过度集中的反感。翻看赖特的履历，他的作品多是民用住宅、平矮但却舒展的别墅建筑。“大草原”（Prairie Houses）和“美国风”（Usonian Houses）以及“有机建筑”（Organic Architecture）的诞生，更是深刻阐述了赖特在建筑设计中对于“自然”和“自由”的追求。

或许你会心生疑惑，这些建筑风格，根本就和纽约这个风情万种又鱼龙混杂的大都会背道而驰。放大谷歌的卫星地图，你会看到古根海姆博物馆被密密麻麻的灰褐色砖瓦楼夹在了街角，与众不同中夹带了些许落寞。纵然赖特对于“自然”秉持着一贯的追求，对博物馆选址纽约有着千般万般的不情愿，但也不能违背客户的意愿。唯一的慰藉也只能是博物馆街对面的中央公园了，即便那只是一个人造公?园。

Frank Lloyd Wright was born on June 8, 1867, in Richland Center, Wisconsin. After college, he became chief assistant to architect Louis Sullivan. Wright then founded his own firm and developed a style known as the Prairie school, which strove for an "organic architecture" in designs for homes and commercial buildings. Over his career he created numerous iconic buildings.

Wright made no secret of his disenchantment with Guggenheim's choice of New York for his museum: "I can think of several more desirable places in the world to build his great museum," Wright wrote in 1949 to Arthur Holden, "but we will have to try New York." To Wright, the city was overbuilt, overpopulated, and lacked architectural merit. Still, he proceeded with his client's wishes, considering locations on 36th Street, 54th Street, and Park Avenue (all in Manhattan), as well as in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, before settling on the present site on Fifth Avenue between 88th and 89th Streets. Its proximity to Central Park was key; as close to nature as one gets in New York, the park afforded relief from the noise and congestion of the city.

博物馆内部设计

Interior Design

古根海姆博物馆被人们描述成“海螺”并不是没有理由的。楼体外部看起来像被一条盘旋上升的白色绸带环绕着，内部结构则呈现出螺旋线的样式，像一枚贝壳上弯曲的、毫不扭捏造作的花纹。

在我看来，赖特十分理解身处纽约的人们对“自由”的渴望。相比赖特的故乡的人，纽约的“城里人”好像被困住了。人们在纽约，以为自己看到了整个世界，但转身面对的却是四面方方正正的墙，和一张可能会有虫子的床。赖特在古根海姆这座美术馆里，给了人们跳出去的希望。走进博物馆的底层，你可以沿着蜿蜒的展厅走廊向上盘旋行进。所有的展品都沿廊而置，你完全不必担心错过了什么大师的作品，只需要跟随着螺旋结构的廊道缓缓上升和旋转。在不清楚到底转了几圈走到尽处的时候，你还以为展览就此谢幕，不巧你却抬头发现，玻璃穹顶连接至天际，镶嵌着漫无尽头的宇宙。这兴许正是赖特想留给参观者们的最后一幅作品，这副作品表达着他对自由、对远方、对广袤原野的向往和追求，即便这里是纽?约。

在古根海姆博物馆这栋建筑令人心驰神往的诸多因素中，其对于艺术展品的陈列方式便是其中之一。如前文中提到的，有别于那些直走几步就会撞南墙回头的陈列室，古根海姆博物馆的展品沿着廊道陈列，给人一种将这栋建物和它所容纳的展品完美融合在一起的舒畅之感，完全颠覆了传统博物馆内一个个小隔间的展出形式。在古根海姆，你可以先乘电梯直达顶层，再沿着倾斜的坡道回到底层。或者是像我们一般都会做的那样，从一层不疾不徐地前行，直至六层。

Nature not only provided the museum with a respite from New York's distractions but also leant it inspiration. The Guggenheim Museum is an embodiment of Wright's attempts to render the inherent plasticity of organic forms in architecture. His inverted ziggurat (a stepped or winding pyramidal temple of Babylonian origin) dispensed with the conventional approach to museum design, which led visitors through a series of interconnected rooms and forced them to retrace their steps when exiting. Instead, Wright whisked people to the top of the building via elevator, and led them downward at a leisurely pace on the gentle slope of a continuous ramp. The galleries were divided like the membranes in citrus fruit, with self-contained yet interdependent sections. The open rotunda afforded viewers the unique possibility of seeing several bays of work on different levels simultaneously. The spiral design recalled a nautilus shell, with continuous spaces flowing freely one into another.

精神的圣殿

A Temple of Spirit

1943年，赖特接到了古根海姆博物馆的所有者—矿业大亨索罗门·R·古根海姆以及他的顾问希拉·贝蕾的盛情邀请，为古根海姆博物馆设计新馆。它的旧址，位于54街的“非物体绘画博物馆”(Non-Objective Art)已经负荷不了古根海姆愈来愈丰富，尤其是对于抽象派作品的收藏了。古根海姆将新馆的设计理念定义为“一个精神的圣殿”（A Temple of Spirit），而不简简单单的是储藏和展览艺术品的盒子。在他的眼里，赖特是唯一一位能够让这个理念付诸实践的建筑师人选。最终，博物馆的建筑设计所达到的高度，甚至超越了馆内藏品，而这也成博物馆被那些躁动不安的批评家们诟病的原因之一。

尽管赖特对纽约的选址有诸多不满，他终拗不过客户的“旨意”，不过他还是通过与之相邻的中央公园，找到了这栋建筑通向自然的一把钥匙。在莱特完成700多张草图和6套工作图纸后，古根海姆博物馆在1956年迎来了破土动工的日子。遗憾的是，3年后的1959年10月，当人们在第五大道排列起队伍，等待进入这座充满超前意识的，与周遭一切都格格不入的建筑物时，赖特已辞世多月，没能看到自己呕心沥血培养出来的“孩子”出生的这一刻。

When Solomon Guggenheim, the heir to a mining fortune, and his art adviser, Hilla Rebay, decided to construct a museum for abstract painting (which they called "non-objective art"), Wright was a natural choice as architect. In Rebay's words, the two were seeking "a temple of spirit, a monument" and Wright, through his long career, was a builder of temples and monuments.

The project evolved into a complex struggle pitting the architect against his clients, city officials, the art world, and public opinion. Both Guggenheim and Wright died before the building's 1959 completion. The resultant achievement, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, testifies not only to Wright's architectural genius, but to the adventurous spirit that characterized its founders.

古根海姆博物馆的外观曾被那个相对古板的年代所排斥，古根海姆博物馆连锁式的运营方式更是被讥讽为艺术博物馆界的“麦当劳”。然而半个多世纪后的今天，事实给了那些讥笑者一记耳光。纽约的古根海姆成为了地标性建筑，周末慕名前来驻足博物馆门前的长龙足以证明这座建筑的伟大。今天，古根海姆博物馆也依旧在全球不断地摸索着下一个扎根落脚的营?地。

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum was once rejected by its rigid comtemporaries for its appearace, and it was even mocked as the Mcdonald in the world of museums because of its chain operation. However, after half a century, facts now speak louder than words. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has become the landmark building of New York. The crowds of people waiting in front of the musuem every weekend can be a firm confirmation of its greatness. These days, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is still exploring in every piece of land around the world in order to find the next territory where it can settle down.

背景词汇

Background Vocabulary

American Museum of Natural History 美国自然历史博物馆。《博物馆奇妙夜》的拍摄地。在第五大道与大都会艺术博物馆遥遥相望。

Metropolitan Museum of Art 大都会艺术博物馆。美国最大的艺术博物?馆。

Non-Objective Art“非物体绘画”。古根海姆博物馆的前身“非物体绘画”博物馆。被称作“非物体绘画”，实则类似于抽象绘画。

Organic Architecture “有机”建筑。现代建筑的一个派别，代表人物为赖特。

Prairie Houses “大草原”住宅。由赖特提出并创造。强调建筑与周围自然环境的融合。这类住宅大多位于郊外的草原上。

The Museum of Modern Art 简称MOMA。现代艺术博物馆。

Usonian Houses “美国风”建筑。赖特在20世纪30年代美国遭遇经济大萧条时期所提出的住宅风格。该风格的建筑只使用砖头，木头，水泥，玻璃和纸这5种材料。强调建筑的简洁，经济实用并同样与自然环境相结合。

词汇

Words and expressions

abstract painting抽象画