Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, USA

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

 

Address

1071 5th Ave, New York, NY
Between 88th & 89th St.

Telephone

(212) 423-3500

Website

https://www.guggenheim.org

WHAT I LIKED: Great collection, architecture, and special programs

WHAT I MISSED: The wall labels are a bit too small for me and I miss the verbal description on the audio guide

To read a summary of the blog, please click the IN SHORT button.

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Museums have encountered many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, as have the visitors. New York’s low vision community, in particular, relies on accessible group museum tours and suffers from not being able to experience exhibitions in person. For a visually impaired person, it is sometimes very hard to manage visiting a museum independently.

To stay in touch with art, the museum, and the community, many museums now offer their accessible programs through virtual tours, and this has proved to be a widely accepted and treasured tool for the low vision community, leading to lively discussions, a new way of experiencing art, and reconnections with docents and group members. 

The Guggenheim is among many museums that now offer their usual monthly program for visually impaired and blind people on a virtual platform. The Guggenheim’s VIP program, called Mind’s Eye, has adopted a virtual format and has even started a weekly conference call to describe and talk about one particular piece of art. This is a very well-received and loved add-on to the regular program. Many thanks to the organizers for this additional treat!

I am lucky to live in the neighborhood of the Guggenheim Museum in New York City on 5th Avenue at 88th Street, and I try to visit this gem independently as often as I can. I love the sight of this iconic building by Frank Lloyd Wright coming up between the trees when I walk through Central Park!

View from the rotunda towards the skylight, the Oculus.

About the Museum

The museum opened in October 1959 and is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage list. The collection focuses on art from the late 19th century up to the present day. It includes masterpieces by artists such as Cézanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso.

Listen to impressions about the building with verbal descriptions: Mind’s Eye: A sensory guide to the museum

The famous rotunda with the spiral ramp offers an incredible space for special exhibitions of modern and contemporary art, lectures, screenings, and performance art.

A visit to this “must see” landmark is an inspiring and rewarding mission. To make it easier for you to plan your visit, I will share my experiences while visiting independently as a VIP (visually impaired person).

Permanent Collection at the Tannhauser Gallery. Listen to a verbal description.

Entrance and Galleries

As you enter the building through the entrance on 5th Avenue, you will immediately be drawn into the unique space of the rotunda with the spiraling ramp and the oculus, the magnificent skylight high above you.

The ticket counter, to your right when you enter the building, is currently closed (as of February 2021), so you will need to purchase tickets online to visit the museum. Behind the ramp is the coat check and the check point for the tickets – also not available right now.

At first, orientation might seem a bit problematic, but as you only have to follow the ramp to see the current exhibition, you will not get lost. The side galleries are in the added-on tower and offer ramps as well as steps to access the exhibitions. When you arrive, take in the breathtaking view of the interior, enjoy the fountain at the beginning of the ramp, and listen to the sounds in this amazing space.

Heading up the ramp is always a special experience for me. I love that I do not have to worry about steps when I walk with my cane and am concentrating on the artwork. Sometimes I get so distracted by the art or the view of the rotunda that I forget where I am actually heading! There are also elevators at every floor, which might be a bit difficult to find if you are not familiar with the space. The staff is very friendly and well-trained and will help you along the way.

The Tannhauser Gallery on the second floor hosts the museum’s permanent collection, one of my favorite spots!

Camille Pissarro, The Hermitage at Pontoise (1867). Listen to a verbal description.

Labels, Audio Guide, and App

As a VIP, an independent visit to a museum is often not the easiest task. For me, one of the most challenging things is to find the label of an artwork and to read it.

At the Guggenheim, the pristine interior design with white walls, white banisters, and white niches with white labels presents a big problem for me. The labels are printed in a clear font and a good size but, depending on the light in the gallery, they are sometimes very hard for me to find.

On the website, you can download the labels, which include a photo of the artwork. This is a very helpful feature. You can also download an app to your smartphone to access the audio guide, though at this point in time, there is no audio guide available to rent at the museum. The audio guide gives you an overview of what is going on in the museum and offers audio files of artwork in the exhibitions. It is clear and easy to use.

You can listen to several verbal descriptions of artworks from the collection on the website, but this feature is not available on the app, so you cannot listen to it while standing in front of the original work, which is a pity.

The Mind’s Eye is a special program for visually impaired and blind people that offers monthly group tours, which are now held as a Zoom meeting, and a weekly conference call to verbally describe works of art and have a lively discussion about it. This is a fantastic way to stay in touch and experience art.

Pablo Picasso, Woman Ironing (1904). Listen to a verbal description.

Last, But Not Least

This “must see” museum is one of my favorite places to explore art and enjoy highly interesting international exhibitions. I like to prepare my visits beforehand through the website and the app so it is easier for me to navigate the spaces and access all the information I need. I love to go there independently, and a Mind’s Eye group tour is always a special experience for me.

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Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, USA

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

 

Address

99 Gansevoort Street

New York, NY 10014

Telephone

(212) 570-3600

Website

www.whitney.org

About the Museum

The Whitney Museum moved to its new building and location in May 2015. This museum has always been an exciting place to visit, focusing on American art from the 20th and 21st centuries. Their exhibitions, biennials and their enormous permanent collection were and are well worth a visit.

Highlights of artwork of famous artists, from Edward Hopper, Georgia O`Keefe, Jackson Pollock, Jasper Johns, David Smith, Andy Warhol to the most contemporary artists will capture the attention of many art lovers.

On May 1st, 2015, the Whitney Museum reopened, after leaving its old building, designed by Marcel Breuer, at 75th Street and Madison Avenue (now the new Met Breuer, on the Upper East Side) in its new landmark building, in the lively Meatpacking District next to the High Line - an absolute hot spot in New York City. Situated between the Hudson River and the High Line, this amazing piece of architecture, designed by Renzo Piano, offers fantastic views of the neighborhood and the Hudson River. It certainly is a “must see” for all visitors to New York City.

The new building with its enormous space for its art additionally features terraces for outdoor sculptures. These give the view a special beauty which changes with the time of day and the seasons.  

 

Open 5th floor gallery

Verbal Description Tours

I am a regular guest at the verbal description tours that the Access Program of the museum offers. Once a month the visually impaired and blind community is invited to join a verbal description tour of either the current exhibition or the permanent collection.

An educator, specially trained in verbal description, explains and describes a selected artwork in great detail and tries to evoke an image in  the group’s mind’s eye. The verbal description lets paintings, sculptures and installations come to life for me. I can perceive and understand artworks much better with the help of verbal imaging.

For me these tours are a true pleasure. I do not miss out on details I would not have been able to see on my own. The description allows me to understand the artwork in question in greater depth, including what the artist meant to communicate.  These tours make my art experience more fulfilling. I simply love them.

During these tours we are being helped by several volunteers. They make sure that every one of our group can access the galleries safely, they provide folding seats, listening devices, wheelchairs, and act as guides to people who need assistance in navigating the premises. On many occasions the educators prepare touch objects, model reproduction of  integral parts of an artwork, even 3D prints. These are a treasure chest for visually impaired and blind people.

Top: Sculpture by Frank Stella

Bottom: 3D printed touch object for verbal description tours by Frank Stella

Entrance

But what happens when I visit the museum on my own, without a sighted person at my side?

From the street you can access the museum either by a ramp or up  some steps to two revolving doors and a door especially for baby strollers and wheelchairs. Enter, and you are in the lobby.

The lobby of the museum is a beautifully designed glass palace allowing for much natural light.

You will find the museum shop to the left of the entrances. The ticket counters are further down, also to the left and the membership desk is on the right.

At the entrance where they check your ticket, and at the coat check (downstairs), there are barriers to mark walkways. These are well designed ropes, but invisible to me. I find myself tangled up in these ropes every time I go there. Fortunately, they are soft and you do not hurt yourself.

I asked for printed material for visually impaired and blind people (VIP) in different places (membership desk, ticket office, audio guide booth), but the staff could not provide any special information or large print material.

I happily accepted the free audio guide and headed towards the elevators. Each elevator is a piece of art in itself and fortunately the buttons for the floors are big and clear enough for me to see. I could find the right floor easily.

Line up ropes in entrance hall

In the Galleries

The galleries are very spacious. For every new exhibition the  location of the inner walls are reset to best display the artworks.  The museum has a versatile concept of moving walls and lighting throughout the building. The galleries are usually well lit (for me) without too much glare. There are sometimes exhibitions that I find too dark for me, but rarely.

The flooring is made of recycled wood and easy to walk on. There are no steps between galleries to have to watch out for.

The doors to the cafe and to some of the restrooms are of transparent glass  and hard to see, you have to be very careful not to bump into them.

Glass is a special feature of the architecture of this building. Glass walls (ceiling to floor) separate the open terraces from the building and offer magnificent views of the neighborhood and the Hudson River. 

Painting by Stuart Davis with label on the right side

Art Labels, Audio Guide, and Signs

In the galleries the artwork is well displayed, but for me it is VERY hard to find the labels. And if I find them, they are hard to read. The font of the text is too small and especially the number for the audio guide is too small and hard to find.

I had to take a photo of the label with my phone, and read it on its screen with the zoom on, to be able to get any information at all.

The audio guide is a huge problem for me. For each floor there is a list of numbers with the name of the artwork next to it- I had to read it with my magnifying glass to be able to handle it as there is no zoom function on the device.

Imagine: first taking a photo of the label (after you found it) to be able to read the number, and then having to use a magnifier to use the audio guide. It is hard work!

I was told that they are working on an app – I can´t wait for it to be here!!

The signs for the restrooms are overhead, once you know where to look for them, they are easy to read.

The navigation in the museum is simple enough. The floors can be reached by elevators and stairs. A big cheer for the stairs! All staircases have a sturdy handrail and you can walk up and down safely.

Audio guide display

Last, but Not Least

A visit to the Whitney is a great experience, even when you go there on your own as a visually impaired person (VIP). In general it is easy to navigate, only the Audio Guide may represent an obstacle.

Please don´t miss the Studio Cafe on the 8th floor - delicious food and great views from the terrace. The restaurant “Untitled” on the lobby level offers contemporary American food in a beautifully designed setting.

Painting by Wayne Tiebaud and label

Tip

Before you actually visit the museum go to the Whitney website to check out current exhibitions, hours and schedule changes.

Make sure you allow enough time to explore this spacious museum.