The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has presented the crowdfunding initiative #BringPuppyToLife to raise the funds needed to restore the inside of Jeff Koons’s floral sculpture Puppy , one of the most iconic works of art in the Museum and the city of Bilbao.
The Museum decided to launch its first crowdfunding campaign after an exhaustive technical analysis carried out by the experts in the Museum’s Conservation Department. They concluded that the work has to be treated preventatively to replace and refurbish the components of its internal structure and ensure its future conservation. The restoration of the steel “skeleton,” the watering system, and the different layers that secure the substrate which also feeds the plants, such as the metallic mesh and the geotextile fabric, will cost €100,000. The Museum has chosen to enlist the collaboration of society to ensure that this beloved and representative work. Puppy, will remain in great condition for the next 25 years.
As a result, the Museum has included a special microsite Bring Puppy To Life (on its main website) in Basque, Spanish, English, and French, for anyone who wants to make a contribution and become a ‘sponsor’ of the colossal floral Puppy. The public can donate securely and easily online, choosing the easiest method for them—PayPal, Bizum, or credit card. And they can deduct their donation by filling out their information for the tax certificate.
This crowdfunding campaign will be active from today until Fall. Restoration will take place in September, October, and November of 2021, dovetailing with the next change in Puppy ’s flowers, when the recently-planted summer flowers will be replaced by winter plants.
Puppy has been welcoming visitors to the Guggenheim Bilbao since the Museum opened in October 1997. This public sculpture more than 12 meters tall, which represents a giant West Highland terrier, is designed to attract, spark optimism, and instill confidence and security, in the words of its artist, Jeff Koons. Puppy is one of the most admired and photographed contemporary works of art, and in order for it to continue to keep its optimal appearance and health in the future, the time has come to give it a new lease on life.
www.davidaapuppy.guggenheim-bilbao.eus/
