Sketches

Brief Biography

Ephraim Owen Goldberg

• Born February 28, 1929 in Toronto, Canada
• His family moved to Los Angeles in 1947

Frank Gehry

• LA City College, University of Southern California
• Victor Gruen Associates
• Compulsory Military Duty
• Harvard Graduate School of Design (Did Not Finish)
• Pereira and Luckman
• Paris: Andre Remondet
• 1962: Gehry Associates, Gehry Partners, LLP

Aesthetics

Frank Gehry recognizes his influences growing up as being modernist. He looks at decoration as a sin, as a result, and uses the materials he chooses to be expressive instead. Gehry acknowledges cubist design in most of his works, and does not worry about the "popular fashion." Gehry's process involves placing objects together so they make a space work, and using different scales of models to not become attached. He does not aim for minimalism, as he does not believe that one can live in a minimalist setting, but rather aims for a balance between minimal and busy. Gehry gathers influence from all around him; sculptures, paintings, furniture. He works within the restraints of safety requirements and surrounding elements to create pieces that both live alone and in an environment. Gehry recognizes the evolution of buildings overtime, but stays true to his push away from rigid architecture.

Gehry Residence 

Rouse Company Headquarters; Completed in 1974

Rasin Building, "Dancing House"

Influence

The development of architecture over time is extraordinary, and Frank Gehry has played a role in that growth, but his recognition of his influence is minimal. He acknowledges that his daring designs came in a time when architecture was rigid with safety and other requirements to be met, and that he was not welcomed by that community. He found support in the art community and started a system of looking at architecture in terms of sculpture and aesthetic. He exploited the curve, while still understanding the surroundings of a proposed building. His accomplishments are great, but he merely keeps his eyes open to any visual influence that pleases him.

Disney Ice, now known as Anaheim Ice: Inspiration drawn from Canadian ice rinks

Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California: Completed in 2003, Inspiration was conceived from Boats and Sailing

A Critic's Perspective

Some have named Frank Gehry the greatest living architect and a master artist, but he does have critics like Hal Foster, who is not convinced that he has earned these titles. He criticizes what is possibly Gehry's most well known building, saying, "In fact, these museums trump the art: they use its great scale, which was meant to challenge the museum, as a pretext to inflate the museum itself into a gigantic spectacle-space that can swallow any art, let alone   any viewer, whole." Foster says this when comparing Gehry to minimalist artists, but Gehry never strives for minimalism, in fact he believes that although it has its place in sculpture no one should live in minimalism, and thus strives for a happy medium. In referring to the Guggenheim Bilbao, Foster not only believes the design overwhelms the art within, he goes on to say that it is a regression. In a time of "transparency in structure," he says that Gehry's buildings appear like a skin hung over an interior space, which might be emphasized by the computer-aided three-dimensional interactive application program used to translate from models to the computer. Foster also criticizes the individuality in his work, which is adored by Gehry's supporters, as exclusive and a spectacle. Foster recognizes the increased demand for feats like Bilbao since its opening in 1997, but still believes that such design is a regression.

For a full opinion by Hall Foster, read "Why all the Hoopla?"
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v23/n16/hal-foster/why-all-the-hoopla

Completed in 1997, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is made of titanium, glass, and limestone.