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
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