THIS WEEK’S MUSE
FRANK GEHRY
“Architecture should speak of its time and place but yearn for timelessness.”
Frank Gehry is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. His buildings are considered some of the most important in contemporary architecture and Vanity Fair has described him as “the most important architect of our age.”
Gehry was a creative child. He and his grandmother spent hours together building imaginary houses and futuristic cities out of blocks of wood from the family’s hardware store. His father helped him learn how to draw and his mother introduced him to the art world. When wondering which direction to study, he remembered “Grandma and the blocks, and just on a hunch, I tried some architecture classes.”
“Architecture is a small piece of this human equation, but for those of us who practice it, we believe in its potential to make a difference, to enlighten and to enrich the human experience, to penetrate the barriers of misunderstanding and provide a beautiful context for life’s drama.”
He began his professional life as a designer and his early work was consistent with the California “funk” art movement of the 1960s and early 1970s. It featured the use of inexpensive found objects and nontraditional media such as clay to make serious art.
While each of Gehry’s buildings is unique, some defining features make his work instantly recognizable. His architecture is characterized by flowing lines, and exterior surfaces cladded with anything from titanium panels to corrugated strips, giving his designs an unfinished, organic appearance.
“The best advice I’ve received is to be yourself. The best artists do that.”
After the phenomenal success of his design for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, architectural design shifted. Now, buildings have become works of art in their own right. Incredible shapes – form over function, art for art’s sake.
Critics began seeing new architecture as a way to boost a city’s economic and cultural revitalization, becoming known as the “Bilbao effect.” In the first 12 months after the museum was opened, an estimated US$160 million were added to the Basque economy. Over $3.5 billion have been added to the Basque economy since the building opened. The architecture itself, not the reason for the building, was seen as a way to boost culture.
Gehry sees the world as a collision of thoughts represented through buildings, music, and art. The mission of an architect, he says, is to “design something that one would want to be a part of, something one would want to visit and enjoy in an attempt to improve one’s quality of life.”
“You’ve got to bumble forward into the unknown.”
HAPPENING
MIND, BODY & WELLNESS
Wednesday, July 20, from 9:30–11am
Four Wednesdays, beginning July 20, from 9:30–11am
Gentle Stretching
with Dianne Voikos
Improve flexibility, circulation, balance and relieve tension.
$22 – Single session, $88 – Four-week series
SINGLE SESSION