FRANK O GEHRY

SAI DEEPTHI DNYANMOTHE

20091AA074
 HIS LIFE
•GEHRY WAS BORN FRANK OWEN GOLDBERG ON FEBRUARY 28, 1929,
IN TORONTO, ONTARIO.

•HE WAS A TRUCK DRIVER IN L.A., GOING TO CITY COLLEGE, AND HE

TRIED RADIO ANNOUNCING, WHICH HE WASN'T VERY GOOD AT.

•DURING THAT TIME, HE BECAME A MEMBER OF ALPHA EPSILON PI.

HE TRIED CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, WHICH HE WASN'T VERY GOOD AT

AND DIDN'T LIKE, THAN HE TRIED SOME ARCHITECTURE CLASSES.

•GEHRY GRADUATED AT THE TOP OF HIS CLASS WITH A BACHELOR OF

ARCHITECTURE DEGREE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN FRANK OWEN GEHRY
CALIFORNIA'S SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE IN 1954. "I APPROACH EACH BUILDING AS A
SCULPTURAL OBJECT, A SPATIAL
• IN 1952 HE MARRIED ANITA SNYDER, AND IN 1956 HE CHANGED HIS CONTAINER, A SPACE WITH LIGHT AND
NAME TO FRANK O. GEHRY AT HER SUGGESTION. AIR, A RESPONSE TO CONTEXT AND
APPROPRIATENESS OF FEELING AND
SPIRIT. TO THIS CONTAINER, THIS
•HE SPENT TIME AWAY FROM THE FIELD OF ARCHITECTURE IN SCULPTURE, THE USER BEGINS HIS
NUMEROUS OTHER JOBS, INCLUDING SERVICE IN THE UNITED STATES BAGGAGE, HIS PROGRAM, AND
ARMY. INTERACTS WITH IT TO ACCOMMODATE
HIS NEEDS. IF HE CAN'T DO THAT, I'VE
IN 2004, HE DESIGNED THE TROPHY FOR THE WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY FAILED."
 HIS INSPIRATION
•HE WOULD SPEND TIME DRAWING WITH HIS FATHER AND HIS MOTHER INTRODUCED
HIM TO THE WORLD OF ART. "SO THE CREATIVE GENES WERE THERE"

•HE WAS ENCOURAGED BY HIS GRANDMOTHER, MRS. CAPLAN, WITH WHOM HE

WOULD BUILD LITTLE CITIES OUT OF SCRAPS OF WOOD FROM HER HUSBAND'S
HARDWARE STORE.

•DRAWN TO THE SOCIAL ISSUES, ARCHITECTURE IS THE PANACEA FOR CITIES

FUTURES

WORKING
ON HIS WORKS
 DESIGN PRINCIPLES
● ALTHOUGH FRANK GEHRY DOES NOT PERSONALLY ASSOCIATE WITH THE
MOVEMENT, CRITICS PRIMARILY CONSIDER HIS DESIGN PHILOSOPHY TO BE
DECONSTRUCTIVISM, AN APPROACH CHARACTERIZED BY
FRAGMENTATION AND DISTORTIONS OF TRADITIONAL STRUCTURE,
INFORMED BY HIS BELIEF THAT ALL ARTISTS SHOULD BE TRUE TO
THEMSELVES.
● PHILOSOPHICALLY, DECONSTRUCTIVISM COMES AS A CRITICAL RESPONSE
TO MODERNISM, IN WHICH THE FORM OF A BUILDING IS EXPECTED TO
FOLLOW STRICTLY FROM ITS FUNCTION. USE OF ASYMMETRY,
EXAGGERATED PROPORTIONS AND UNCONVENTIONAL MATERIALS.
● MODERNIST BUILDINGS, EPITOMIZED BY RECTANGULAR STEEL AND GLASS,
ELIMINATION OF UNNECESSARY DETAIL AND ADHERENCE TO RIGID
GEOMETRIC NORMS.
● MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE REFLECTS CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHIES
REGARDING SOCIAL HARMONY AND MACHINE-LIKE ORGANIZATION.
● DECONSTRUCTIVISM IS THUS CALLED AS IT ATTEMPTS TO DESTABILIZE
MODERNIST THINKING BY BREAKING UP DESIGN INTO HIGHLY STYLIZED,
INDIVIDUAL PARTS.
● THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM IN BALBOA, SPAIN, GEHRY'S MOST ICONIC
WORK, FEATURES AN EXTERIOR OF TITANIUM, GLASS AND LIMESTONE
THAT IS BOTH RECTANGULAR AND TRADITIONAL AND ALSO
DRAMATICALLY CURVED AND FOLDED.
 DESIGN PRINCIPLES
● THE FRAME HOUSES BOTH REGULAR AND IRREGULAR
GALLERY SHAPES WITHIN.
● THE BLEND OF CLASSIC AND DISTORTED FIGURES IN
GEHRY'S WORK FRAGMENTS BUILDINGS INTO ELEMENTS
VISUALLY AT ODDS WITH ONE ANOTHER AND WITH THEIR
RESPECTIVE ENVIRONMENTS.
● GEHRY INTENDS THIS ELABORATE APPROACH TO DESIGN
TO GREATLY IMPRINT HIS BUILDINGS IN LOCAL CULTURE.
● GEHRY'S STYLE AT TIMES SEEMS UNFINISHED OR EVEN
CRUDE, BUT HIS WORK IS CONSISTENT WITH THE
CALIFORNIA 'FUNK' ART MOVEMENT IN THE 1960S AND
EARLY 1970S, WHICH FEATURED THE USE OF INEXPENSIVE
FOUND OBJECTS AND NON-TRADITIONAL MEDIA SUCH AS
CLAY TO MAKE SERIOUS ART.
● GEHRY HAS BEEN CALLED "THE APOSTLE OF CHAIN-LINK
FENCING AND CORRUGATED METAL SIDING"
● HOWEVER, A RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBIT AT NEW YORK'S
WHITNEY MUSEUM IN 1988 REVEALED THAT HE IS ALSO A
SOPHISTICATED CLASSICAL ARTIST, WHO KNOWS
EUROPEAN ART HISTORY AND CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE
AND PAINTING
 CRITICISM
● GEHRY'S WORK HAS ITS DETRACTORS. SOME
HAVE SAID
● THE BUILDINGS WASTE STRUCTURAL
RESOURCES BY CREATING FUNCTIONLESS
FORMS.
● THE BUILDINGS ARE APPARENTLY DESIGNED
WITHOUT ACCOUNTING FO THE LOCAL
CLIMATE.
● THE SPECTACLE OF A BUILDING OFTEN
OVERWHELMS ITS INTENDED USE, ESPECIALLY
IN THE CASE OF MUSEUMS AND ARENAS.
● THE BUILDINGS DO NOT SEEM TO BELONG IN
THEIR SURROUNDINGS. GEHRY WAS
INTERESTED IN THE FORM OF A FISH, AND THE
NOTION OF BRINGING MOVEMENT INTO HIS
ARCHITECTURE, IT WAS HIS WAY OF
EXPLORING THE TECHNIQUE OF DOUBLE
CURVES
● AS A YOUNG BOY HE HAS MEMORIES OF
GOING TO THE MARKETPLACE WITH HIS
GRANDPARENTS AND PURCHASING CARP
AWARDS