VIEWED: a documentary about architect Frank Gehry ...

[Smiles]

Watched 'Sketches of Frank Gehry' last night ... picked up in a whim as I had vaguely heard about it before, yet wondering whether a documentary about architecture would be worthwhile. Not 5 minutes before stepping into the video rental store I had gone ass over teakettle on a patch of ice in the dark back alley shortcut I foolishly took, so my butt and hand ached from hitting the ground pretty well in tandem (my hand saved my coccyx, I'm sure) and my humour was black: a good time to watch a story of a man who produces stupendous beauty out of a crumpled papers from his waste basket.

Gehry is a humble egoist (his opinion) with a gentle demeanour and an easy-going manner of working with his partners in his architectural offices in Los Angeles, and a total willingness to open up to his friend, director Sydney Pollack and his little hand held camera. A very down to earth dude with hardly any obvious pretension.




I love the sense of chaos which most of his buildings have within them: he's a closet cubist enjoying some obvious references to Picasso in much of his buildings

For instance, this shot of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa Spain, juxtaposed against two Picasso works.
Dig the golden back wall in the Picasso to the right and how it is a veritable mirror of the skin of the Guggenheim. Lots of equivalent angles and curves, especially at the top.

The curvings and colours in the Picasso at the bottom jump out from the building as well. If Gehry didn't take a good look at this painting, I'll be a monkey's uncle!



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Images/guggenheim03.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Images/picasso2.jpg




And a shot of the annoyingly beautiful Bilbao from further away:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Images/guggenheim04.jpg




I love the rolling rounded movement in both Frank Lloyd Wright's original Guggenheim in New York (right) and Gehry's Disneyland Executive office building in Los Angeles. And in amongst the curved lines ... two outta-no-where sharp straight-edges to worry you. Wright's building was far ahead of his time, and Gehry just moved it straight forward into the edges of the surreal.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Images/guggenheim02.jpg


And this struck me also: these two buildings above ... with their sensuous and flowing meanderings, remind me of some sights seen in a venue not often associated with the traditional architectural sensibility ~ the golf course. What do you think?



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Images/golfbunkers.jpg


Over the top? This dance studio in Prague is as edgy a building as one can imagine. Seemingly built against some physical law, it's still standing and being danced in . . . a weird ballet of it's own right.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Images/guggenheim06.jpg




Love the way the graceful curve of this building in downtown Los Angeles seems to hold up the very walls of the high office tower beside it. Gehry has a love of "placement" ... giving definition to not only his own building, but all those around it: making them ALL better, and more sublime.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Images/guggenheim05.jpg




This documentary is available on DVD at most video stores. A most enjoyable 90 minutes and highly recommended.

Cheers ...

Brain death beckons for someone with your breadth of interests, Smiles!! :idea:

[Smiles]

" ... Brain death beckons for someone with your breadth of interests, Smiles!! :idea: ... "
"Ho-ing" in Hua Hin? I'll do my best thank you . . . but the beloved will surely be taken aback with his newly-crowned 'God-as-Ho'. :geek:

Be living in Hua Hin (a base, as they say), but exploring environs (a journey into my heart of darkness, as someone once said).
Strangely, (as I'm amongst 'This Crowd') I have some preference for temples over temptations, and mountain vistas over upturned buttocks . . . well, part of the time anyway.

"Architecture" didn't remain the topic very long did it? Jinks will undoubtedly delete this thread toot sweet.

Cheers ...

I drove absent-mindedly around the block about ten times looking for the entrance to this damn building, I thought it was a car park, so reminiscent of the ones in Hong-Kong. Until I suddenly recognised it of course, I felt quite pleased, it certainly is a pile of turd.

[Dboy]

Smiles! You might be the guy that can answer this question for me. There's a building similar to the ones you've posted above located in Vienna. I looked all over for it when I was there but since I didn't know
the name of the place or its location, did not have much luck. You know of any buildings in this style (deconstructionist/cubist) in Vienna? Anyway thx for the post.

Dboy

know of any buildings in this style (deconstructionist/cubist) in Vienna?

Maybe the Hundertwasserhaus? 3rd district, Kegelgasse, 34-38 Lowengasse 41-43.
It's an apartment house; you might have walked right past & thought it was an old tennement falling down or something built of wreckage\scraped shantys by the Katzenjammer Kids--But it's fun.

PS:
The building in Prague (The Nationale-Nederlander) is also called chu-len Fred & Ginger--And what's with the condom?

[piston10]

... but fully justified by the magnificent photos of Gehry's great building and your enthusiastic and helpful comments. For me it came at a very opportune moment - it helped me to get rid of the taste of that grotesque, kitsch Sakhawadee 'fantasy palace' that some benighted millionare has just opened in Pattaya (which I haven't seen and don't intend to visit). See Wow Pow's post of about a week ago.

I suppose that, too, was an 'enthusiasm, but he should have thought twice and donated the money to orphanages, supplies of fresh water to those who don't have any, etc. Funny how obtaining merit, or even gaining some notoriety, so often gets confused with grandioseness - and I'm not just thinking of Thailand.

[Smiles]

" ... There's a building similar to the ones you've posted above located in Vienna. I looked all over for it when I was there but since I didn't know the name of the place or its location, did not have much luck. You know of any buildings in this style (deconstructionist/cubist) in Vienna? ... "
Sorry Dboy, couldn't find anything (on the WWW that is) in Vienna which might resemble a building by Gehry. There are a number of websites about Gehry's work and style (with photos), but no mention of a major building in Vienna.

Cheers ...