Frank Gehry,
architect. To
historians, he may be known as that '
other Frank' who designed the 'other
Guggenheim', but today, he's the most consistently fresh
architect we've
got (we, meaning
the world). Sure, to some, his
works are just too...
out there. A
disciple of
Bauhaus Gehry is not. Ol' Frank likes to have a little
fun. This
freshness and
fun translates to
pure gaudiness to some... but, don't we all now
love the
works of
the original gaudy one?
Gehry is considered a 'deconstructionist' - fair enough. The Guggenheim at Bilbao, Spain, possibly his masterstroke so far, is certainly deconstructionist, with the easily viewable shape of a seagoing ship broken up into zoomy silver planes. It makes you feel like you're headed out on a voyage, and I'm told that it's wonderfully functional inside. But look at some of his other buildings. What exactly is he deconstructing? All those twisted boxes and warped windows, caved-in cylinders wrapped in corrugated aluminum. They're cool, they're functional... they're from someplace totally foreign to us bores. Gehry really isn't a deconstructionist, unless if he is deconstructing his own imagination.
And that's what (to me) Gehry is all about - imagination. And fun. Lots and lots of fun. Check out his cheap lines of furniture (well, cheap to make... can he help it if his name recognition boosts up the price?) Squiggles abound. Put that stuff in your living room, and it's like the party never stops. His commision for the offices of the innovating, far-seeing ad agency Chiat/Day has a front facade of... binoculars. Heck, this is the guy who's built buildings shaped (very realistically) like a fish on a hook. For a sushi bar, of course.