Laura Tapper SOUD1068 22.05.15

We do not live in a vacuum, so how does your chosen designer/maker represent and advance practice in their epoch?

Frank Gehry has been revered by Vanity Fair magazine as “the most important architect of our age” (Vanity Fair, 2010) with a career spanning over five decades. He is renowned for his deconstructivist style towards architecture and applying ‘form before function’, an approach that polarises opinion. As well as an architect, Gehry is known for various projects some of which include, his ‘Easy Edges’ corrugated cardboard furniture range in the 1970’s, Tiffany & Co Jewellery collection and the idiosyncratic official trophy for the world cup of hockey in 2004.To appreciate and understand how Frank Gehry has represented and advanced practice in his epoch it is important to discuss the historical background of art and design in his early years, including the establishment of the Bauhaus, which ultimately affected his architectural style throughout his career.

One decade before Gehry’s birth, a school was established in Germany and this establishment was the catalyst for an art and design movement that has had a monumental impact on the art and design world as we know it today. The Bauhaus (1919 – 1933), founded by German architect Walter Gropius, was a school introduced to unify and combine arts and crafts. The school introduced a relatively new approach and aimed to blur the lines between art and industry, merging crafts such as fine arts, architecture and sculpture, subjects that were previously very separate entities. Gropius strived “to bring together all creative efforts into one whole, to reunify all the disciplines of practical art – sculpture, painting, handicrafts and the crafts – as inseparable components of a new architecture...” (Kaes et al, 1994, p.435). The Bauhaus was one of the first schools to teach modern design to students, encouraging a creative freedom in the arts and crafts during a time of struggle and conflict.

Throughout Germany at this time, Hitler was making his rise to power and it was this that led to the closure of the Bauhaus in 1933. The oppressive regime led by Adolf Hitler aimed to stamp out many forms of modern art and literature that had grown in popularity during that time. Not only did he view modernism as degenerative but he saw it as subversive, believing many forms of modern art, such as Cubism and Dadaism, to be a product of Bolshevics and therefore supportive of Communism - “He to whom this may seem strange should only subject to an examination the art of those states which have had the good fortune of being bolshevized, and to his horror he will observe the sickly excrescences of lunatics or of degenerate people which since the turn of the century we have learned to know under the collective conception of Cubism or Dadaism as the official art of those states.” (Hitler, 1941, p.353).

Hitler murdered a number of Bauhaus students (Weber, 2009) and unwittingly had forced the spread of modernism worldwide. A handful of Bauhaus teachers, including Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, Josef Albers and Ludwig van der Rohe, fled Germany in seek of safe asylum and to start a new life in the United States.

At the age of eighteen, Frank Gehry and his family moved from Toronto to Los Angeles. It was a city that nurtured his creativity due to its culture of artistic experimentation and free spirits. Gehry’s association with artists, many of which had been influenced by the Bauhaus movement, impacted upon his early career resulting in a modernist approach to his architecture. An example of this influence can be seen in Gehry’s first major independent commissioned piece of architecture in the late 1950’s (See fig. 1.).

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Fig. 1. Steeves House (1958-1959)

The Steeves house embodies all the characteristics of the modernist style and was a starting point for Gehry’s architectural development. These characteristics consist of simplicity with little or no unnecessary detail, clean horizontal and vertical lines at right angles to each other, large open spaces and the notion that form followed function. This style is a world away from what Gehry is known for today. (Isenberg, 2009, p.26) states “the Steeves house looks to you like early Frank Lloyd Wright in Japan” to which Gehry agrees. Another of Frank Lloyd Wright’s works that I believe epitomises the modernist style is ‘Falling Water’ (See fig. 2.).

Fig. 2. Falling Water (1935-1938)

Frank Lloyd Wright was known for using the natural environment to influence his architecture. In ‘Falling Water’ Wright uses natural earthy colours so that the project looks at home in its surroundings. This is something we have seen Gehry do with his later projects such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (See fig. 7.).

It wasn’t until the late 1970’s that Gehry began to develop his architectural style and move into postmodernism. It was through the Santa Monica residence that Gehry bucked the modernistic trend, favouring a new style and approach. This elevated him into the spotlight and resulted in the media crediting this work as ‘the house that built Gehry’ (See fig. 3.).

Laura Tapper SOUD1068 22.05.15

Fig.3. Gehry’s House, Santa Monica (1977-1978)

It was his own personal project to create his own home but also as a laboratory to “express myself [himself] more directly, without editing” (Isenberg, 2009, p.65) and experiment with materials. Gehry used common and unloved American building materials to construct interesting forms around the existing house. The materials used consisted of chain link fencing, corrugated aluminium and unfinished Plywood as well as stripping the interior walls to reveal structural elements of the building. The idea of recycling materials for a new use but retaining the history of the objects previous life was something that artists were applying to their work alongside Frank Gehry. Robert Rauschenberg, an American painter, sculptor and close friend of Gehry’s constructed a range of sculptures using cardboard found on the street (See fig. 4.).

Fig.4. Cardboards (1970)

Eleven years after the Santa Monica residence Gehry designed the Vitra Design museum in Germany (See fig. 5.). This became a pivotal moment in Gehry’s career that developed his design process and in years to come would advance technology in architecture.

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Fig. 5. Vitra Design Museum (1989)

The Vitra museum illustrates the deconstructive style that Gehry is so strongly associated with. He uses curved forms to break up the monotony of straight lines and angular shapes. These curves give the effect of movement in the architecture, something that he became fascinated with and applied to many of his future works. The Vitra Museum was “the first time I [Gehry] got to realise that idea of movement” (Isenberg, 2009, p.79) and his inclusion of movement within his architecture is, in my opinion, what made him stand out among the other deconstructivist architects at that time. Gehry received this recognition in the same year, when he was awarded the Pritzker architecture prize for his contribution to architecture.

After the Vitra was completed in 1989, Gehry noticed a kink on the exterior spiral staircase (See fig. 6.) that was unintentional in the design plans,

“I tried to draw it with descriptive geometry but when the guy built it there was a kink in it. It didn’t work. The drawing didn’t represent what really happened in the sight. It was when I

got frustrated and asked the guys in the office if there was a better way to get those curved shapes, that’s what led us to the computer”

(Sketches Of Frank Gehry, 2006)

Fig. 6. Vitra Design Museum Spiral Staircase (1989)

The addition of computer-aided design was introduced into Gehry’s personal design process from then on, to prevent structural obstructions from reoccurring. Not only has this benefitted Gehry by

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allowing him to have more creative freedom in his designs, but also he has taken this technology and expanded and improved its use in architecture for future generations.In January 2013, Gehry Technologies released ‘Digital Project Software’, a computer design programme for architecture, designed to involve all parties in the design and construction process. The programme allows a three dimensional model to be scanned into the software which produces a building information model (BIM), all professionals then have the ability to apply plans to the skeleton for all involved to see. An important aspect of the software is that the architect can remain in control of the design at all times and therefore there is no room for interpretation. In a very practical sense, Gehry has advanced his epoch by providing the next generation of architects and designers with software and training, something that has and will continue to shape the industry for the foreseeable future.

Gehry’s software mimics his approach to design; he creates the form and shape of a building before contemplating how the building will be constructed. This application of ‘form before function’ is an aspect of Gehry’s work that has been constant which represents and advances practice in architecture. The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao Spain (See fig. 7.), is arguable the most recognised piece of architecture of its era according to Mildred Friedman, writer and curator, “I don’t think there is a building that comes near the inventiveness in this period of art history” (Sketches of Frank Gehry, 2006).

Fig.7. Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain (1997)

As stated by Gehry in Sketches of Frank Gehry, his objective for the Guggenheim Museum “was looking for a way to express feeling in a three dimensional object” (Sketches of Frank Gehry, 2006). He achieved this aim and unknowingly the aim of Walter Gropius by combining the use of art, sculpture and architecture, which evokes emotion from those who view it; similar to the way a painting or piece of music can effect an audience’s emotion. An example of the Guggenheim Museums extraordinary effect is illustrated in a comment made by the world famous post modernist architect Phillip Johnson; “It moved me just as much at the end of the two days as it did when I just walked in” (Sketches of Frank Gehry, 2006). This combination of art, sculpture and architecture gave Gehry’s buildings sensual curves that advanced the deconstructivist style as well as the materials he used. For the Guggenheim museum, Gehry chose to use ‘oil canned’ titanium. Oil canned titanium gave a textured surface that reflected the light off of the forms and shapes of the building, making it appear to have a golden glow in all weathers. The golden glow of the building represents a beacon of light in the city of Bilbao, which before the construction of the museum was in economic decline. This was intentional and represents how his architectural style is influenced by the buildings relationship with the history of the location and its surrounding environment.

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To conclude, the way Gehry has and continues to represent and advance practice in architecture is clear. Gehry is a brave pioneer of architecture who does not feel restricted by the apparent rules set by those within the industry. His experimentation of forms and materials through his career, which I have analysed in the essay, has altered his architectural style to a point where he has merged aspects of the crafts, creating a style of architecture that emotionally connects with its audience. Although there have been pieces of architecture in the past that have achieved the same sense of emotion, for example Le Corbusier’s Notre Dame du Haut, Gehry has in my opinion made this effect popular and united architects and artists. Because of this, Gehry has given a new meaning to architecture and put architecture in the spotlight. Before Gehry, it was mainly architects that were concerned and interested in architecture, but today millions of people from all walks of life travel thousands of miles to catch a glimpse of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain (Plaza, 2007). As well as the architectural style he has developed, his invention of ‘Digital Project Software’ has allowed him to push the boundaries of what can be achieved architecturally. This has given architects the confidence to be more creative sculpturally with their designs and follow in Gehry’s footsteps by combining the crafts. The research I have undertaken on Frank Gehry has not only developed and inspired others but has had a positive impact upon my own approach to design. Similar to Frank Gehry’s search for forms I now analyse compositions in paintings and photographs to collate these interesting shapes. I then have a basic outline that I can distort until I capture movement and in turn this produces more sculptural designs, something I have found difficult to achieve in previous sketch development. This combined with the main body of the essay is the reason I wholeheartedly agree with the statement by Vanity Fair magazine referring to Gehry as, ‘the most important architect of our age’ (Vanity Fair, 2010) and believe that his various impacts on architecture and the wider design industry will be seen for years to come.

Laura Tapper SOUD1068 22.05.15

Bibliography:

Hitler, A. (1941). Mein Kampf Complete and Unabridged. Fully annotated. Boston, Massachusetts: Hough ton Mifflin Company.

Isenberg, B. (2009). Conversations with Frank Gehry. First Edition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Jaeggi, A. Bauhaus archive museum fur gelstaltung. Available from: http://www.bauhaus.de/en/das_bauhaus/48_1919_1933/ (Accessed on 04.02.15).

Kaes, A. Jay, M. Dimendberg, E. (1994). The Weimar Republic Sourcebook. (s.I): University of California Press.

McManus, D. (2014). Frank Gehry Architect. e-architect [Online], October 2014. Available from: http://www.e-architect.co.uk/architects/frank-gehry (Accessed 03.03.15).

Plaza, Beatriz (2007): The Bilbao effect (Guggenheim Museum Bilbao). Published in: Museum News. American Association of Museums , Vol. 86, No. 5 (31. September 2007).

Sketches of Frank Gehry (2006) Directed by Sydney Pollack [DVD]. Culver City, Calif: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Vanity Fair. (2010). Architecture in the age of Gehry. Vanity Fair [Online], August 2010. Available from: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/08/architecture-survey-201008 (Accessed on 06.03.15).

Weber, N. (2009). Deadly Style: Bauhaus’s Nazi Connection. The New York Times [Online], December 2009. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/arts/design/27webe.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 (Accessed on 20.04.15).

Whiteson, L. (1989). Frank Gehry: The evolution of a master. Los Angeles Times [Online], October 1989. Available from: http://articles.latimes.com/1989-10-30/news/vw-119_1_gehry-house (Accessed on 07.03.15).

Wick, R. (2000). Teaching at the Bauhaus. Edition 2 Illustrated. Germany: Distributed Art Pub Incorporated.

Reference List:

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Hitler, A, 1941. Mein Kampf Complete and Unabridged, Fully annotated. Boston, Massachusetts: Hough ton Mifflin Company.

Isenberg, B, 2009. Conversations with Frank Gehry. First Edition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Kaes, A. Jay, M. Dimendberg, E, 1994. The Weimar Republic Sourcebook. (s.I): University of California Press.

Plaza, Beatriz (2007): The Bilbao effect (Guggenheim Museum Bilbao). Published in: Museum News. American Association of Museums , Vol. 86, No. 5 (31. September 2007).

Sketches of Frank Gehry (2006) Directed by Sydney Pollack [DVD]. Culver City, Calif: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Vanity Fair. (2010). Architecture in the age of Gehry. Vanity Fair [Online], August 2010. Available from: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/08/architecture-survey-201008 (Accessed on 06.03.15).

Weber, N. (2009). Deadly Style: Bauhaus’s Nazi Connection. The New York Times [Online], December 2009. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/arts/design/27webe.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 (Accessed on 20.04.15).

List of illustrations:

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Figure 1. Gehry, F (1958-1959) Steeves House [Architecture] At: http://www.ncmodernist.org/gehry.htm (Accessed on 16.02.15).

Figure 2. Wright, F (1935-1938) Falling Water [Architecture] At: http://www.fallingwater.org/ (Accessed on 16.02.15).

Figure 3. Gehry, F (1977-1978) Santa Monica House [Architecture] In: Degal, K, Frank O. Gehry, The Archiects Studio. (s.I): Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

Figure 4. Rauschenberg, R (1970’s) Cardboards [Sculpture] At: http://www.houstonpress.com/2007-05-10/culture/robert-rauschenberg-cardboards-and-related-pieces/ (Accessed on 10.03.15).

Figure 5. Gehry, F (1989) Vitra Design Museum [Architecture] In: Isenberg, B, Conversations With Frank Gehry. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Figure 7. Gehry, F (1997) Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao Spain [Architecture] At: http://noticias.arq.com.mx/Detalles/11299.html#.VPrlqUITOt8 (Accessed on 07.03.15).