Roamings of a Leo: Members opening at LACMA's Frank Gehry Exhibit

We enjoyed a members reception at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Sunday evening for the opening of retrospective of the works of L.A.-based architect Frank Gehry. The exhibit consisted of videos, mounted LED screens with photos of his work as well as drawings and models. This is a very large exhibit and demonstrates the amazing career of the 86 year-old architect. Gehry grew up in Toronto, Canada and moved to Los Angeles to begin his career. In a PBS interview he said that he would not call most buildings architecture because they are just boxes. He said his buildings stand out because everything around them is bland.

Gehry graduated with a degree in architecture from the University of Southern California in 1954 and later studied city planning at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He aligned with a group of L.A. artist including Larry Bell, Ron Davis, Robert Irwin, Ed Moses, Ken Price and Ed Ruscha as well as East Coast artist Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg and Jasper Johns. He received the coveted Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1989. He adaped Computer Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application, CATIA, a software tool used in the aeronautics and automobile industries in order to facilitate the construction and engineering of his most radical designs.

Here are photos of my favorite pieces in the exhibit.

"Gehry Residence," model, 1977-78. The photos above and below show the model of Gehry's own house in Santa Monica where he still lives. Wrapped a 1922 Dutch Colonial house with materials he says everyone hates: corrugated metal and chair link fencing, leaving the original house basically in tact.

"Tract House Development, study model, 1979-82 (unbuilt). The description states that Gehry invented a style based on interrelation, which can be seen on this model.

"Indiana Avenue Houses," final model, 1979-81, Venice, California

"Winton Guest House," presentation model, 1982-87

"House for a Filmmaker," presenatation model, 1979-81, Santa Monica, CA.

"Smith Residence," final model, 1979-81 (unbuilt)

"Chiat\Day Building," final model, 1985-91, Venice, CA.

"Schnabel Residence," 1976-1989

"California Aerospace Museum and Theater," model, 1982-84, Los Angeles, CA.

"Sirmai-Perterson Residence," study model, 1983-88, Thousand Oaks, CA.

"Lewis Residence," design model, c. 1995 (unbuilt). In a video describing this design, it was said that although it was never built, Gehry used the design concepts seen here in many future projects.

"Guggenheim Museum Bilbao," final design development model, 1991-97

The Bilbao Guggenheim model viewed from the other side.

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

"Walt Disney Concert Hall Competition Model,"

"Walt Disney Concert Hall 1989-2003"
The description states that Gehry's focus on interstitial spaces led to a fascination with tension and attraction. "The architect created contradictions, clashes, abrupt changes, and conflicts that referenced the heterogeneous nature of the city. His pursuit of an architecture in which the negative space among buildings intensifies the city's energy found one of its most powerful expressions in the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Walt Disney Concert Hall."