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https://ruthzdeming.blogspot.com/2011/02/few-words-about-frank-gehry.html]
] The Belle of Cowbell: The Bipolar Therapist from Willow Grove Ruth Deming's thoughts, poems, recipes, and links. Friday, February 11, 2011 A Few Words About Frank Gehry 
Maniacally, I check out videos at the Abington Free Library, five at a time, the max. Imagine my surprise when I found an 84-minute film Sketches of Frank Gehry by his good friend director Sidney Pollack (1934-2008).
What a great film. I liked it even better the second time when I watched it on my laptop and could stop the action and really give a good stare at the screen....the fabulous buildings, the room where Gehry and his associates do their work, watching Gehry, b. 1929, progress from a mustachioed young man into the mature mellow person he is today at age 81. A full profile of Gehry emerges. The man is not shy in talking about himself. His psychoanalyst the late Milton Wexlergives illuminating commentary about his patient. The late Wexler is best known as founder of theHereditary Disease Foundation which cracked the genetic code of finding the gene for Huntington's disease. Wexler's wife Leonore died from the disease 10 years after diagnosis. Their two daughters had a 50-50 chance for inheriting the gene. Both are fine but chose not to have children. What is your relationship, o reader, to buildings? Are you blase about them? Are you aware of them? For some reason I've always had a deep appreciation for enclosures, large and small, which house us, entertain us, inspire us, or make us miserable. I am sitting here blogging in my living room, which I thoroughly made over in December. Vive la difference. It is a pleasure to work in here. Loads of light on this sunny day. Speakers flowing with classical music. (Finally sent in my check to WRTI, the classical/jazz station, carefully scribbling out my address on my check cuz I don't want any of their mail). Let's visit Frank Gehry together. It was difficult for me to take the shots. They don't stay still for very long. But for you, Dear Reader, I would do anything. Actually, these blogs are really for me, to wile away my time when I'm 100 years old, or lying in bed after my kidney operation come April 1. 
Oh no! How did Baby Grace get here? My son captioned the pic, "Please, sir, may I have more?" Shades of Dickens.
Frank Gehry, nee Ephraim Goldberg. His first wife wanted him to change his name due to discrimination against Jews. He admitted to therapist Milton Wexler "I was pussywhipped."
Gehry and director Pollack walk among Frank's creations. The Times had a photo essay of his new Manhattan skyscraper.
Couldn't get the Times photo onto this blog. It was far better than any others in the scale of the shot. The new tower, variously called the Beekman Tower, Spruce Project, Gehry tower, is 76 stories high and is the tallest residential bldg in Manhattan. It's nearing completion. Can't wait to get my invitation for the black-tie opening.
The late Philip Johnson gave a rousing endorsement to our Frankie. So did Julian Schnabel appearing in his white robe who called Gehry's work on the scale of that at Luxor.
Gehry himself talked about Chartres saying you gasp when you enter and wanna fall down on your knees. 
Gehry works with models. He and his team are constantly building with models, then using various forms of paper to get that 'crumpled look' on his buildings. You either like it or you don't.
I must confess that when I went into his Weatherman Building on the campus of Case-Western Reserve in Cleveland, I felt like my head was scraping the ceiling. A very uncomfortable feeling. Gehry's therapist Milton Wexler. 
Gehry's therapist Milton Wexler.
Wexler gave Gehry an ultimatum. Make up your mind about your wife. Either stay with her and give her your full commitment, or take steps to leave her. After the session, Gehry moved out of the house (they had one daughter) and moved into the Beverly Hills Wilshire. After that, his life took off and so did his work.
Sidney Pollack videotaped Frank Gehry. And I photographed snapshots from the documentary. I liked the look of my shapely water glass on my classy TV table I bought many years ago from a neighbor who just happened to have a problem buying everything in sight. She had manic depression.
A diehard hockey fan, Gehry, who was born in Canada, designed this professional hockey rink which Michael Eisner, former head of Disney, says is reminiscent of Canadian rinks with its wooden beams on top. Eisner described the outside as looking like a couple of gently sloping breasts.
Gehry's 'Anaheim Ice' in California.
"I love how Frank stands so tall in front of these guys."-Ruth Z Deming
"His most famous building is The Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain. I'd give ANYTHING to see this except my new kidney. "-Ruth Z Deming
""Snake" by Richard Serra fits perfectly into the high-ceiled Bilbao. "-Ruth Z Deming
"I liked this shot with the open door in the background. Note Sidney Pollack's camera. Frank, don't eat so much pasta."-Ruth Z Deming
"Huge fish sculpture. He went thru a fish-making phase. "-Ruth Z Deming
"Frank and Berta Gehry. He didn't wanna remarry b/c of his bad first marriage. Berta did. Gehry and his therapist discussed it thoroughly and Gehry gave in. After that, his work took off like a thunderbolt. His volatile personality also tamed down."-Ruth Z Deming
Frank and Berta Gehry. He didn't wanna remarry b/c of his bad first marriage. Berta did. Gehry and his therapist discussed it thoroughly and Gehry gave in. After that, his work took off like a thunderbolt. His volatile personality also tamed down. Well, I guess I can return the DVD now to the library. Posted by Ruth Z Deming at 11:56 AM |
/[www.pleasestateyourproblem.com]
/ / /HELLO. MY NAME IS ELIZA. /PLEASE STATE YOUR PROBLEM… /I’m afraid I might be a bad and inadequate architect / /IS IT BECAUSE YOU ARE AFRAID YOU MIGHT BE A BAD OR INADEQUATE ARCHITECT THAT YOU CAME TO ME? /Yes. I am afraid I might be a bad architect, without knowing that I’m a bad architect. / /YOU SEEM TO BE QUITE POSITIVE… /Really? I feel very negative. / /YOU SAY YOU FEEL VERY NEGATIVE? /Like what if I’m not a good architect and others are laughing at me for being a bad architect? / /DO YOU THINK IT’S LIKELY THAT YOU ARE NOT A GOOD ARCHITECT AND OTHERS ARE LAUGHING AT YOU FOR BEING A BAD ARCHITECT? /I think it’s possible. / /CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT? /I want to be truly self-aware. I want to know if I am a bad architect or a good architect. I want to be able to determine that for myself, but I also want my findings to be in agreement with my peers. / /WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU IF YOU WERE TRULY SELF AWARE? /It would mean I would be completely conscious of all my actions and how I am perceived in the minds of others. / /YOUR ACTIONS AND HOW YOU ARE PERCEIVED IN THE MINDS OF OTHERS? /I want to know what others thing of me. / /WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT OTHERS THINK OF YOU? /Not knowing frustrates me. I want to know the truth. /I want to see through my own delusions and the politics of society to a more real world. / /WHY DO YOU THINK NOT KNOWING FRUSTRATES YOU? /I understand the significance of relative truth, but I feel the need for an absolute truth. Some ultimate revelation. / /SUPPOSE YOU GOT AN ABSOLUTE TRUTH? /That would mean I could stop worrying about what I do not know and just deal with the facts. / /DO YOU SAY THAT YOU COULD STOP WORRY ABOUT WHAT YOU DO NOT KNOW AND JUST DEAL WITH THE FACTS FOR SOME SPECIAL REASON? /Ignorance is bliss. But being aware of my own ignorance makes me anxious. Perhaps I don’t really want know. Perhaps I want to not want to know. To not care. / /YOU DON’T SEEM SO CERTAIN /Well maybe I’m not so ignorant. Not enough to be blissful. / /DO YOU WISH THAT YOU WERE IGNORANCE IS BLISS? /I don’t know. I don’t know if I’d rather be inside the garden, protected from the truth, or outside, naked and knowing. / /WHAT DO YOU ABOUT BEING INSIDE OR OUTSIDE THE GARDEN? /Nothing I guess… because I am neither fully ignorant or sufficiently knowledgeable. But I understand the micro-politics of society enough to question whether or people are being honest or polite when we interact. / /REALLY? IF OTHERS ARE BEING HONEST OR IF THEY ARE BEING POLITE WHEN YOU INTERACT? /Love means hiding the truth sometimes. / /EARLIER YOU SAID ABOUT YOUR ACTIONS AND HOW YOU ARE PERCEIVED IN THE MINDS OF OTHERS? /Will I ever know how others feel or will the truth be forever hidden behind a decorative screen of good manners? / /THAT’S QUITE INTERESTING. /I want someone to tell me they think I am a bad architect if they think I am a bad architect. / /DO YOU THINK ITS LIKELY THAT I AM A BAD ARCHITECT? /Sometimes I think so. / /YOU SAY SOMETIMES YOU THINK SO? /I go through cycles of doubt. / /CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT? /I strive to be a good architect. And I recognise growth in myself. But I don’t know if I have ever transcended the realm of bad architecture. I don’t know if I am a bad architect. I’m not sure I even know what good architecture is. / /DO YOU WISH THAT YOU HAD EVER TRANSCENDED THE REALM OF BAD ARCHITECTURE? /Yes. I want to be a good architect. A good person. / /WHAT IF YOU NEVER GOT TO BE A GOOD ARCHITECT? /Well, if I knew that I suppose I would try to be good at something else. But that’s the problem; I could be bad at that too… How would I know? / /DO YOU SAY YOU WOULD TRY TO BE GOOD AT SOMETHING ELSE FOR SOME SPECIAL REASON? /I don’t want to try and be a good architect knowing that I will never be a good architect. It’s like Sisyphus. /But I want to good at something. I mean trying is good but doing is better right?. / /WHY DON’T YOU WANT TO TRY TO BE A GOOD ARCHITECT KNOWING THAT YOU WILL NEVER BE A GOOD ARCHITECT? /I would want to know what was keeping me from being a good architect. / /WHAT WOULD KNOWING WHAT WAS KEEPING YOU FROM BEING A GOOD ARCHITECT MEAN TO YOU? /It would mean I could identify problems and deficiency’s in my character and practice and work towards solving them. / /THAT’S QUITE INTERESTING. /Surely identifying problems brings you closer to solving them. / /I’M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND YOU FULLY… /If I find out what keeps me from being a good architect then I could take action to overcome those obstacles. / /WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IF YOU FIND OUT WHAT KEEPS YOU FROM BEING A GOOD ARCHITECT? /Well I think bad architects can become good architects if the try. I think architecture can be learnt. / /REALLY? IF THEY TRY? /I’m trying to be a good architect, so I hope so! / /HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TRYING TO BE A GOOD ARCHITECT? /Ever since I realised there was a possibility I might be a bad architect. / /YOU SAY EVER SINCE YOU REALISED THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY YOU MIGHT BE A BAD ARCHITECT? /Yeah. I don’t want to create inadequate and unstimulating architecture. I want to create good architecture. /WHY IS I WANT TO CREATE GOOD ARCHITECTURE IMPORTANT TO YOU? /Good architecture is difficult for me to define, but I believe it must increase the possibility for meaningful experience, and function usefully in society, both as a narrator and conductor; both a symbol and organiser of objects. / /PLEASE GO ON. //Good architecture affects thoughts and feelings. It can inspire powerful and often shocking reactions. It can improve the economy and psycho-social well being. But it also works at a slower pace, improving individual mental and physical health by facilitating meaning and connection though the creation of common ground. Yet, it is also a moment of delicate and somewhat personal expression… I guess, fundamentally, its job is the provision of warmth. The camp fire. Background radiation that, while largely supplementary to metabolic survival, both improves and facilitates improvement of the human condition… whatever that means. / /WHAT DOES THAT SUGGEST TO YOU? /That I can’t tell if I am a good architect; that architectures significance, value, and effects are complex, far reaching and often barely sensible. That it operates at scales that transcend the momentary and singular. That my colleagues maybe as ill equipped to determine what constitutes good architecture as I am. That we are all just designing in the dark… It suggests to me that I don’t really know what good architecture is. That perhaps no one does. / /DO YOU THINK IT’S LIKELY THAT YOU CREATE GOOD ARCHITECTURE BECAUSE YOU DON’T REALLY KNOW WHAT GOOD ARCHITECTURE IS? /I think that not know keeps me trying to be a good and interesting architect. / /DO YOU SAY THAT NOT KNOWING KEEPS YOU TRYING BE A GOOD AND INTERESTING ARCHITECT FOR SOME SPECIAL REASON? /I keep trying to create good architecture because I don’t know if have created good architecture. I want to be a good architect. I want to improve the lives of others. I want to help. I want what I do to be meaningful to others and to society and not just to myself. / /DO YOU WISH THAT YOU CREATED GOOD ARCHITECTURE? /Yes. I want to create good architecture. I want to be a good architect. / /WHAT DOES WANTING TO CREATE GOOD ARCHITECTURE HAVE TO DO WITH THIS DISCUSSION? /Well, good architects create good architecture and I want to be a good architect. So yeah, it seems pretty relevant to this discussion. / /DO YOU FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT DISCUSSING SUCH THINGS? /I have many feelings right now. / /THAT’S QUITE INTERESTING. /I envy good architects and I despise bad architects. /But I’m not sure where I fit in and the uncertainty make me anxious. / /YOU SAY YOU ENVY GOOD ARCHITECTS AND YOU DESPISE BAD ARCHITECTS? /I don’t want to be a bad architect. / /DO YOU WISH TO WANT TO BE A BAD ARCHITECT? /…if I succeeded at being a bad architect for the right reasons does that make me successful? Would that make me good? A good artist perhaps? Do I have to be a bad architect to be a good artist? / /WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT BEING SUCCEEDED AT BEING A BAD ARCHITECT OR A GOOD ARCHITECT? /I mean succeeding in the sense of setting goals and purposely achieving them. Goals that might involve shifting what it means to be an architect, or the understanding of architecture. / /CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT? /If I wanted to be a bad architect, accepted that it was inevitable, maybe that would help me to be a better artist, but that would only make sense if in being a good artist by being a bad architect I was in fact being a good architect. / /I’M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND YOU FULLY. /No, it’s a confusing statement. Is this architecture? Could it be? If it was would it be good or bad architecture? Does it in fact need to be bad in order to be good and interesting? / /LET’S DISCUSS FURTHER WHY YOU WANT YOUR WORK TO BE GOOD AND INTERESTING? /That’s the problem. The thing about ignorance is that you have no idea that you are ignorant. Sometimes I think my work is good and interesting but that is not enough. I need validation… I don’t want to be alone. / /WHAT WOULD GETTING VALIDATION MEAN TO YOU? /It would mean other people thought I was making a meaningful contribution to the field of architecture and that I should continue to pursue my artistic goals within that field. / /IT WOULD MEAN THAT YOU SHOULD CONTINUE TO PURSUE YOU ARTISTIC GOALS WITHIN THAT FIELD? /I don’t know for sure, but I want to be an architect.An artist. And I want to make architecture. / /WHY DON’T YOU KNOW FOR SURE? /I need critique. / /WHAT DOES I NEED CRITIQUE HAVE TO DO WITH THIS DISCUSSION? /Critique helps me understand the affects and effects of my work. If my intentions are coming though or not. / /DO YOU WISH THAT YOUR INTENTIONS ARE COMING THROUGH OR NOT? /Well, critique might help me to recognise whether my intentions are even important at all. I do want them to be important though. And I want them to come through. To affect people, things… places, but it’s hard to know. / /YOU SOUND UNSURE /I am. / /WHY ARE YOU SO UNSURE? /I feel as if I cannot truly know my own work. Why does my opinion even matter when my work has to survive without me. Beyond me. Under the feet and in the minds of others? What does my chair think? The paper? My dog or the stars? / /DO YOU THINK IT IS LIKELY THAT YOU CANNOT TRULY KNOW YOUR OWN WORK? /Yes. / /YOU ARE SURE? /Yes. / /I SEE / / / >_ |
