{"id":282255,"date":"2026-02-09T15:15:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T15:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/282255\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T15:15:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T15:15:07","slug":"frank-gehry-designed-his-own-home-and-what-it-teaches-about-creative-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/282255\/","title":{"rendered":"Frank Gehry Designed His Own Home, and What It Teaches About Creative Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Few pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adals tend to live as long, or mature as slow\u00adly, as archi\u00adtects. Frank Gehry<\/a> died late last year at the for\u00admi\u00adda\u00adble age of 96, with sev\u00ader\u00adal projects still under con\u00adstruc\u00adtion. But he\u2019d only real\u00adly been Frank Gehry for the past half-cen\u00adtu\u00adry or so: not in the sense of hav\u00ading changed his name from Frank Gold\u00adberg (a choice he made in his twen\u00adties and lat\u00ader came to regret), but in hav\u00ading plant\u00aded his first rec\u00adog\u00adniz\u00adable flag in the built envi\u00adron\u00adment. The envi\u00adron\u00adment was a qui\u00adet mid\u00addle-class res\u00adi\u00adden\u00adtial neigh\u00adbor\u00adhood in San\u00adta Mon\u00adi\u00adca; the flag was his own home, a mod\u00adest Dutch Colo\u00adnial fix\u00ader-upper orig\u00adi\u00adnal\u00adly built in 1920, and trans\u00adformed by Gehry into what resem\u00adbled a high\u00adly con\u00adtrolled indus\u00adtri\u00adal dis\u00adas\u00adter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe for\u00adti\u00adfied parts of the pas\u00adtel-paint\u00aded, shin\u00adgled exte\u00adri\u00ador with cor\u00adru\u00adgat\u00aded steel, wrapped lay\u00aders of chain-link fenc\u00ading over oth\u00ader por\u00adtions in angu\u00adlar planes not seen since Russ\u00adian Con\u00adstruc\u00adtivism<\/a>, and slammed a tilt\u00aded cubic sky\u00adlight, which looked as if it had fall\u00aden from out\u00ader space, into the kitchen,\u201d writes New York Review of Books archi\u00adtec\u00adture crit\u00adic Mar\u00adtin Filler in his remem\u00adbrance of the archi\u00adtect<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the inte\u00adri\u00ador he exposed walls down to the wood\u00aden studs and treat\u00aded ves\u00adti\u00adgial white plas\u00adter patch\u00ades as though they were Robert Ryman paint\u00adings. Para\u00addox\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly, this messy mash-up also exud\u00aded a cozy domes\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adty,\u201d a qual\u00adi\u00adty on dis\u00adplay in Beyond Utopia: Chang\u00ading Atti\u00adtudes in Amer\u00adi\u00adcan Archi\u00adtec\u00adture<\/a>,\u00a0a 1983 doc\u00adu\u00admen\u00adtary co-writ\u00adten by Filler that includes an inter\u00adview with Gehry in the house\u00ad\u2019s kitchen.<\/p>\n

About fif\u00adteen years before the Guggen\u00adheim Bil\u00adbao, and two decades before Dis\u00adney Con\u00adcert Hall,\u00a0the star\u00adchi\u00adtect-to-be sits in the kitchen of his rad\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly\u00a0ren\u00ado\u00advat\u00aded home with his two young sons. \u201cI like that when you look through the top you can see down here in the kitchen,\u201d says one of them. Now, here to speak more expan\u00adsive\u00adly on the pro\u00adjec\u00adt\u2019s virtues, and how they fit into the longer arc of Gehry\u2019s career, is archi\u00adtect and star of Archi\u00adtec\u00adtur\u00adal Design\u2019s Youtube chan\u00adnel star Michael Wyet\u00adzn\u00ader, with a new video called \u201cWhat Frank Gehry\u2019s Per\u00adson\u00adal Home Teach\u00ades Us About Cre\u00adative Risk.\u201d<\/a> And indeed, such risk-tak\u00ading stood out in his own gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion, most of whose major archi\u00adtects adhered one way or anoth\u00ader to mod\u00adernist or post\u00admod\u00adernist trends. As his home ren\u00ado\u00adva\u00adtion sig\u00adnaled, Gehry decid\u00aded to go his own way.<\/p>\n

At a glance, the jagged, almost aggres\u00adsive look of the Gehry res\u00adi\u00addence may hard\u00adly bring to mind\u00a0the gleam\u00ading metal\u00adlic curves, almost invari\u00adably described as \u201cundu\u00adlat\u00ading,\u201d of the Guggen\u00adheim Bil\u00adbao and Dis\u00adney Hall. But Wyet\u00adzn\u00ader finds deep\u00ader res\u00ado\u00adnances with var\u00adi\u00adous ele\u00adments of the aes\u00adthet\u00adic sen\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty that Gehry cul\u00adti\u00advat\u00aded in his work from his mid\u00addle-age self-rein\u00adven\u00adtion through his nona\u00adge\u00adnar\u00adi\u00adan emi\u00adnence, not least empha\u00adsiz\u00ading the impres\u00adsion of move\u00adment and the \u201cnoisy ver\u00adsus qui\u00adet\u201d visu\u00adal dynam\u00adic. Con\u00adtrast is pow\u00ader, as all artists under\u00adstand on one lev\u00adel or anoth\u00ader \u2014 and, per\u00adhaps,\u00a0as Frank Gehry came to under\u00adstand that while hang\u00ading out with Los Ange\u00adles artists before he made his name. Though he nev\u00ader exact\u00adly joined their ranks, it is as an \u201cartist-archi\u00adtect,\u201d in Wyet\u00adzn\u00ader\u2019s words,\u00a0that he will be remem\u00adbered.<\/p>\n

Relat\u00aded Con\u00adtent:<\/p>\n

How Frank Gehry (RIP) and the Guggen\u00adheim Muse\u00adum Bil\u00adbao Changed Archi\u00adtec\u00adture<\/a><\/p>\n

Gehry\u2019s Vision for Archi\u00adtec\u00adture<\/a><\/p>\n

Vis\u00adit the Homes That Great Archi\u00adtects Designed for Them\u00adselves: Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Cor\u00adbusier, Wal\u00adter Gropius & Frank Gehry<\/a><\/p>\n

On the Impor\u00adtance of the Cre\u00adative Brief: Frank Gehry, Maira Kalman & Oth\u00aders Explain its Essen\u00adtial Role<\/a><\/p>\n

Take an Online Course on Design & Archi\u00adtec\u00adture with Frank Gehry<\/a><\/p>\n

A Walk\u00ading Tour of Los Ange\u00adles Archi\u00adtec\u00adture: From Art Deco to Cal\u00adi\u00adfor\u00adnia Bun\u00adga\u00adlow<\/a><\/p>\n

Based in Seoul,\u00a0Col\u00adin<\/a>\u00a0M<\/a>a<\/a>rshall<\/a>\u00a0writes and broad\u00adcasts on cities, lan\u00adguage, and cul\u00adture. He\u2019s the author of the newslet\u00adter\u00a0Books on Cities<\/a>\u00a0as well as the books\u00a0\ud55c\uad6d \uc694\uc57d \uae08\uc9c0<\/a>\u00a0(No Sum\u00adma\u00adriz\u00ading Korea) and\u00a0Kore\u00adan Newtro<\/a>.\u00a0Fol\u00adlow him on the social net\u00adwork for\u00admer\u00adly known as Twit\u00adter at\u00a0@colinm<\/a>a<\/a>rshall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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