Nathan Balcos 3/11/11

Intro to Art Block 5

Frank Gehry Biography

A multitude of great and inspiring works around the world including the

Guggenheim Museum in Spain, the “Dancing House” in Prague, and even the Walt

Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles all started with the birth of their creator, Frank Owen

Gehry. He was born on February 28, 1929 in Toronto, Canada and moved to Los Angeles

as a teenager. Prior to coming to California, his name was Ephraim Owen Goldberg,

however, when his family moved to Los Angeles his father changed their last name to

Gehry. Frank hadn’t changed his first name until sometime in his twenties.

When starting college at Los Angeles City College, Gehry wasn’t exactly sure of

what his career choice would be so he took a variety of courses. When he decided to take

a course on architecture on a hunch, he found a great interest in it and as his biography

from Academy of Achievement put it, he was “enthralled with the possibilities of the

art.” Gehry had now found his calling as an architect. He had also won certain

scholarships at the University of Southern California before happily graduating in 1954

with a degree in architecture. Gehry then went to work at Victor Gruen Associates, but,

his job was interrupted by the mandatory military service. After a year in the military,

Gehry returned and attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design. However, he

returned to Los Angeles without finishing his degree and worked at the Pereira and

Luckman firm before going back to Gruen.

Frank Gehry had become a majorly known “starchitect” during the seventies and

by the mid eighties much of his work was known internationally. Apparently, Gehry had
become famous during a time in which many events happened. The people of America

were caught in between the ultimate fight between democracy and communism which

included the Cold War against the Soviets, the Vietnam War and the Korean War. Other

events in this time period also include the Watergate Scandal and a large advancement in

technology which brought forth the modern car and the beginnings of the modern day

computer as well as the beginnings of current video gaming experiences. In terms of pop

culture, the American people witnessed the peak and decline of disco, and the rise of

genres such as rock and roll, punk rock and techno along with people such as Michael

Jackson, Madonna, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Prince and so on.

Frank Gehry remains to be a thriving architect which requires him to work with

many different types of materials in different types of places. He’s worked with a variety

of media from titanium, concrete and wood to a simple pencil and paper. As an architect,

he usually starts out with small doodles on a pad after becoming inspired. After these

doodles, he creates a solid plan or layout also known as a blueprint before beginning the

actual construction. With his career he is challenged with being able to create anything

from anything, so there is no specific type of media for him to use. His career gives him

the ability to fuse creative thinking and logical thinking to create magnificent works of

art.

After all that he’s been through, Gehry is now the principal of an architecture firm

known as Frank O. Gehry & Associates in Los Angeles, California. He has up to date,

won numerous design awards such as the Pritzker Prize in 1989 and the Arnold W.

Bnumer Award of the American Institute of Art. In addition, he has also been the subject

of a feature-length documentary film, Sketches of Frank Gehry, and he’s also made
appearances on shows such as Arthur and The Simpsons. However, the most important

thing in his career is that he continues to explore the boundaries and plethora of

possibilities which lie in the world of architecture.

Bibliography:

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/geh0bio-1
http://architect.architecture.sk/frank-owen-gehry-architect/frank-owen-gehry-
architect.php
http://www.biography.com/articles/Frank-Gehry-9308278

Works by Frank O. Gehry:

The Rasin Building aka the Dancing House The Guggenheim Museum
Located in Prague, Czech Republic located in Bilbao, Spain

The Walt Disney Concert Hall the Marques of Riscal’s warehouse complex
Located in Los Angeles, California located in Elciego, Spain