Gehry, Frank

Bio Sketch

Frank Gehry (b. 1929) is the Canadian-American architect most associated with the "Bilbao effect" — the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (1997) is the paradigmatic iconic building, credited with transforming its city's fortunes through tourism and image. His deconstructivist, formally expressive buildings are the standard reference for iconic/spectacular architecture. This page is currently drawn from secondary commentary; it requires fuller treatment.

Key Works

• Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (1997) — the archetype of the "Bilbao effect" and of iconic architecture.
• UTS Dr. Chau Chak Wing Building, Sydney (2014) — the "crushed brown-paper bag," read by Brott as un-iconic/anti-spectacle, "modernism humanized."

Key Concepts

Concepts associated with this author that have pages in this wiki:

• Iconic Architecture
• Star Architecture
• Architectural Object

Relevance to Geoffrey's Research

Gehry is central to Geoffrey's spectacle & iconic architecture and capitalism, urbanization & gentrification areas: the "Bilbao effect" and the icon's role in capital circulation are anchored in his name. Brott's critique — that Gehry's own work reveals iconicity as mimesis and the "real Bilbao effect" as citizen exodus — provides dialectical-materialist counterpoints to the celebratory reading.

Source Support

Source notes in this wiki drawn from this author's work:

• Modernity's Opiate, or the Crisis of Iconic Architecture
• What is Iconic Architecture?
• Creating the Bilbao Effect
• The Iconic Building Is Here to Stay
• Reviewing the 'Bilbao effect' Inside and Beyond the Guggenheim: Its Coming of Age in Sprawling Cultural Landscapes
• Untapped: Redefining 'Iconic' Architecture and Ideals
• The Bilbao Effect: Is 'Starchitecture' All It's Cracked Up to Be?
• Seduced by Form: Aesthetics of Spectacle in Contemporary Art Museum Architecture
• Compostela's City of Culture to Be Left Unfinished
• The Transnational Capitalist Class and Contemporary Architecture in Globalizing Cities
• The Museum as Destination: The Role of Iconic Museums in Urban Boosterism
• The Edifice Complex: How the Rich and Powerful—and Their Architects—Shape the World
• Can We Still Believe in Iconic Buildings?
• The Maverick (Tomkins 1997)