Sketches of Frank Gehry @ TIFF

September 17, 2005 - Jason surprised me with tickets to see Sketches of Frank Gehry tonight at TIFF. I thought the movie was really interesting, since I know a bit about Gehry already and have visited one of his work - the Strata Centre in Boston (see picture above). Anyway, the theatre was completely packed but because it was the last showing of the film, both Sydney Pollack (the director) and Gehry were not present.

For those who are not familiar with Gehry, he is a Canadian-born architect known for his sculptural approach to building design. He is famous for his building curvaceous structures, often covered with reflective metal. His most famous work is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Gehry's style is part of the post-modernist movement, and his style of twisted, wrapped form of architecture is part of the deconstructivist school.

Gehry's buildings are often controversial - as they follow the deconstructivist style of creating in-your-face structures that often do not fit in with their local surroundings. For example, the Seattle Music Project was heavily criticized for its bizarre colour choices (purple), massive size, and failure to relate to its surroundings. Many believed Gehry got it wrong.

Anyway, the movie was definitely interesting - provided an insider view as to how this architect thinks. The interviews with some of the celebrities were unnecessary though (Dennis Hopper ???) and it would've been better to create a more balance film by talking to more of Gehry's critics. But then again, the movie was supposed to celebrate Gehry's works and life, so why spoil the party by inviting the naysayers ?

Gehry is currently working on the transformation of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Will it be as impressive as the ROM Crystals ? or will it be like the outrageous (future) Hummingbird Tower ? hmmm...can't wait to see it when it's done...

And oh so this movie also wrapped up my TIFF experience. Overall, it was definitely fun and very interesting. I think we did a great job in picking different kinds of movies, particularly the foreign ones. We also missed tons of good ones that we'll have to catch at the theatre this fall. Can't wait till next year - though right now, I'm a little "movie-ed" out...