March 11, 2006 - I took a day off yesterday from work to check out the Frank Gehry Art and Architecture exhibit at the AGO. Call me a nerd but I have actually been looking forward to it (well to both the exhibit and to the fact that I'll get to take a day off!). The exhibit takes a look at four recent projects that Gehry recently completed in Los Angeles (Disney Concert Hall- see right picture), Boston (the Stata Centre), Chicago (Millennium Park), and Berlin (DZ Bank headquarters). The exhibit also provides a preview of the AGO Transformation Project, headlined by Gehry, which will completely transform the AGO facade and add new galleries to the other wise bland building.The exhibit features Gehry's sketches and scale models. Some of the models are truly amazing - with my favourite being the interior model for the Disney Concert Hall, which includes every minor detail, including the performers and their instruments. The models for the Stata Centre at the MIT campus in Boston (see below) are equally impressive - the creativity and the ingenuity (with the different use of material, the bright colours, the infamous Gehry random curves and angles) that went into designing the complex (both inside and out) illustrate just how Gehry is no ordinary architect. When I visited the MIT campus back in 2004, the Stata Centre stood out because it showed so much more energy, creativity, and spontaneity compare to the other wise traditional yet dull buildings.
As for the new AGO, while it definitely lacks the "wow" factor of the nearby ROM crystals, it definitely is an improvement over the the current facade. Unlike the ROM or the nearby OCAD building, Gehry has decided not to use the airspace above the current building, which I think in a way is a missed opportunity to expand the gallery, but equally understandable given Gehry had mentioned that the new building needs to find a right balance between the AGO's needs and the neighbourhood just north the gallery (hmm, a lesson learned from Bilbao?). Gehry talked about how the new AGO will still have the intimacy of the museum going experience - an antithesis to larger museums, such as the MET in New York.
Anyway, the exhibit is definitely worthy to check out. I personally wished it had included more of Gehry's other works, including his most famous piece - the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The fact that we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the exhibit also sucked big time, though we tried to sneak our cameras in and managed to take a few shots (which reminds me, Jason, you still have the pictures!). Anyway, you can click on the links below to see pictures of the exhibit from media day - you will be impressed!
Pictures from Media Day: http://www.flickr.com/groups/ago/pool/
AGO Transformation Project: http://www.ago.net/transformation/home.cfm
As for the new AGO, while it definitely lacks the "wow" factor of the nearby ROM crystals, it definitely is an improvement over the the current facade. Unlike the ROM or the nearby OCAD building, Gehry has decided not to use the airspace above the current building, which I think in a way is a missed opportunity to expand the gallery, but equally understandable given Gehry had mentioned that the new building needs to find a right balance between the AGO's needs and the neighbourhood just north the gallery (hmm, a lesson learned from Bilbao?). Gehry talked about how the new AGO will still have the intimacy of the museum going experience - an antithesis to larger museums, such as the MET in New York.Anyway, the exhibit is definitely worthy to check out. I personally wished it had included more of Gehry's other works, including his most famous piece - the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The fact that we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the exhibit also sucked big time, though we tried to sneak our cameras in and managed to take a few shots (which reminds me, Jason, you still have the pictures!). Anyway, you can click on the links below to see pictures of the exhibit from media day - you will be impressed!
Pictures from Media Day: http://www.flickr.com/groups/ago/pool/
AGO Transformation Project: http://www.ago.net/transformation/home.cfm
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