Toasting Frank

Search terms: Frank Gehry

It is a party game that pretty much everyone has played at some time or other: name a famous Canadian. Generally these lists tend to get as far as Pamela Anderson and Bryan Adams before petering out with a tame Celine Dion. However, one name that is perhaps conspicuous by its absence is that of architect Frank Gehry. And this, when you think about it, really is something of a surprise. After all, isn’t he the most famous architect in the world?

It can surely only be a matter of time for Toronto-born Gehry however, as the blogging community now seems to be catching on to his talents. There was a flurry of activity last week when the man who put Bilbao on the map with his Guggenheim Museum was variously described as a “fascinating builder” by OneLoveAll and “wonderful” by Stevey on www.stevey.com.

But the reason for this Gehry-fest was not the publication in these august pages of the latest images of his Rioja winery (pictured). It was in fact due to the first airing on US terrestrial television last week of a documentary by director Sydney Pollack, entitled Sketches of Frank Gehry.

The film was generally given the thumbs up in cyberspace, with Jen from California, on jbmusingsat.blogspot.com, relieved Gehry didn’t turn out to be a “snobby German or Englishman”. There were one or two detractors, such as the intriguingly named The Masticator at themasticator.blogspot.com, who admitted to not being fond of a lot of Gehry’s buildings as his fans “tend to confuse his arbitrariness with freedom, and his self-indulgence with expression”. Ouch.

You wonder what Mr Masticator would make of some of Gehry’s latest projects. Not satisfied with just designing iconic buildings from Spain to Seattle, he has recently launched himself on the world of fashion – with a range of jewels for world-famous emporium Tiffany’s and a collection of “fossil” watches that www.populuxebooks.com/blog/ thinks are “neato”. Even food outlets have received the Gehry touch. He has just completed a delicatessen called Delicious at his company’s Los Angeles headquarters.

The strategy of raising his profile seems to be working. The world is starting to talk back to Frank. Some, such as www.nolandgrab.org, feel the talents of the man who gave the world the Experience Music Project in Seattle should best be turned to the kitchen. To toasters to be precise. There’s even a mock-up of how a Gehry “toaster tower” might look.

Setting toasters aside for a moment, Gehry seems to have inspired all sorts of creative juices in all sorts of people. On viewing Pollack’s “brilliant” tribute to Gehry, Deborah in Washington, at janepoe.blogspot.com, was inspired to vent her emotions in verse:

“Inspiration borne
Of light and movement and form
Building breathes true life.”

Quite. It seems that, even if he’s never counted among other famous Canadians, Gehry’s place in the blogging world’s hall of fame is assured.