Frank Gehry gives journalist the finger: Difference between revisions

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== Architect describes 98% of modern architecture as ‘pure shit’ during press conference in northern Spain ==
=== "98 per cent of what gets built and designed today is pure shit" ===


[[File:Schjeldahl-Frank-Gehry1-1200.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Photograph by J. L. Cereijido / EPA]]


[[File:Schjeldahl-Frank-Gehry1-1200.jpg]]
Frank Gehry gives journalist the finger was an incident that took place in Oviedo, Spain, in October 2014, where the architect was in attendance to receive a Prince of Asturias Award from King Felipe of Spain, for his notable achievements in the arts.<ref>Peter Schjeldahl, "[http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/frank-gehry-digital-defiance Frank Gehry’s Digital Defiance]," ''The New Yorker'', October 27, 2014, retrieved August 19, 2016.</ref>


Frank Gehry has described 98% of modern architecture as “shit” and given a journalist the middle finger salute at a press conference.
At a press conference held the day before he was presented with the award, the opening question to Gehry was “what his response was to people who accused him of creating architecture for show”, to which the architect simply replied by raising his middle finger.<ref>Martin Schneider, "[http://dangerousminds.net/comments/frank_gehry_gives_98_of_architecture_the_finger Frank Gehry gives 98% of architecture the finger]," ''Dangerousminds.net'', October 26, 2016, retrieved August 19, 2016.</ref>


Gehry, architect of many renowned buildings such as the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, was in Oviedo in northern Spain to collect the prestigious Prince of Asturias prize, which King Felipe of Spain was due to present on Friday.
After an uncomfortable silence, another journalist followed up on the impact of "emblematic" buildings in contemporary cities, to which the architect replied:


A press conference in Oviedo on Thursday got off to a bad start when a journalist asked whether Gehry’s own architecture was just about spectacle. Gehry’s response was to give the journalist the finger.
<blockquote>"Let me tell you one thing. In the world we live in, 98 per cent of what gets built and designed today is pure shit. There's no sense of design nor respect for humanity or anything. They're bad buildings and that's it. Every now and then, however, a small number of people do something special. They're very few. But - my God! - leave us in peace! We dedicate ourselves to our work. [...] At the very least, don't ask stupid questions like this."<ref>Ibid.</ref></blockquote>


A long silence followed before a different reporter asked whether “emblematic buildings” such as his would continue to be a feature of modern cities.
Peter Schjeldahl pointed out in The New Yorker that, by expressing his 'digital defiance', Gehry "consciously mimed the shape of today’s predominant urban architectural style", the 'insolent shafts' of new developments like 432 Park Avenue, "today's proliferating, meaningless urban menhirs."<ref>Schjeldahl, "Frank Gehry’s Digital Defiance."</ref>


“Let me tell you one thing,” he replied. “In this world we are living in, 98% of everything that is built and designed today is pure shit. There’s no sense of design, no respect for humanity or for anything else. They are damn buildings and that’s it.
The incident came a week after Gehry had opened the new Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris, which had met with fierce local opposition and was described by Guardian architecture critic Oliver Wainwright as " like a loud LV handbag a glitzy relative might bring you back from a duty-free splurge."<ref>Oliver Wainwright, "[https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/oct/21/frank-gehry-fondation-louis-vuitton-shows-he-doesnt-know-when-to-stop Frank Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton shows he doesn't know when to stop]," ''The Guardian'', October 21, 2014, retrieved August 19, 2016.</ref>


“Once in a while, however, a group of people do something special. Very few, but God, leave us alone. We are dedicated to our work. I don’t ask for work … I work with clients who respect the art of architecture. Therefore, please don’t ask questions as stupid as that one.”
The 85 year old architect went on to apologize for his Oviedo indiscretion, citing jetlag and explaining he had been caught in a "bad moment."<ref>Schjeldahl, "Frank Gehry gives 98% of architecture the finger."</ref>


Gehry, 85, went on to say that “Bilbao shows that good architecture can make a difference”. The Guggenheim helped to transform what was an industrial city in decline into a tourist destination and a hub of cultural activity.
==References==
 
{{Refs}}
The Canadian architect later apologised for his behaviour, explaining that he had jet lag and had only just arrived at the hotel. The journalists “caught me at a bad moment”, he said.

Latest revision as of 00:13, 11 November 2016

"98 per cent of what gets built and designed today is pure shit"

Photograph by J. L. Cereijido / EPA

Frank Gehry gives journalist the finger was an incident that took place in Oviedo, Spain, in October 2014, where the architect was in attendance to receive a Prince of Asturias Award from King Felipe of Spain, for his notable achievements in the arts.[1]

At a press conference held the day before he was presented with the award, the opening question to Gehry was “what his response was to people who accused him of creating architecture for show”, to which the architect simply replied by raising his middle finger.[2]

After an uncomfortable silence, another journalist followed up on the impact of "emblematic" buildings in contemporary cities, to which the architect replied:

"Let me tell you one thing. In the world we live in, 98 per cent of what gets built and designed today is pure shit. There's no sense of design nor respect for humanity or anything. They're bad buildings and that's it. Every now and then, however, a small number of people do something special. They're very few. But - my God! - leave us in peace! We dedicate ourselves to our work. [...] At the very least, don't ask stupid questions like this."[3]

Peter Schjeldahl pointed out in The New Yorker that, by expressing his 'digital defiance', Gehry "consciously mimed the shape of today’s predominant urban architectural style", the 'insolent shafts' of new developments like 432 Park Avenue, "today's proliferating, meaningless urban menhirs."[4]

The incident came a week after Gehry had opened the new Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris, which had met with fierce local opposition and was described by Guardian architecture critic Oliver Wainwright as " like a loud LV handbag a glitzy relative might bring you back from a duty-free splurge."[5]

The 85 year old architect went on to apologize for his Oviedo indiscretion, citing jetlag and explaining he had been caught in a "bad moment."[6]

References

  1. ↑ Peter Schjeldahl, "Frank Gehry’s Digital Defiance," The New Yorker, October 27, 2014, retrieved August 19, 2016.
  2. ↑ Martin Schneider, "Frank Gehry gives 98% of architecture the finger," Dangerousminds.net, October 26, 2016, retrieved August 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ Ibid.
  4. ↑ Schjeldahl, "Frank Gehry’s Digital Defiance."
  5. ↑ Oliver Wainwright, "Frank Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton shows he doesn't know when to stop," The Guardian, October 21, 2014, retrieved August 19, 2016.
  6. ↑ Schjeldahl, "Frank Gehry gives 98% of architecture the finger."
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