Sidney Pollack, "Sketches of Frank Gehry"

I mentioned the other day that I had picked up a pair of documentaries about architects. Today I watched the second one- Sketches of Frank Gehry (2006). What this film has in common with My Architect is that the director is close to his chosen subject. But unlike Nathaniel Kahn, Pollack has the opportunity to interact with a living participant. Apparently Sidney Pollack has been friends with Gehry for a number of years. For those of you who are not aware of Pollack, he has made a number of famous films including Tootsie (1982) Out of Africa (1985) The Way We Were (1973) and The Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). It is notable however, that the filmmaker had never directed a documentary previously. He claims that he was taken aback by Gehry's request to create a feature about him. Evidently Gehry had been approached by other folks who wanted to produce a picture about him, but he fell back on his trust in his friend. Although Pollack was inexperienced with the particular form, and admittedly knew little about art and architecture- he agreed to go ahead with the project.

Gehry is about as well known an architect as you will find in modern day America. He is famous for designing the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A., the Dancing House in Prague, and his masterpiece- the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Interestingly the first building he became known for was his own residence in Santa Monica, CA. It seems that it was the design of this house that transformed him from an experimentalist in "paper architecture" to a player of import in the world of contemporary architecture. With his second wife Berta, he bought a bungalow and decided that he wanted to preserve its exterior. In order to make it his own, he built a new modern shell around the original house. His use of chain-link fencing and corrugated metal prefigured his later works. But those choices also resulted in a hint of the varying feedback his designs would provoke. Some of his neighbors were of the opinion that he had created an ugly monstrosity.

Although Gehry is often referred to by academics as a deconstructivist, he rejects the label. His style reminds some of a warped updating of the Cubist art movement of the early twentieth century. This might be an appropriate analogy, as Gehry himself has admitted to being a student of art history. In fact he claims his one true regret in life is that he never became a painter. Despite his belief that he has never created a truly "painterly" surface in his architecture, the reflections of the changing light playing off of his chosen materials tell a radically different story. Regardless, it is clear that Gehry has cast off the conventions of his medium. He is outspoken about his resentment for the "rules of architecture". Certainly he flouts them in such a flagrant manner that he has drawn significant criticism for doing so.

Pollack did a competent job in portraying the inner life and philosophies of his subject. Much of the footage consists of informal discussions between the director and architect during his daily life. The filmmaker was given remarkable access to the operations of Gehry's studio, and to the offices of his various clients. Interviews with prominent figures such as Barry Diller, Michael Ovitz, Michael Eisner and Dennis Hopper contribute additional interpretations of Gehry's personality and career. Naturally there is a downside to the close relationship between Gehry and Pollack. The latter is obviously careful to present the best side of his friend. Although one prominent critic is allowed to offer tepid criticism of Gehry's oeuvre, the film remains by-and-large monotone. Similarly there is very little insight into the way Gehry's personal life has affected him. No one from his family is invited to make an appearance.

Despite these flaws I still found Sketches of Frank Gehry satisfying and absorbing. Pollack's experience with the camera does indeed contribute to his ability to capture the magic of Gehry's creations. He only periodically interjects his own values into the film, and thus avoids the common documentarian mistake of becoming a distraction. The choices Pollack makes truly illuminate the quality of the work. If you want a considered debate about the merits of Gehry's contributions to modern design, then perhaps you should look elsewhere. There are plenty of people that consider Gehry buildings to be spectacles of extreme self-indulgence. There is always the chance that a Gehry design will overwhelm its very function and surroundings. But if you want to see the magic of the artist's imagination and unconstrained flights of fancy, then this is the film for you.

Nathaniel Kahn, "My Architect" (2003).

One of the art forms I've been almost criminally negligent in learning about has been architecture. This ignorance may be more egregious because Pittsburgh is a city famous for its diversity of building design. Works by prominent figures such as Henry Hobson Richardson (The Allegheny Courthouse and Jail- 1883), Frederick Osterling (The Pittsburgh Union Trust Building- 1915), Philip Johnson (PPG Place- 1984), Charles Klauder (The Cathedral of Learning- 1921) and Rafael Vinoly (The David Lawrence Convention center- 2003) dot the city landscape. In addition Falling Water (a private home by Frank Lloyd Wright) is a short drive away. Simply walk through one of the many distinctive neighborhoods in the 'Burgh, and you'll get an idea of the breadth and range of architectural styles. Certainly there is plenty in town to keep a serious student busy.

I'm assuredly a layman when it comes to this subject. In order to confront this deficit in my knowledge, I recently picked up a couple of documentaries focusing on Twentieth Century architects. Tonight I watched My Architect: A Son's Journey (2003)- a film about Louis I. Kahn, directed by his son Nathaniel. The elder Kahn is not noted for having realized many of his designs, but rather his reputation has grown from the creation of several masterpieces. He is known to have incorporated the International Style with special attention paid to the play of light and the durability of his structures. His legacy includes the Richards Medical Research Laboratories at the University of Pennsylvania, the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA, the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, the National Assembly Building of Bangladesh in Dhaka, and the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, TX. In addition to these applications, he was quite noted as a professor and academic at Yale University.

Yet though the viewer of My Architect will pick up some valuable insights about Kahn's influence from noted modern architects like I.M. Pei, Philip Johnson, and Frank Gehry- this film is really structured around the personal journey Nathaniel Kahn undertook to garner some understanding of his father. Louis Kahn was not an exemplary family man. In addition to his wife Esther and their daughter Amy, Kahn had two secret families. Kahn sired two children (Nathaniel and daughter Alex) with two different mistresses . Nathaniel's mother was a very young 22 when he was born... his father was over 60.

From Nathaniel's perspective, Louis Kahn never spent much time with him and his mother. Not only was he juggling several women, but for all intents and purposes he was married to his job. According to colleagues Kahn had no sense of day or night and lived an extraordinarily nomadic existence. This seems to be borne out by his late success in Asia. From the time that the architect initially achieved international notoriety for his buildings, he would have only a couple of decades to live. Kahn was a flurry of activity in his twilight years, and during this time he devoted a bare minimum to his "second family". They'd see him approximately once a week until Nathaniel was eleven. Then at the age of 74, Louis Kahn died. In his obituary, only Esther and daughter Amy were listed as survivors.

It's notable that Nathaniel Kahn evinces very little resentment toward his famous father. he demonstrates remarkable restraint in not passing judgment or making assumptions. His on-screen trip is very much about letting the figures from Louis Kahn's life talk about the man from their individual points-of-view. Not only does Nathaniel seek out folks who knew his father professionally, but he interviews his half-siblings, the other mistress, his own mother, and her sisters. Naturally there is a wide divergence of opinions expressed on his situation and the elder Kahn's life. Perhaps the most touching assessment comes from a place least expected- a Bangladeshi official explains the import Louis Kahn holds for his people. It's an astonishingly direct and nuanced perspective, and it is delivered with genuine emotion. Much the same can be said about the totality of My Architect.