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FRANK GEHRY, architect: designs for MUSEUMS October 2, 2004–March 21, 2005
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Press Preview: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 at 10 am Washington, DC – For decades, architects, artists and curators have argued about whether a museum should be an active or passive container, a background or a foreground for the museum’s contents. Renowned architect Frank O. Gehry has brought the museum distinctly into the foreground. FRANK GEHRY, architect: designs for MUSEUMS, a multimedia exhibition, showcases Gehry’s extraordinary design contributions and celebrates both his completed buildings as well as several still to be realized museum projects. FRANK GEHRY, architect: designs for MUSEUMS is on view at the Corcoran from October 2, 2004 through March 21, 2005. “Frank Gehry’s designs mirror the changing roles of museums in the contemporary world. Museums today look to architecture to signal the increasing diversity of their missions. Frank carefully studies museums and their surroundings to design exceptional buildings that meet each institution and its city’s unique needs,” notes David C. Levy, Corcoran President and Director. “The Corcoran is privileged to have Frank, one of the most inventive and pioneering architects of our time, design our new building. It is an important opportunity for the Corcoran as well for the Washington, DC.” Using models, design drawings, plans, photographs and video, FRANK GEHRY, architect: designs for MUSEUMS explores how form follows function in unexpected ways. From complex exteriors that reflect the diversity of the activities that take place inside to interiors that illustrate how the architecture interacts with the objects––and the visitors––in the museums, the exhibition shows how Gehry’s designs challenge convention, yet brilliantly meet the needs of museums in the twenty-first century. FRANK GEHRY, architect: designs for MUSEUMS highlights four existing museum buildings and several as yet unrealized museum designs. The completed projects include: Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany; Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN; Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain; and Experience Music Project, Seattle, WA. Those that have not yet been completed include the Corcoran Gallery of Art; Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; Ohr-O’Keefe Museums, Biloxi, MS; and MARTa Herford, Herford, Germany. “I want buildings that have passion in them, that have feeling in them, that make people feel something, even if they get mad at them,” says Gehry. “Good museum design is ephemeral. There are no rules.” Canadian-born American architect and artist Frank O. Gehry (b. 1929) is widely recognized as inspiring a new direction in modern architecture. Gehry received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Southern California in 1954, and he studied City Planning at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. In 1989 he won the coveted Pritzker Prize, architecture’s highest award. In 1998 he received the National Medal of Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts and in 1999 he received the AIA Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects. He is known internationally for his distinctive structures that incorporate new forms and materials, in particular the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, which has received unanimous critical and public acclaim. COMPLEMENTARY EXHIBITION The Furniture of Frank Gehry is organized by the Corcoran College of Art + Design and made possible through the generous support of the FRIENDS of the Corcoran. Additional thanks are due to in-kind sponsors Emeco, Heller, Knoll, Inc., and Vitra. PUBLIC PROGRAMS PRESS PREVIEW PRESS IMAGES EXHIBITION ORGANIZATION AND SPONSORSHIP ABOUT THE CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART Founded in 1890, Corcoran College of Art + Design is Washington’s only 4-year college of art and design, offers a four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree program in Fine Art (painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics and digital art), Graphic Design, Digital Media Design, Photography and Photojournalism; a two-year Associate of Fine Arts (AFA) degree program in Fine Art, Photography, Graphic Design, Interior Design and Digital Media Design, a Masters of Arts (MA) degree in Interior Design, Teaching and Education, as well as a 5 year combined BFA/MA in Teaching; and a Continuing Education Program encompassing more than 250 courses and seven certificate programs aimed at meeting the needs of part-time adult students; as well as year-round classes designed especially for children and teens. The Continuing Education Program, which offers part-time credit and non-credit classes for children and adults, draws more than 3,500 participants each year. The Corcoran Gallery of Art is located at New York Avenue and 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC, and is open every day, except Tuesday, 10 am – 5 pm and until 9 pm on Thursday. The museum is closed every Tuesday. Admission to the Corcoran is: $6.75 for adults; $4.75 for senior citizens; $3 for students with current ID; and $12 for families. Free for Members and children under 12. Admission is “pay as you wish” on Monday all day and on Thursday after 5 pm. A satellite educational facility is located at the Corcoran’s historic Fillmore School in Georgetown at 1801 35th Street, NW. The public information line for the museum is (202) 639-1700; the website address is www.corcoran.org. The public information line for the college is (202) 639-1800; the website address is www.corcoran.edu. :: View images and further details from this exhibition
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