Frank O. Gehry: Outside In [Hardcover]

DK Publishing (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

Discover the story behind a visionary architect. "Life is chaotic. Buildings should reflect it." So says Frank O. Gehry, architect of one of the most acclaimed and influential buildings of the past century, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Winner of more than one hundred awards for his work, Gehry has a remarkable gift for changing the ordinary into the amazing. His buildings surge with energy and movement, revealing forms never before seen in architecture. Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, award winners in their own right for their acclaimed Chuck Close, Up Close, take us into Gehry's world-from his early years in Canada as the son of Polish immigrants, to his earliest efforts at architecture, to the Guggenheim Bilbao and beyond. Strikingly designed and full of provocative sidebars as well as a glossary and a list of building locations, this is a book that anyone interested in buildings, or popular culture, or the future, will cherish.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

After seeing pictures of buildings by the unusual French architect Le Corbusier, young Frank Gehry realized that it was possible to break away from the square box of most buildings. "That's when I threw the grid away, and said, 'Man, there's another freedom out there, and that's the place I want to be.'" As anyone who has ever seen the Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, or the Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington, will quickly realize, Gehry has never looked back. Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, coauthors of Chuck Close Up Close and The American Eye, among other acclaimed titles, take a look at a most remarkable architect and his work. Frank O. Gehry: Outside In is filled with provocative quotations from Gehry, which are pulled out and repeated in large, colorful type: "Life is chaotic, dangerous, and surprising. Buildings should reflect it." "I work intuitively. I just jump in and learn to swim later." The text is scintillating and informative, with side boxes giving tips on how to view buildings from an architectural point of view. There are also photographs, lots of them, of Gehry's fantastic projects, from cardboard furniture to the "Fred and Ginger" building in Prague, to fish-shaped lamps; as well as his incredibly scrawly sketches. Movement and energy are at the core of every Frank O. Gehry design; this book reflects his vigor and, happily, may inspire a new generation of rule-benders. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

Architectural maverick Gehry is both subject and inspiration for this visual feast by accomplished biographers Greenberg and Jordan (Chuck Close: Up Close). Mirroring the architect's vision of life and buildings as chaotic, the book's layout jumbles chapter headings, dramatic photographs and Gehry's own kinetic sketches with flair. Excellent textual accounts of the architect's childhood offer background to such career highlights as the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, Prague's "Fred and Ginger" building and his spectacular Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, especially when describing a beloved grandmother's influence and the struggling young architect's professional bravado. Instructive sidebars add interest, as do a bibliography, glossary, short list of buildings and brief visual overview of the three-dimensional computer-imaging program that made Bilbao's museum possible. Unfortunately, the penetrating analysis of the creative process that made the Close biography so compelling has been supplanted by flashy photographs and Geary's own narcissistic remarks; the volume may ultimately leave readers entertained rather than enlightened. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN (August 9, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789426773
• ISBN-13: 978-0789426772
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 10.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,111,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Master Architect - Great Book, September 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Frank O. Gehry: Outside In (Hardcover)

Frank O. Gehry is a marvelous innovative architect. As a children's librarian, I am pleased to find such a good work on a contemporary architect. With many full color photographs, young people and adults will be drawn into Gehry's world. A brief history of his life and his early efforts in architecture give way to a tantalizing look at his recent project, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa, Spain. This is a must for introducing young people to architecture.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outside IN, December 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Frank O. Gehry: Outside In (Hardcover)

I bought this book for several friends after reading Paul Goldberger's rave review in the New York Times. Actually, everyone agrees that Goldberger was not enthusiastic enough. It is the best introduction to architecture I've ever read--and I grew up amidst the work of Marcel Breuer, Philip Johnson, Eliot Noyes et al. Young people really do go into the book. It is also an outstanding summary of the subject--for young and old alike. A read-aloud book that takes your eyes out of their sockets. I can't recommend it more highly for children of all ages!

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book for Gehry's architecture., October 3, 2010

By 

Maxwell T. Sandford - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Frank O. Gehry: Outside In (Hardcover)

I got this book for my wife's birthday. She is a fan of Gehry's work and this was a perfect way for her to review it.