Santa Monica Residence

Frank Gehry

Santa Monica Residence

1978

Architecture

Frank Gehry’s Santa Monica residence is one remodeled out of an existing home. It is a contemporary work of modern, avant-garde architecture, labeled as such in part due to how controversial it was when first built. Following the principles of deconstructivism, the house is extremely geometric with sharp edges that form various trapezoidal and other rhomboid shapes and was built using industrial materials like corrugated steel, repurposed wood, chain link fencing, and concrete. Despite the purposeful use of geometry, the home itself is also very asymmetrical which again points to the building's modern flair. At first glance, the house gives the impression of being incomplete, like an ongoing project, which is intentional. When the home was redesigned, the layout was arranged in way that allowed for the original walls and roofing to be exposed and even highlighted in some areas, while Gehry's own designs for walls and roofing were showcased in others.

Deconstruction and Jacques Derrida

Jacques Derrida was a 20th century French philosophy whose often times controversial views on the forward movement of society are said (in conjunction with the erecting of Parc de la Villette) to be the foundations for the Deconstructivist style. Jacques Derrida is father of the 'Deconstruction' philosophy, a philosophy that dictates a questioning of "fundamental conceptual distinctions, or 'oppositions,' in Western philosophy, through a close examination of the language and logic of philosophical and literary texts." Most plainly it has come to be known as the "critical dismantling of tradition and traditional modes of thought."

Deconstructivism

Deconstructivism is an architectural style that was developed in the latter half of the 1980's and continued to see growth until the early 2000's. Pursued in part thanks to advances in design technology that allowed for real time manipulations and calculations paper blueprints could not, Deconstructivism, is a style some view as contrary to both post-modernist and modernist philosophies. The general consensus, though is that Deconstructivism fits under the umbrella of post-modernism, as the science behind what allows these radical forms to exist is the same that allows for any of the art and architecture of both aforementioned styles. Deconstructivism was developed most notably in the USA and Europe with a particular focus on Los Angeles. The hallmarks of Deconstructivism are as quoted from visual-arts-corks as "surface manipulation, fragmentation, and non-rectilinear shapes which distort and dislocate architectural conventions concerning structure and envelope". Further it is stated to "deliberately juxtaposes elements that appear to contradict each other in order to challenge traditional ideas of harmony and continuity - even stability!" All of which is a fancy way of saying, Deconstructivism lives on abstraction and creating shapes, optical illusions, and boundaries that don't exist normally in the physical realm. It likes making buildings that look like fun-houses and makes a statement. That being said, Deconstructivism is a style that is hard pressed to be described as a movement due mostly to the fact that while many buildings may hold these stylistic choices in common, their ideologies are despondent, the theory and ideologies behind them being unique to the creator.

Frank Gehry

Frank Gehry is a Canadian-American architect who rose to prominence in the 1980's. He is considered one of the great pioneers of Deconstructivism, creating world famous buildings like the Guggenheim Museum (1991-97); the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles (1988-2003); the Weisman Museum, Minneapolis (1990-93); the Nationale Nederlanden Building, Prague (1992-97), popularly known as "Fred and Ginger"; and the Experience Music Project, Seattle (1999-2000). He is known for his abstract designs full of flowing lines and abstraction.  Frank Gehry was born in 1929 as Ephraim Owen Goldberg, into a Polish-Jewish family in Toronto, Ontario.

Liam O'Rourke, Thane Fernandes, Alejandro Celis, Ixchel Casasola, Julian Ojeda, Elizabeth Gilmore, August Daniel-Robinson

The work of art connects to the themes of art history by first and foremost being a work of art. A fairly obvious statement, but the building's unique design and modernist/post-modernist influence make it a great talking point into other artistic themes. Beyond that, as stated above, Deconstructivism is a generally controversial style, one that thanks to the roots of the philosophy of deconstruction can tie into many if not all of the more socio-political themes of the course.

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/topic/deconstruction

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/architecture/deconstructivism.htm

https://study.com/academy/lesson/deconstructivism-in-art-theory-characteristics.html

https://www.archdaily.com/899645/what-is-deconstructivism

https://www.thevalueofarchitecture.com/blog/what-is-deconstructivist-architecture/

https://www.widewalls.ch/deconstructivism-buildings/

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/architecture/frank-gehry.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0tnHr2dqTs