Wednesday, November 7, 2007

But will he hire a Postmodern Attorney?


This morning the AP reported that the famous 'postmodern' architect Frank Gehry is being sued by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] regarding 'design flaws in the Stata Center', one of his most 'celebrated' postmodern creations.

'The school asserts that the center, completed in spring 2004, has persistent leaks, drainage problems and mold growing on its brick exterior. It says accumulations of snow and ice have fallen dangerously from window boxes and other areas of its roofs, blocking emergency exits and causing damage.' On top of all this, it's ugly enough to make a vulture puke.

Postmodern art seeks to break all the rules and represent the chaos of reality. In archecture, it does so with stairs that lead nowhere, unopenable doors, upsidedown walls, that sort of stuff. On this project Gehry was paid a cool $15 mil to design a building that would reflect a world where, we are told, design is impossible and reflection is absurd. Probably not the best idea on a campus brimming with the world's top engineers. Yes, we laughed during construction and the laughter has returned. Why do the heathen rage?

I guess in his worldview, lawyers provide a social form of natural selection. I wonder how much more it will take to drive hardcore postmodern architecture into extinction as unfit? I was looking forward to seeing what Gehry Designs would come up with in collaboration with NASA or Honda or Winchester, even. Wouldn't it be exciting to see a new line of postmodernJohn Deere riding mowers and weed trimmers?

Oh well ... guess you can't make up the rules as you go. Maybe those of us who still believe in aesthetic absolutes aren't as thick as we seem. Maybe there is something still to be said for tradition. Now, about worship music ...

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