Reflections on "Sketches of Frank Gehry"

The film, Sketches of Frank Gehry, gives an amazingly clear and insightful example of the many steps involved in the design process from initial sketches to the actualization of the final design.  Gehry's ability to distance himself from his own work is extraordinary and, most likely, is the reason he has been able to achieve such high levels of acclaim.  While not always able to express the precise reason why an element of a design is not quite working, he is the first to reach out and tear a piece off of a model in order to get it right.  The shear quantity of models and drawings that go into producing a single building is shocking.  Gehry's process continually slips between modeling and drawing, allowing him constantly changing perspectives on the same subject.  Also surprising about the film, and on a more personal note, is the vulnerability and humility that Gehry shows in describing his early career and his experiences of not being accepted by the architectural community and how he eventually found a warmer reception  in the art community.  The film is evidence of the passion and attention to detail that Frank Gehry applies to every problem put before him.  His drive to continually re-evaluate his work doesn't even cease when the project has long been "completed."