Saturday Memory for May 17, 2025
May 17, 2025
It was the mid-seventies. I had just become a Jungian analyst. We lived in Santa Monica. People in the neighborhood were well known or would be one day. Among several people I got to meet and know, one was Frank Gehry. He was an architect and graduated from the USC School of Architecture a couple of years before I began my studies at USC. I would encounter him from time to time in my walks around the area. He lived a couple of blocks away. In 1978, I think it was, he began an extraordinary renovation of his home. I believe this was his first “deconstructionist” project. His renovations caused an uproar. He would leave the interior of walls exposed, ducts could be seen, a lot of what is usual unseen and hidden became fore fronted and visible. It was about this time that C. G. Society in Los Angeles, where I was Director of Training, proposed building a building to house the Society, the Institute, and the Analytical Psychology Club. I was on the committee and recommended Frank Gehry as a designer. Frank met with all the members and the clash between members was astonishing. No agreement could be reached and so the idea of Frank designing a building for the group was abandoned. Frank has become one of the most famous and rewarded architects of the modern period. His work is extraordinary, and I encourage you to explore it. You can see his philosophy at work, for the hidden to be seen, for the straight and linear to come alive with movement. An extraordinary person to be sure. Here are some examples.