Wonky World Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

Frank Gehry's wacky architectural design is on full display here at MIT's 400,000-square-foot Ray and Maria Stata Center. Built in 2004, it houses labs, offices, classrooms, and meeting rooms, and features a "street" that winds through the ground floor.

Gehry won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1989. For a time, Gehry's work used "unfinished" qualities as a part of the design. As Paul Goldberger, New York Times Architecture Critic described it, "Mr. Gehry's architecture is known for its reliance on harsh, unfinished materials and its juxtaposition of simple, almost primal, geometric forms...(His) work is vastly more intelligent and controlled than it sounds to the uninitiated; he is an architect of immense gifts who dances on the line separating architecture from art but who manages never to let himself fall."
http://www.greatbuildings.com/gbc.html.

The difficult climate extremes in the northeast have not been kind to this architecture. I believe a lawsuit by Massachusetts Institute of Technology is still pending to correct some of the damage caused by ice and snow. None the less, I am thrilled to see his design so close to home.

dareco, Dpbours, jean11-3, crhieatt, gunbud, zmey has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Senk (2033) 2008-07-13 12:22

hi
wow this is a wonderful short , I like how you low down and the nice building

take care

Seng

devimeuxbe (55655) 2008-07-13 12:25

Bonsoir Kathy
c'est une vision très originale ! Incroyable architecte. Et cela tient ?
Merci pour cette photo instructive et tres belle
Bertrand

fkostas (395) 2008-07-13 13:04

Hi Kathy,

To start off, the subject is interesting, but add to that great angle, clarity (The grass in particular!), and very good light. How did you acheive the angle?

eversmile (5930) 2008-07-13 13:13

A brilliant composition for an eccentric shot. I like your title that looks on Tim Burton's side. Graphically it's eyecatching and funny.
Well done!
Regards,
Marine

worldcitizen (2189) 2008-07-13 13:41

Hello Kathy,
Great POV here! The tilt matches well with all of the crazy lines and shapes. I like the grass included in the foreground and the very nice presentation of this interesting building!

Prisley (1247) 2008-07-13 14:07

Well balanced pic with original POV for that famous building of L.A. Good sharpness and colors.
Cheers,
Pris.

dareco (17024) 2008-07-13 15:49

WOW! Amazing architecture/art!! An excellent picture, great pov and beautiful colors and detail. A very interesting picture. TFS and have a happy week!

Dpbours (210) 2008-07-14 0:12

Hi Kathy,

Wow, that is a very articulate review of his work by Paul Goldberger. A wonderful composition of this interesting architecture and the tilt is working in this case!
Very interesting architecture for sure, but just imagine that you need to find a wardrobe that is able to fit this building with all the various leaps of outside surfaces ;-).

Greetings!
Dennis

baba_flies (7925) 2008-07-14 3:29

Dear Kathy! You have an excellent eye for architectural shots and I like your approach with including the lawn just a little bit and leading us all the way up. Frank Gehry is one of the leading architects and I find his work very special. Many times there are lawsuits involved with projects just like this one as they may work out on the paper but are not very practical once realized, on the other hand there is so much mediocre architecture around us that it NEEDS people like Frank Gehry but of course his buildings should not hurt anyone from falling ice :) Very very good work, Kathy, I like it a lot. Barbara.

jean11-3 (2799) 2008-07-14 15:04

Hello Kathy, these are not the type of buildings that I expect to see in Massachusetts! But they are wonderful.
I like your POV, creating an even zanier view by tilting the camera.
Great sharpness,The light is managed very well too;I really like this one.
Thanks for the very interesting notes.
Tfs, regards Jean.

mpb001 (4600) 2008-07-14 15:37

Hi Kathy,
This is a great shot. I like how you've tilted the shot slightly to give the viewer and even more "wonky" viewing experience. The grasses in the foreground add amazing depth. It's as if I am lying on the ground on my stomach looking up. Very creative and well processed.
Mike

crckt (6963) 2008-07-15 13:19

Hi Kathy,
I love this low POV and the smart angle in which you captured this shot. Gorgeous outcome! What I particularly like is the sharpness! Look at the grass in the foreground, looks like I can cut my finger in it :)
Regards,
Shaeri

crhieatt (5143) 2008-07-15 13:24

Kathy,
Brilliantly sharp and colourful presentation + you've got your angle of attack spot on for this + great little trinagle of green really sets its all off.

Regards
Colin

gunbud (27515) 2008-07-21 19:18

Hi Kathy,
Wonderful vertical presentation of this very imaginative capture of this modern architecture.
Very clear colors and sharp details seen in wonderful light.
Regards, Tom

macondo (12935) 2008-08-10 6:26

Hi Kathy.
What a wonderful image. Your tilt only adds to the wonkiness and it was a great idea to compose the shot this way. It's a magnificent exposure which captures the colours and light really well. The saturation and sharpness seem just right. The effect is to disorient the viewer, which is so appropriate for this amazing architecture. This picture is both intriguing and mesmerising, a marvellous presentation of this brilliant design, ice and snow damage notwithstanding. One of my favourite photos of yours.
Regards,
Andrew

Cormac (26447) 2008-09-04 7:57

Great shot Kathy! I'm just catching up with some shots that have been posted while I was away, and going through your portfolio I can see that you have been improving a lot. This shot is an example, where you have framed the subject in a very creative way, not only presenting the physical aspect of this wacky building, but also it's spirit or the mood it creates. I often see tilting used in a gimmicky or silly way, but it works extremely well here. Excellent work!

zmey (7242) 2008-09-05 9:08

hello kathy

a very fine architectural shot in my not so humble opinion. the tilt works well here, enhancing the 'wonky' mood of the structure. i love the vivid foreground choice.

regards,
kristaps

downer (244) 2008-12-12 7:55

Hello,
I love the angle, it suites your subject. I also like the sharpness and the vivid colors, they almost make everything look like a plastic toy. And that, I think, suites your subject too.
Cheers, Ioanna