Mr. Gehry receives the letter from Marge requesting his services. He's especially impressed by the Snoopy stationary. Nice mailbox.
At first he crumples up the letter and throws is on the sidewalk, a sign of rejection, but when he sees the paper's form, Eureka! "Frank Gehry, you've done it again!"
Erecting the steel frame, the building looks conventional, but then the cranes start swinging wrecking balls to whack the structure into shape.
Upon opening, Mr. Gehry must thwack ruffians with his broom so they don't skateboard on his curvy creation. "Hey, Frank Gehry. Design curvilinear forms much?"
But the Concert Hall isn't a success, as witnessed by these marquees. This must be about the fifth time the Simpsons has ripped on David Brenner.
Mr. Burns buys the Concert Hall and turns it into its final incarnation, a prison. A commentary on contemporary architecture, perhaps?
Update 08.01: Looks like I'm not the only fan of this episosde. Check this page for screenshots of the whole episode. Thanks Alejandro!
Ha! I love that episode. It is just another indication of FOG as a product of popular culture. Gehry is a tv. Renzo is a fine italian sofa.
ReplyDeleteRenzo as a fine italian sofa? I'm not so sure about that. Maybe an aeron chair. Safe, comfortable, thoughtfully designed but not too risky. The standard chair for an offices, both design-savvy and otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI think that perhaps Architectural Record was on to something, when they referred to him as "America's default architect."
America could do a lot worse.
ReplyDeleteJust as an F.Y.I, Gehry is pretty proud of that episode too. I recently went to a forum featuring him and the first image he tossed up on the screen was his own Simpsons characture.
ReplyDeleteSimply put, one of the better popular culture critiques of modern architecture out there. Gehry chases the skateboarding teens off of his building is priceless.
ReplyDeleteWhen does Libeskind or Koolhaas become fair game for 'The Simpsons?
"When does Libeskind or Koolhaas become fair game for 'The Simpsons?"
ReplyDeletewhen my mom knows who they are.
Hey thank u for this post...it´s so funny...Greetings from Panamá
ReplyDeleteshoot, any architect can win the pritzker, but being on the simpsons? priceless
ReplyDelete...by times i wonder.. if all the attention that we put into Gerhy is the observation of a big talent or if it is the elargement of a very brilliant idea...
ReplyDeleteHey Jimmy. Don't your mama watch Oprah? I knew the world had changed the day I saw Danny show up as guest to the queen o' yak.
ReplyDeleteBTW does anyone remember Gehry showing up on PBS Kids "Arthur". To quote: "The gang is devastated after their tree house collapses. It was the best place to hang out in the whole world! Can architect Frank Gehry get them to agree on a new design and help them to rebuild?"
does anyone know the season and episode name for the frank gehry episode???
ReplyDeleteSeason 16, episode #GABF08, aired April 3, 2005. Found over here at the always reliable Simpsons Archive.
ReplyDeleteOh, and it's called "The Seven-Beer Snitch".
ReplyDeleteToo funny!
ReplyDelete