James Fallows on an appearance by Mr. Beck’s favorite architect at the Aspen Ideas Festival.
For much of the hour he found Gehry impressive.
And then:
Then the questions from the audience began. The second or third was from a fairly insistent character whose premise was that great “iconic” buildings nonetheless fell short as fully attractive and effective “public places,” where people were drawn to congregate and spend time. He said he was challenging Gehry to do even more to make his buildings attractive by this measure too.
Gehry didn’t like the question and said that the indictment didn’t apply to his own buildings. He said that the facts would back him up — and as the questioner repeated the challenge, Gehry said that he found the question “insulting.”
Fair enough. The guy did keep pushing. On the other hand, anyone who has ever appeared in public has encountered questions a hundred times as personally challenging as this.
But the questioner asked one more time, and Gehry did something I found simply incredible and unforgettable. “You are a pompous man,” he said — and waved his hand in a dismissive gesture, much as Louis XIV might have used to wave away some offending underling. He was unmistakably shooing or waving the questioner away from the microphone, as an inferior — again, in a gesture hardly ever seen in post-feudal times.
I was sorry that I witnessed those thirty seconds. They are impossible to forget and entirely change my impression of the man. I was more amazed when part of the audience, maybe by reflex, applauded. When the video of this episode goes up on the Ideas Festival site, judge for yourself.
After all, if you’re the world’s greatest living architect, why even bother paying attention to the people who actually use your buildings?
