Under The Skin of the Architect: Exposing the Builder's Framing Bones: Pictorial Showcase of the Frank Gehry Designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles

“Under The Skin of the Architect: Exposing the Builder’s Framing Bones” is a pictorial showcase of the steel framing and construction phases involved with the Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall completed in October, 2003 in downtown Los Angeles. Photographer Marques Vickers captures images of the construction stages between 2001 and 2003 showcasing the bent steel girder framework, which formed the structural bones of the building. Gehry’s signature layer of titanium panels establishing the masterpiece project as a definitive creative icon for the early 21st century completed the framework.

Accompanying the over 80 images from the Disney construction are thirteen images from another Gehry project, the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, Mississippi. The images were photographed following the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. At the time of the storm, the museum was only partially completed, but unlike most of the costal properties, survived generally intact despite a casino barge washing into the semi-constructed facility.

The focus of Vickers photographic work is to stress the durability and sustainability of Gehry’s project beyond its evident aesthetic appeal. Vickers notes, “The internal framing structure is as fascinating as the finished appearance. The bent and shaped grids and girders fit acutely into place as a well-orchestrated whole and then disappear completely from viewing upon the layering of external panel coating.”