Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation

Architect Frank Gehry Designs for ‘Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation’ sponsored by LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy)

Cape Town, 24 November 2008

Clouds always fascinated me! Don’t we all start dreaming when looking up into the sky watching the clouds… our thoughts transcending into immaterial spheres where spirit is free…? Where are we when we do this… here or there or inbetween?
And who are we anyway?

Life is all about Dreaming but some dream more than others… so much so that they create Magic… pulling their Visions straight into a material reality. May I invite you to look at the evolution of a cloud: CLOUD by Frank Gehry . . .

Today, when waking up, I had a Vision. Something difficult to express just fell into place - clearer than ever although with new mysteries to be solved. The concept is not new to me and probably not to you either, however, this was visual and it was almost physical: what we call an ‘aura’ - and the way we generally perceive it… namely as a halo of luminous radiation surrounding the head of a person of particular spiritual advancement or holiness as seen in religious art and often referred to as the ’spiritual signature’ of a person - suddenly appeared in a different light.

Imagine an inversed scenario.

The halo we see radiating away from a person’s head now coming in towards it instead. I clearly saw how humans are receptors… attracting from the Universe those powerful streams of energy we need to transform our dreams, thoughts and ideas into our material reality. The more ‘realistic’ an image is ’seen’ and ’sensed’ in the immaterial shape - almost pre-formated as one could call it in our web-based era - and then experimented and played with in various stages, expressions and aspects of its realization - be it sketches, models, writings, photos and discussions all on and around the same subject, the same dream - the bigger the chance of attracting all the combinations that are essential for its eventual realization.

The sensation connected to it was an almost sizzling surge of rays of energy all focused on the human brain (or whatever it represents or is hidden there still unbeknown to us). There was a cascade of laser beams from all sides, drawn in from the dark depths of the universe… suddenly appearing as luminous dots… developing into laser lines of light converging towards one target: the human head… forming a magnificent golden halo.

What happens then and there?

You see, the CLOUD by Frank Gehry and his amazing career and biography inspired me. What makes the difference between a project that’s being realized and another that isn’t - even if it appears ‘better’ in many aspects?

I remember formulating a concept for a European TV documentary on Award Winning Architectural Projects that were never realized and already filled endless drawers back in the late eighties… awesome projects of extreme audacity and beauty of the human mind… each single one of them. And while the documentary was never realized either (!), the questions surrounding it still fascinate me today.

Writing about the ‘Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation’ in Paris in a Building designed by world-renowned Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry… plus the sudden flash of realization this morning re-awakened those thoughts: what makes the difference between one project being realized . . . while another isn’t?

If it’s not the quality… what is it?
The magnitude of intent amplified and transformed within the human mind?
Timing?

I won’t find the answer to this easily, however, when financial power is attracted by a creative genius Magic happens - as we see here in form of a fascinating Architecture by Frank Gehry for the Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation in Paris, France.

This new museum for Modern Art with its dynamic flow of light and osmosis between the inside and the outside seamlessly integrating the surrounding natural environment of the Jardin d’Acclimatation within the heart of the Bois de Boulogne is certainly one of the most remarkable projects Frank Gehry ever planned… never mind getting the green light to realize it in a dramatic setting amidst a huge park, a river, the sky - and of course: Paris!

The spectacular project was commissioned by modern patrons Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy), and -Yves Carcelle, President of Louis Vuitton as part of their 15-year commitment to… “…promote culture, heritage and contemporary creation…” in France.

Talking of ‘amplification’!

Let me quote from the time when this magnificent project with its projected completion in 2009, started. I leave it up to your receptiveness and readiness to look beyond the form to see how it all falls into place… and deduct from there the message it bears for you:

“The 127 million dollar museum is a dream coming true from Bernard Arnault, but also for Frank Gehry himself…”

Here’s from Frank Gehry - the artist, the architect, the Dreamer of an immaterial structure called . . . the CLOUD:

“The project is a dream, so the idea is to make a dream. . .
The idea is of a cloud made of glass.”

Look at some of Gehry’s most prominent buildings and their clearly defined style:

Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao, Spain - 1997

The architect has been quoted as saying that “the randomness of the curves are designed to catch the light“. At the time, architect Philip Johnson called this icon of Deconstructivism “the greatest building of our time”.

As you may notice, it already bears the theme of water and light.

Gehry-Tower, Hannover, Germany Dance House, Prague, Hungary

Now look at the evolution . . . the distinct attempt to draw the immaterial into material form and shape:

“I want everything to look like my drawings. The model is not quite there. We’ve built 30 or 40 models, and the design is still evolving. It’s not going to look exactly like this, so forgive me: I want the lines to look like the sketch…” (Frank Gehry)

Definitely, I want to move and flow within this space one day… re-capturing the extraordinary feelings of awe and inspiration a city buzzing with Arts and Architecture and cultural influences from all over the world - old and new - offered the young enthusiastic student back then…

Clearly… impossible without the “other side of the Dream” - the “modern Medicis” :

Here’s from Bernard Arnault:

“Creating an exceptional bond between Art and Culture, taking up the challenge of daring and emotion [...]
It will be driven by what has always been our Group’s motivation: classicism and a break with the past, tradition and innovation.”

Here’s from Yves Carcelle:

“Inviting the public to a journey at the heart of Creation [...]
Creation has always been one of the driving forces behind our success.”

There is no Creation without a Dream… and as such the Louis Vuitton Foundation is the first of its kind in France based on the fusion of two ambitions: the long-standing commitment of France to promote the arts, civilizations and cultural exchanges and that of Louis Vuitton and LVMH - France’s key players in Art patronage since 1991.

And it all started with a Dream. . .

Look at the skies, follow the clouds and let your imagination fly. . .

Bianca Gubalke