Frank Gehry spent a lot of time visiting the site and talking with the Weisman staff about the design. Then he began to work. His plans for the museum began with both sketches and models. Even though the drawings seem very fast and loose drawings, they actually capture much of the sense of motion and freedom of the finished building.
Gehry
is a fervent ice hockey player, and he compares drawing to skating across
paper. He loves the feeling of the felt pen sliding over the paper.
"Everything connected with everything else seems freer, not taking your hands off. I love the free-flow," he says. "It's just the way I draw when I'm thinking. I think that way. I'm just moving the pen. I'm thinking about what I'm doing, but I'm sort of not thinking about my hands."
Although
his early sketches were rough, the final design of the building looks
a great deal like those early sketches. But many things had to happen
before his dream was realized.
Page credits:
Frank Gehry, Weisman Drawing, roof view, 1990
Frank Gehry, Weisman Drawing, north facade, 1990
Gehry in hockey uniform: photo © The Knoll Group
Frank Gehry, Weisman Drawing, west facade, 1990
Weisman building photo by Katie Knight
© 1998 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota
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