Frank Gehry Teaches Design and Architecture, Online.

David Rogier and Aaron Rasmussen met in San Francisco and shortly after, in 2013, had garnered some initial funding that launched MasterClass.com.  Neither of them was adequately inspired by traditional teaching techniques while they were growing up in California.  They imagined a more dynamic and effective way to present a subject.  Their concept was to employ a series of recognizable experts to prepare instructional videos on a wide range of subjects.  This is exactly what they have created at MasterClass.  

With “two-degrees-of-separation” and some generosity from the actor, Dustin Hoffman, they were able to create a five-hour series on the art of acting.  Author James Patterson followed with a 22-episode series on novel writing.  Currently there are 20 MasterClasses offered, however, a few of them are still “coming soon.”  Although many of the classes sound appealing, there is one that is of particular interest to us here at WHA; scheduled to launch this fall, is a series on Design and Architecture by world renowned, Los Angeles-based architect, Frank Gehry.  This will not be a video portfolio of his work, but rather an exploration (and explanation) of his unique design process, which produced such sculpturally dynamic structures as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

Photos: (left) Guggenheim Museum Bilbao – credit: Iakov Filimonov / Shutterstock.com  |  (right) The Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA –  credit: travelview / Shutterstock.com

Lifetime access to each of these series will cost $90 but they each have a unique format.  When launched, Gehry’s MasterClass will include 17 video sessions, a downloadable workbook and a feature called “Office Hours” which affords viewers and students the opportunity to upload work directly to the instructor for feedback.

Here is a list of some of the other MasterClass offerings:

Aaron Sorkin: screenwriting

Kevin Spacey: acting

Serena Williams: tennis

Gary Kasparov: chess

Christina Aguilera: singing

Gordon Ramsey: cooking

Steve Martin: comedy

Hans Zimmer: film scoring

Although rumors of future MasterClasses are elusive, Rogier and Rasmussen are holding onto dreams of adding Steven Hawking and Christopher Nolan (presumably for cosmology and filmmaking, respectively) to the lineup.

If interested, sign up for an email alert to be notified when the Frank Gehry class becomes available.

https://www.masterclass.com/classes/frank-gehry-teaches-design-and-architecture