Q2e Listening & Speaking 2: Unit 1 Video Transcript

Frank Gehry Transcript

Narrator: Along the Nervion River, Gehry's greatest achievement1, so far, flows into the
skyline of Bilbao, Spain. The Guggenheim Museum is so innovative2,
no art inside will ever be as important as the building. It's been called a
miracle3.
When he finished it, Gehry stood there with his clients4 and was struck5 by a
powerful thought.

Interviewer: Why?

Gehry: Because you get self-conscious6 about these things. You know, you push out,
like I did, and then you look at it, and you say, what have I done to these
people? No, it's true. This is how I felt.

They, they knew it too. They were very disturbed7 because I wasn't able to talk
in positive terms about it.

Interviewer: What did you say?

Gehry: Well, no, I just said, you know, I wish I'd changed this, I wanted, you know, I
was a basket case8, but I do this on every project.

Narrator: If Gehry is self-doubting, rumpled9, even shy, his projects are his alter ego10.
There's attitude in the angles, conviction11 in the curves. His work is, well,
out of line12.

Gehry: It takes time to see the evolution13, and then you realize, oh, that's what he
was getting at14.

1
achievement: a thing that someone has done successfully
2
innovative: describing something new that uses new ways of thinking
3
miracle: something wonderful and impossible to explain
4
client: a person who uses the services or advice of a professional person or organization
5
struck by: a feeling of being impressed by something unusual, interesting, or attractive
6
self-conscious: worried about what other people will think about you
7
disturbed: very anxious and unhappy about something
8
basket case: someone who is extremely stressed or nervous
9
rumpled: unorganized
10
alter ego: a personality different from your own, but shows or acts as another side of your personality
11
conviction: a strong opinion or belief
12
out of line: outlandish
13
evolution: the process of change and development over time
14
getting at: implying

©Oxford University Press. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

Q2e Listening & Speaking 2: Unit 1 Video Transcript

Narrator: Getting to Bilbao was an evolution of many years. You see the beginnings of it
in the American Center in Paris, the Toledo Visual Arts Center in Ohio, and the
Weisman Museum in Minnesota.

Architecture critics rave15, but forget about the experts.

Stand outside any Gehry building and look at the faces.

The cameras come out on Venice Beach in California, Prague in the Czech
Republic, and in Bilbao.

Goldberger: The Bilbao Museum in Spain really changed the world.

Narrator: Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for the New Yorker magazine, says Gehry's
Bilbao masterpiece16 is making architecture a spectator sport17.

Goldberger: That building has been attracting all kinds of people who aren't necessarily
great architecture buffs18. All kinds of people who haven't gone to Europe
to see a building any newer than 500-years-old in their lives, and yet, they're all
flocking19 to see this one.

15
rave: talk or write about something in a very enthusiastic way
16
masterpiece: an artist’s best piece of work
17
spectator sport: something many people watch
18
buff: expert
19
flocking: gathering together in large numbers

©Oxford University Press. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.