My mother, two other family members, and I attended "Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion" at the Perlman Gallery, Philadelphia Museum of Art on Sunday. I was looking forward to the day but was severely disappointed by this star architects show. Walking into the gallery, one is instantly disoriented, kind of like a fun house in a carnival. Several of the people I was with had to sit down as their equilibrium was affected. Personally, I find Hadids work, visually incongruent, almost dizzying (as it literally was for my companions). So, while impressive for their reach, her buildings are not for general consumption. In fact, her objects and buildings are so confusing in their flow that they are essentially disturbing. All sense of beauty is swallowed up by the visual discordance. My brain became too occupied with trying to find the glitch rather than finding the beauty in the form.
I also wonder as to her clearly obvious and impractical choice of form over function. From the smallest, an oddly shaped spoon that made me want to scoop some broth to see if I could actually eat from it, to the videos showing her largest buildings, I could only see a desire to impress with none, not one little iota, of practicality. These buildings are a legend in her own mind and will not stand the test of time.
Please, beauty and form can go hand in hand with practical considerations. Ms. Hadid seems to think that they are exclusive of each other and it shows in her work.
I am not a fan.
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