Gil Garcetti “Iron”

In the summer of 2001, former Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti was driving downtown and passed the rising construction site of Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. Garcetti was fascinated by the intricate metal design, and the acrobatic balancing of iron workers.

Erecting the Walt Disney Concert Hall

Obtaining permission to photograph and gaining the trust of the workers at their dangerous task was a considerable challenge, but Garcetti was determined to capture the gargantuan effort to build the superstructure before it was forever hidden by an envelope of polished steel.

While at the time few knew of Garcetti’s interest in photography, this had actually been a lifelong passion, starting with the gift of a camera from his father when he was thirteen years of age, growing up in South Los Angeles. Even as DA, he carried a pocket camera everywhere in his off-hours. 

Garcetti’s photographs became the book “Iron” with a foreword penned by Frank Gehry, an admirer of his artistic accomplishment. 

We are happy to present a selection of these photos, available in a limited edition, and were delighted to sit down with Gil at MB Abram Studios, Los Angeles, to discuss his almost two years documenting the Walt Disney Concert Hall construction. Seen in the background of the video is June Wayne's tapestry Grande Vague Bleue, and an African marimba created by the late Ashanti Royal drummer Kwasi Badu, this hand cut from iron tubes.