Goff in the Desert (2003)

In this creative documentary, filmmaker Heinz Emigholz presents a series of filmed photographs of the work of the exceptionally inventive American architect Bruce Goff (1904-1982), who was apprenticed at age 12 but never formally educated as an architect. His work, mostly churches and private homes, displays a unique style that sets it apart from most 20th century architecture. The Episcopal Church in Tulsa built in the 1920s is a towering Art Deco icon, while the Hopewell Baptist Church in Edmond resembles a strange futuristic concrete teepee challenging the landscape. Bruce Goff is the great unknown of an original American form of architecture. Through his photo-driven style, Emigholz brilliantly exposes details of Goff’s structures that might otherwise be missed, making these fascinating artifacts even more intriguing.