Robert Campbell notes that Frank Gehry’s new much-praised performing arts center at Bard College marks a new turn in the architect’s evolution. “What strikes you right away about the Fisher is how casual, how thrown-together it looks. It’s basically a building of three or four cubes made of glass, concrete, and stucco, with a shiny blanket of stainless steel thrown over them as if to protect them from the rain. The blanket falls over the cubes in a billow of curves, as loose and free as if it had landed accidentally. The only place where it takes a definite shape is at the main entrance, where it swoops down like a monk’s hood to shade and protect visitors as they enter, or as they stand outside for an intermission.”