Thanks. I’ll try to check it out next time I’m in the neighborhood. Is there anything about the building that shows his influence?
And to return to Frank Lloyd Wright, are there any of his buildings in Manhattan other than the Guggenheim? I seem to remember hearing that he did something else there (car dealership, maybe), but I’ve no idea exactly where.
They may appear ugly now but at the time they were made they were beautiful.
don’t take them out of the time context.
I don’t agree that to assess architecture you must put yourself at the time it was designed. Greek and Roman buildings are and will always be beautiful even if they were built over 2000 years ago. If an American example is necessary, then I can refer to the classical architecture of Boston’s Beacon Hill. Most people agree that these buildings were practical at the time and still beautiful today. I think that Frank Lloyd Wright is considered America’s greatest architect is because he hit America when it was most vulnerable: during the 1950’s through 70’s even though he designed that despicable period many decades before. I know of no other profession where someone can commit so many terrible errors and still be considered the “greatest who ever lived”: 1) Horribly ugly 2) Poor engineering 3) Designed to egotistical standards (I am 5’ 2’’ so regardless how much these bastards are paying me, this house is going to knock out anyone over 5’ 8’’). Can you imagine a baseball manager who said: “He can’t hit, he can’t field, and he is the meanest sucker to ever walk the face of the earth but I’ll be damned if that isn’t the finest player I have ever seen”. America would be much better off if Frank Lloyd Wright were ever born.
Greek architecture appears timeless to us partly because of its association with idealistic recreations of Athenian democracy and philosophy. Don’t forget that “in their time” those elegant white temples were polychromed with bright paints, generally off limits except during certain times of the year during which the spectacle of ox-slicing would take up the foreground…
Wright may be guilty of arrogance, but his sins were committed mainly on a willing public while his achievements caught most of the world by surprise and helped usher in new ways of approaching style, space planning, ornament, and construction.
Wright “hit” America in the 1910’s (and in Sullivan’s office, before that). Post-war modernism was inspired by many different impulses ranging from VA mortgages to aircraft production technology to hollywood. Wright was a visible icon of modernism to the public, but the proliferation of cheap construction is not his fault.
In short (no pun intended) he wasn’t what his worshippers want him to be by any means, but neither was he the root of all evil. Certainly he was imaginative, skillful, dedicated and above all, outspoken. America can, I think, be proud of him.
Why was Wright considered “America’s greatest architect?” Because he wasn’t “just” an architect. He was an innovative and talented man, but his work did vary widely. One must remember, however, that he had to create his designs in a free market. Maybe if he had infinite time, money, materials and slaves/servants his stuff would be as impressive as the Greek and Roman and Egyptian designs. He wasn’t cranking out the same shoebox building over and over again, so if the roof leaked it probably was because he didn’t have the benefit of using the same time-tested design that was in thousands upon thousands of other buildings exactly like it.
I can’t specifically speak to architecture, but Wright as a designer HAS had lasting influence. He was one of the pioneers in the American Arts and Crafts movements in the early 1900s, along with Gustav Stickley and Elbert Hubbard (not the Dianetics guy). For those who aren’t familiar with the term, Arts and Crafts movement has NOTHING to do with making cheesy wallets at summer camp, it was an era of design which predated Art Deco. Arts and Crafts furniture is also sometimes called “Mission Oak”, “Craftsman”, or “Prarie” style. In 1989, A single 1905 Arts and Crafts Wright chair sold for $121,000 at Christie’s. Collectors are nuts. But it IS a pretty chair.
So what’s so special about the Arts and Crafts movement? A&C furniture designs are often considered to be the only original style of furniture ever created in the United States. Colonial, Art Deco, Art Nuevo were all derived from European styles. (Although I suspect Danish Modern might have been some sinister American scheme to discredit the Danes.)
A&C also had a philosophical aspect which was revolutionary in those days, but is pretty common now. Designs (furniture, archecture, textiles etc) should be “Honest”. Furniture should be “simple, strong and comfortable.” Also, common, sturdy and attractive “natural” materials were preferred: Leather, Oak, patinaed copper (As opposed to shiny brass), etc. It was a reaction to mass-produced, poorly built, over-ornate, impractical design. Sounds like a trivial idea to base a whole “movement” on, but wouldn’t you pay good money for a “simple, strong and comfortable” computer operating system? The Arts and Crafts movement was “form follows function”, (what, you thought BMW invented that?) And this concepts permeated Wright’s work, tying all of this together into a human environment, furniture, buildings, decorative arts (some of his vases and stained glass designs are beautiful), etc.
Wright’s influences are everywhere. I’ve even seen Wright stained-glass designs copies in fluoresent fixtures at Home Depot. You can find cheap Arts & Craft “Mission” furniture at Office Depot(!), Wal Mart. You can find better stuff at Sears and Ethan Allen. And you can find stuff you can’t afford at Stickley ( http://www.stickley.com ). When it comes to manufactured furniture, Stickley is as good as it gets. Even the tables and chairs at our local Barnes & Noble are A&C. Ack! You can’t get away from his influences!
Big deal, it’s just furniture right? Well, YOU create an original furniture style that will appear modern in the year 2100, is comfortable, functional, attractive, sturdy, economical to manufacture. Not to mention that it will be popular as el cheap-o furniture as well as top-of-the-top-of-the line furniture. AND it will look good at home or in the office, indoors or out. Oh yeah, and it’s gotta be MORE popular in a century that it is now.
Like I said, I can’t speak specifically to his architecture. But he was much more than just an architect. Was he a genius? None of his chairs had cupholders so I guess not. He certainly didn’t invent Arts and Crafts single-handedly, and I find that some of his work is so stiff and dogmatic that he betrays the “Honest” design principles. Some of his work is just plain ugly. Just because Wright designed something doesn’t make it great – even Orson Welles was in a movie with Pia Zadora – but when he was good, he was very, very good.
“A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his client to plant vines.”
–Frank Lloyd Wright
I can’t say much about Frank’s buildings, at least not anymore than has already been said, but I have seen a television interview he did and the guy just kicks serious ass. He was extremely intelligent and witty and he had a stoic quality that made the interviewer look like a chump for asking him questions. I became a FLW fan from then on.