Frank Lloyd Wright
July 10th 2010 06:25
Original Creative Writing:
Ken Burns and Lynn Novick
ABC DVD
Frank Lloyd Wright is a fascinating character; his name is among the rare few of architects who are considered the finest of their day, although Wright was subject to scandals that reflected the times he lived in as much as his own creative and fluid genius.
His creative thinking compelled him to build his own world, and design structures that were both monumental and intimate. The documentary Frank Llloyd Wright by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick starts before his birth in1867 and covers the showman's life through its various phases of popularity and awkward obfuscation.
He designed towards creating a unified whole, which is as much as any artist may hope to realise; the cinematography of the documentary displays his greatest works beautifully. The amazing home he built and rebuilt Taliesin, alongside Fallingwater his extraordinary house on the waterfall are warm and sacred in their realisation of structure and design. There is a great harmony to the majestic Guggenheim Museum and the spectacularly simple but effective Johnston Wax Building.
Calling his a Showman is fair, although he was legendary in his ability to self-promote and generate a mound of publicity around himself he was also a fellow who came up with the goods over his entire life. The Guggenheim was opened six months after his death.
Frank was trained from birth by his ambitious mother Anna, she gave him building blocks and told him he would be great. Anna was evidently quite a strong influence on her son all through his early years. She was not happy with his choice of wife so to make her point clearly, she fainted at his wedding. Evidently Frank was ultimately trained to be a boy who never really grew up. He and his first wife had six kids, but he never really took to being a Dad.
The observations of a variety of his progeny are testament to his notoriety. He was a man who left children longing for a closer relationship with him; sad really. Yet the astonishing buildings he has left ensure his greatness and Anna got her way in the end. He truly is a wonderful character to become engaged by, and no wonder there are so many who determine that it is their fate to design great monuments to living. After all when you look at the influence an individual or group ultimately have on the way we live as a people on our planet, it resonates over years and years. We are stuck with whatever it is they have brought out of the chaos.
ABC DVD Link
FLW Great Buildings Website Page
Frank Lloyd Wright: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick (1998)
Frank Lloyd Wright is a fascinating character; his name is among the rare few of architects who are considered the finest of their day, although Wright was subject to scandals that reflected the times he lived in as much as his own creative and fluid genius.
His creative thinking compelled him to build his own world, and design structures that were both monumental and intimate. The documentary Frank Llloyd Wright by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick starts before his birth in1867 and covers the showman's life through its various phases of popularity and awkward obfuscation.
Calling his a Showman is fair, although he was legendary in his ability to self-promote and generate a mound of publicity around himself he was also a fellow who came up with the goods over his entire life. The Guggenheim was opened six months after his death.
The observations of a variety of his progeny are testament to his notoriety. He was a man who left children longing for a closer relationship with him; sad really. Yet the astonishing buildings he has left ensure his greatness and Anna got her way in the end. He truly is a wonderful character to become engaged by, and no wonder there are so many who determine that it is their fate to design great monuments to living. After all when you look at the influence an individual or group ultimately have on the way we live as a people on our planet, it resonates over years and years. We are stuck with whatever it is they have brought out of the chaos.
ABC DVD Link
FLW Great Buildings Website Page
Frank Lloyd Wright: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick (1998)
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David Jobling
