Chicagoist: Frank Lloyd Wright On Religion, Architecture, Art

matilda

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:55:44 -0600

"He's about as fascinating as Pol Pot or Jeffery Dahmer. You're essentially fawning over Architecture's Hitler." Do you actually believe that crap? If so, I urge you head to your nearest library as quickly as possible to learn more about history.

Margaret

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:51:52 -0600

I'm just saying, your first complaints about him are unfounded, that he was not a solid engineer and didn't think about the people he was building for, he did, on both those counts. I never insisted the man was a good one, but you cannot deny his life is fascinating, murder, betrayal, affairs, etc. Louis Sullivan was a horrible drunken asshole, Burnham was an artistic whimp, Mies was a strict and unbending human being, architects from the beginning have been a rough lot. Architecture's Hitler. I love it. Hilarious. I'm going to keep that one in my back pocket. Good one.

plumbum82

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:16:13 -0600

He was a misogynist, a racist, a snob, and emotionally abused his family members at every turn. The guy was tried under the Mann Act for crissakes! In his later years, he turned Taliesin into a sweatshop where his architecture interns cranked out the sketches and designs while he took all the credit. Falling Water? Guggenheim? Yeah, that was someone else's shit. He's about as fascinating as Pol Pot or Jeffery Dahmer. You're essentially fawning over Architecture's Hitler.

N1ck0

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:13:08 -0600

Amazing how progressive the man was for the time. It would have been so amazing to have a conversation with this man. Ideas on war, politics, anti-rule by fear, corporate sponsorship of ideas, and the importance on individuals over the mob...things that took another 10-20 years to be more widespread. Take away some of the questions linking it to the 1957 and I swear this could have been recorded yesterday.

Margaret

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:07:44 -0600

Actually, FLW was an amazing engineer, using latitude and longitude lines to create the most light for his house. His roof lines don't hang over a house just to be neat and prairie style, but are completely thought out so as to allow more light in the winter and less in the summer, cooling and heating the house as was necessary...one of our first "green" architects. He was quite thoughtful of who would live in the house, very often raising the dining room/living room, etc. so that they sat higher up than the first floor, so people enjoying the space would be enjoying the green of garden instead of the view of the pavement out front. His windows were made that way specifically, so in the summer light, they were more "see-thru" so inhabitants of the house could look out into the garden, yet in the winter light, the windows would light up. I'm not saying his houses were structurally the most impressive, but to say he was not an engineer who only built for "design's" sake...well... Plus, what a fascinating man, not a very nice one, but fascinating.

plumbum82

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:52:34 -0600

FLW = Most overrated dickhole ever. He designed purely for the sake of design. He was a pretty lousy engineer and never considered the people that would live inside his "art". /hater

matty

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:37:36 -0600

Great post Margaret.